Letters to the editor: May 9

1940s not great for all

Like Douglass Jones, author of the April 30 column, “Get a grip, kids, things aren’t so bad,” I grew up in the 1940s and also remember when Americans were united in a wave of patriotism not seen before or since, except perhaps on Sept. 11, 2001.

With World War II came shortages, and we sacrificed without complaint because the greatest sacrifice was being made by those in uniform.

This passion to protect freedom and the American dream did not extend to African-Americans, who remained victims of discrimination. By 1945, more than a million African-Americans were in uniform, fighting for their country. But in Kentucky, countless shops, restaurants, hotels, medical facilities, public restrooms and drinking fountains were for whites only.

Gay men faced a deadly dilemma. Classified as having a “mental defect,” they could avoid the draft, but coming out as homosexuals could get them killed, assaulted or branded as cowardly. Many joined the military to fight for their country, but they faced federal prosecution if their homosexuality became known.

Japanese-Americans living on the west coast were interred in camps and their assets were confiscated.

Any book on the Greatest Generation has a few dark pages.

Encouraged by the young

Douglass Jones sounds like a fine and accomplished senior citizen. But I am sorry he does not appreciate the youth of today. I have been teaching students at the University of Kentucky for 37 years and the students are talented and enthusiastic. We need have no concerns about the future.

Hoping for newspaper rebound

For nearly 40 years, I have read a Lexington newspaper daily. It enabled me to stay better abreast of issues impacting the nation, community and my family.

I now must decide if the escalating expense and decline in news content justify the considerable annual cost to have a paper delivered to my home each morning. My annual cost to subscribe to the Herald-Leader has increased 87 percent since April 2013.

Over this three-year period, the quantity and quality of news articles have declined. International and national news stories seem less likely to be reported and those published appear to have less in-depth reporting and lack of peripheral coverage that helps a reader to more fully understand unfolding events.

There is an online edition provided as part of my subscription, and I do read it when I travel. I do have a sense for the business pressures impacting the printed news industry. So what to do?

This letter is written not in anger but offered in hope that the Herald-Leader and other daily newspapers find a workable solution that allows communities to benefit from complete news coverage.

Attack on Calipari’s son uncalled for

This is a letter to the editor. An editor will read it and decide whether or not to print it — with or without alterations. Editing may reduce word length, clarify a message or eliminate a potentially offensive message. Some letters to the editor are never shared with the public. Others are modified before publication.

An April 24 letter belonged in one of the last two categories. The writer has a right to his beliefs and a right to express dismay when an athlete is accepted on a team for which he may not be qualified.

However, the editor has a responsibility to remove the personal and vitriolic attack on a young man whose only “offense” is a desire to play basketball and possibly have more opportunities to be close to a father who is certainly away from home more often than most parents.

If I had to select one person with whom to have dinner and was choosing among the letter writer, the Herald-Leader editor or Brad Calipari, I would choose Calipari. We could have a pleasant meal conversing thoughtfully about our respective athletic aspirations and our families.

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Letters to the editor: May 9."