No political affiliation needed

The mere fact that you feel a need to explain, and indeed apologize for, whatever political affiliation a former or current employee had or has seems frightening. Was Edmund Stevens's possible membership in the Communist Party any more ''relevant'' than any other reporter's political association? Must the Monitor fear that others will question its integrity based on the personal and private views of the staff? Either Mr. Stevens was an excellent journalist or he wasn't. We all deserve a better standard of decency.

Steven S. Rothblatt, Los Angeles