‘Island in crisis’

April 28 This issue is chock full of articles about things close to our hearts. Thank you to Marvin Olasky for a splendid article about Puerto Rico, and for highlighting what the citizens of this island are capable of doing and willing to accomplish. —Barbara & Lawrence Trumbower / Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico

Any money poured into Puerto Rico should have very tight accountability; who knows where the billions of dollars already sent there have gone? Puerto Rico is a snapshot of what the mainland will look like if liberals continue their progressive agenda. —Wayne Kaminski / Cuero, Texas

‘Half a post office’

April 28 Cutting the U.S. Postal Service is a terrible, terrible idea! The government expects the post office to compete as a business, but it is a service like roads and national parks. Instead, let’s quit giving billions to foreign governments and paying people to rebuild in flood zones. —Walter R. Rosenbaum / Cunningham, Kan.

Great idea. We have often commented on the Postal Service as we collect our third-class, never-desired mail, day by day. What a monumental waste! —William Swenson / St. Louis, Mo.

I can see it now: USPS cuts service in half but retains all the same infrastructure, support staff, and expenses. We’d get even lousier service for the same cost. —Vince Kluth on wng.org

Many of us accept UPS and FedEx rate increases as part of life, but when postage increases by a few pennies, it’s a big deal. Saving the USPS may mean privatizing it. —Peter Dams on wng.org

Joel Belz offers great insights, but email via the internet is not available for “virtually no cost.” I pay over $700 per year for internet access to a monopoly that has raised rates twice in the past 13 months. —Bill Burnham / Hickory, N.C.

‘Institutional power’

April 28 As a fairly recent returnee to the United States after years of service primarily in West Africa, I can corroborate that much of Africa is becoming a “mostly owned” subsidiary of the People’s Republic of China. —Raymond Szarek / Newark, N.Y.

During my 14 years working in Angola I saw a deal that gave China an offshore oil lease in exchange for building infrastructure, but it left Angolans standing on the road watching Chinese laborers doing the work they should have been paid to do. It’s what happens in corrupt dictatorships. China is taking over Africa for its rich oil and mineral resources, but no one is paying attention. —Mark J. Anthony / Monument, Colo.

‘Armed with information’

April 28 This column about “data-opolies” brought to mind Neil Postman’s excellent book Amusing Ourselves to Death, in which he observed that in Orwell’s 1984 people are controlled by the things they hate, while in Huxley’s Brave New World people are controlled by the things they love. Welcome to today’s Brave New World. Those supplying us with the techno-toys have an interest in repressing public awareness of their sinister capabilities. —Paul Zierk / Blue Hill, Maine

Many people don’t see data-opolies as an existential threat to society, but I see the collection of personal data as a serious intrusion into an individual’s privacy and a threat to personal liberty. A data professional I know commented that he wonders whether we’re building another Tower of Babel. —Ron E. Tarlton / Marietta, Ga.

‘A listening ear’

April 28 To this insightful piece I would add that not just the Democratic Party forgot blue-collar workers; the Republican Party did too. Parties that prefer to hire strategists to manipulate the public rather than getting to know the public are vulnerable to surprise electoral defeats. —Daniel McPhearson on wng.org

‘The paralysis on Syria’

April 28 I share Mindy Belz’s compassion and concern. It looks like we really blew it on Syria. Whether we want it or not, we have an obligation to stand for good. We don’t have to be the world’s policeman, but neither can we stand idly by when people are slaughtered and cruelty runs rampant. —Jim Richardson / Oro Valley, Ariz.

‘A Quiet Place’

April 28 The premise of this film is not unlike the current climate of political correctness: If you make the wrong sound, the monsters will get you. —Rich Asper on wng.org

‘Badger State blues’

April 28 Your good article about a Democratic win in Wisconsin didn’t mention the miserable GOP campaign run by some millennial group in Madison. It was very disheartening. —Dawn Johnson / Milwaukee, Wis.

‘Through fire to forgiveness’

April 28 When I was a little girl, probably not much older than Kim Phuc Phan Thi when she suffered the napalm attack, I remember sitting in tears and staring at that picture. My heart bursts with joy to know God gave her beauty from ashes! Only our God could redeem such suffering! —Dawn Summers on wng.org

‘Regulatory orphans’

April 28 Thank you for your informative article regarding the growing orphan crisis, worsened by regulations and bureaucracy. Many in the millennial generation, often criticized as shallow and selfish, are answering the call to adoption and foster care. I couldn’t be prouder of these young couples. —Kristofer Sandlund / Zanesville, Ohio

‘Well-versed tunes’

April 28 Thanks for your article on the Christian parody band ApologetiX. I will add that the group covers not only recent songs but also oldies by Elvis, the Beatles, Chicago, and the Beach Boys. —Jim LaBarr / Cumming, Ga.

‘Bookmarks’

April 14 I read Becoming Hitler and The German War back-to-back after reading your reviews. The juxtaposition of those two books brings so much understanding to the question, “How could such an atrocity happen?” —Russ Frisinger / Divide, Colo.

Corrections

G’s daughter called the police after becoming frightened of her father’s yelling (“Hidden violence,” May 26, p. 37).

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg apologized for not adequately protecting users’ privacy after political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica improperly gathered user data (“Armed with information,” April 28, p. 14).

More letters, emails, and comments we didn’t have space for in the print edition:

‘The paralysis on Syria’

April 28 I appreciated Mindy Belz’s bold stance on the terrible situation in Syria, especially her observation that our wealth and military power give us a “God-given advantage” in our ability to take “calculated risks.” We cannot ignore Syria’s seven years of war and atrocities. With our amazing military, we should have the courage to bring stability to this region. —Dick Robinson / Roswell, Ga.

‘A Quiet Place’

April 28 This is among the most Christ-honoring secular films I’ve seen lately. It portrays a family praying together, a wife who clearly respects her husband, a husband who protects his wife and family in impossible circumstances, and life-affirming demonstrations of sacrificial love. —Alexandra Wenig on wng.org

‘Foreign missions at home’

April 14 This article reminds me of what God is doing in our community. Our tiny Christian high school has students from Korea, Ethiopia, Italy, Vietnam, and Thailand. Each month, to give the dorm parents time off, the boarding students spend a weekend in community homes, where they help brand cows, ride in big farm equipment, do construction, learn to drive, and hear about Jesus. It is a beautiful thing. —Alicia Olfert / Lustre, Mont.

‘Fast and easy cash’

March 31 I really enjoy your articles. They make me think about the world. Sometimes my mom gets mad at me because I’m reading them instead of doing my schoolwork. This article about web-based Ponzi schemes in Africa reminded me of the instinct to be lazy. Without God there is no reason to work hard, but He blesses us when we do. —Josiah Beggs / Hawkins, Texas