Letters
High GPA: career booster or 'measure of conformity'?
Regarding the Dec. 6 article "Contrarian finding: Computers are a drag on learning": When I was growing up, my parents were always concerned that I played too many video games and spent too many long hours on the computer. But by the time I was in 11th grade, I was programming in three different computer languages. I dropped out of college to start a software company with a professor as my partner because I'm darn good at what I do. I'm 22 and I'm the CEO of a fledgling software company.
Your article was right, though - computers did affect my grade point average (GPA). But one's GPA is a measure of conformity more than anything else. Who cares if Sally or Billy ends up in the human resources department of a large law firm? Is that all your 3.7 GPA and degree can do for you? Stop wasting your time trying to look, study, and learn like everyone else.
Kids will learn to adapt to a new world just like our forefathers did, and they don't need their parents standing over their shoulder telling them it's time for bed.
Ryan Elisei
Rochester, Mich.
Regarding John Hughes's Dec. 1 Opinion piece, "America divided on war - not on valor of US soldiers," which suggested building a monument to honor US servicemen and women in Iraq: After experiencing two wars - a very hot one, and a very long cold war - I think that there has to be a better way to honor our war dead than building monuments to war. How about a monument to the peacemakers who tried to keep us from war?
I'm all for defending this country and its citizens when in danger, but I don't think we should be going around the world attacking other countries for dubious or conjured-up reasons.
Ralph Dodds (USA, ret.)
Atlanta
Thank you for Jonathan Sacks's enlightened Dec. 2 Opinion piece, "Religion's eternal life at core of world concerns," on the need to respect the differences in religions. In view of the political trauma of both the Palestinian-Israeli question and the resolution of Iraq's identity, it is very encouraging to find an eminent Jewish rabbi speaking in such a dispassionate and universal manner regarding the central nature of religion, whether Christianity, Islam, or Judaism.
David Barker
Barnstaple, England
Regarding the Dec. 3 article "The Texas DA pitted against the power of Tom DeLay": I'm a native Texan and almost ashamed to admit it nowadays. There has always been some political corruption here in Texas, as in most other states, but now the corrupt seem to rule the roost. Unless Texans have shrugged off all credibility and political responsibility, they will put a legal estoppel to what's going on politically in the state.
Tom Pearson
Arlington, Texas
Regarding the Dec. 7 article "Feeling blue in the blue states? Canada rolls out welcome mat": When President Bush first ran for election in 2000, I joked, "If this guy wins, I'm leaving the country." Ironically, I did move to Canada in 2001 - to marry my Canadian boyfriend and to go back to school, not to escape the Bush administration.
When Nov. 2 exit polls indicated that Kerry might win, I thought maybe I could move back home to a country that accepted my beliefs. But the fact that over half of US voters reelected someone whose policies don't make sense to me, and at times deeply offend me, is a definite factor in deciding whether to move back to the United States.
Susan Ballinger
Montreal
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