How Readers See the World

Last week I asked readers how they think the world has or hasn’t changed in the last 34 years. I want to thank everyone who wrote in and I’m posting some of the letters here. Here’s a letter from D.L.:

I might point out that in 1974 Blacks were just becoming mainstream in professional and college sports (Bill Russel fighting acceptance/ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar not so much) and that China was also just recently joining the world after the Nixon/Kissinger initiatives. Also, we were just finishing an unpopular military initiative – Vietnam. Pretty eerie, Huh?

And here’s one from B.B. in Cincinnati:

In the world of electronics and computing, 34 years is forever.  Everybody carries a cell phone.  Everybody uses a computer — or two, including a laptop.  Almost everybody carries portable entertainment devices for music, movies and the like (and we thought 8-track tapes were hot).

In the world of medical science, 34 years is almost forever.  Consider the da Vinci system for robotic surgery.  Joint replacement that utilizes laser surveying technology to align the bones on either side of the replaced joint.  All sorts of bio-whatever medications.

In the world of politics, 34 years is business as usual.  Same old slimy characters who think they don’t have to follow the rules they make for everybody else.  Same old oppressive taxation (with or without representation, it’s still oppressive).  And cynical me — I used to vote for candidates for public office; now, I vote against their opponents.

Here’s a letter from B.G. offering ideas for some improvements that could be made in the U.S.:

I have some thoughts as to what I would like to see for this country. These are hardly exhaustive

1. Energy independence
2. National high speed rail system
3. Repair program for nations’s infrastructure
4. Better balance in income distribution
5. Improved relationships with other nations
6. Balance U.S. budget
7. Reduce trade deficit
8. More effective regulations of lending institutions and breaking up of lending institutions considered too big too fail.
9. Improve education system
10. Simplify tax system
11. Restore constitutional safeguards and reduce Presidential powers as provided for in our Constitution.
12. Reduce aid to farmers and corporations
13. Single payer national health care insurance system
14. Legalize marijuana
15. Reduce outlandish corporate compensation through tax system
16. Restore gold standard
17. Require all corporate employees including top management to participate in the same retirement and health care systems and forbid supplementary system for any employees.

And last but not least, J.T. just isn’t ready to see the disco days die:

Long live the Bee Gees!

Thanks again to all of those who wrote in. For those of you who haven’t responded yet, do ou agree with what the other readers said or do you see the world differently?