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Readers write: drones aren't the answer; Congress influences voters; better political discourse

Letters to the editor for the Jan. 18, 2016 weekly magazine.

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USAF/Reuters/File
A US Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle flies near the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, Calif., in this Jan. 7, 2012, photo.

Drones are not the answer
Regarding the Dec. 7 Monitor’s View “The other front against Islamic State: self-defeating fear”: A solution to the Islamic State crisis? I agree with President Obama that we must not give in to fear. However, I do not believe that the solution lies in air and drone strikes. This violence just gives IS a reason to retaliate. We must leave the middle countries completely alone to sort out their own civil strife. There is no good reason for Western countries to be involved in the Middle East. Protecting our oil interests is not a good reason as North America has sufficient oil and natural gas. A worldwide fund could then be established to look after all war-torn refugees in friendly neighboring countries. This is a very simple solution to a very complex problem, but one that has merit.
Glenn Sawyer
Acme, Alberta

As with Congress, so goes the voter
Regarding the Dec. 14 cover story, “Twilight of the ‘floater voter’ ”: There are fewer swing or floater voters in the public these days because there are few if any members of Congress who will cross party lines to support a proposal presented by another party, no matter how beneficial to most citizens. Congressional behavior affects the voting public.
Anna Lisa Goldschen
Henderson, Nev.

Balanced political discourse
I always appreciate John Yemma’s thoughtful Upfront introductions to each issue of the magazine. As I read “Looking at 2015 ... and at 2015” (Dec. 21), in which he cites a reader e-mail saying “the amount of sensationalism and focus on trivia [on other news sites] makes me feel bad,” I realized that’s how I often feel listening to our current crop of candidates for their parties’ presidential nominations. It made me wonder if it might be possible for a candidate to win the presidency by espousing the same balanced yet realistic perspective Mr. Yemma provides.
Alan Willis
Portland, Ore.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

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