Critical mass
In his commentary An Absence Of Critical Thinking (Aug. 21), Allan Levine is critical of groups that oppose local community mosque projects, including the proposed Cordoba House near Ground Zero in New York, calling their behaviour "contrary to the tenets of critical thinking." He quotes educational psychologist Linda Elder earlier in his piece: "People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably and empathetically. They work diligently to develop ... confidence in reason."
I cannot help but see the irony in this, for where is critical thinking and rationality when it comes to any religion, Islam or otherwise?
Gordon Launcelott, Halifax
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Allan Levine's case for the value of "critical thinking" shows what it contends. It is persuasive because it is "fair-minded" and "self-disciplined," because it is grounded and broadly aware. Educational psychology converges with reading on an international scope and with experience in the classroom. Levine also shows what the alternative, uncritical thinking, can create. Mr. Levine's area of study, history, is not alone in the humanities and social sciences in needing, increasingly, to argue for the importance and value of what its best practitioners instill.
Kenneth Mills, professor and chair, Department of History, University of Toronto
Parenting 101
It is certainly a sad state of affairs when we are faced with articles highlighting the benefits of using a wardrobe or image consultant for children (Dreading Back-To-School Shopping With Junior? Let A Pro Handle It - Life, Aug. 21). If the hardest part of your day is buying back-to-school clothes for your child that you can both agree on, consider yourself fortunate. As a mother of three girls, I feel embarrassed for anyone who honestly believes that enlisting the services of a wardrobe consultant is "building [a child's]self-esteem."
What will be left for parents to do if we outsource every basic parenting function? Seriously, if you cannot do something as fundamental as outfitting your children for school, maybe you shouldn't have any.
Stephanie Donovan, Toronto
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Bring back the school uniform, I say, to reduce competitiveness between teens, and to save time and money for parents.
Judith Henderson, Duncan, B.C.
A Canadian in Iran
It is horrifying that Hamid Ghassemi-Shall has been unjustly held in Iran for over two years, under a death sentence, no less. To compound the sickening situation, our Canadian government has barely reacted (Please Don't Abandon A Canadian In Need - Aug. 21).
I have spoken to several MPs and officials over the past few months, only to be politely told that they can do little to help because Mr. Ghassemi-Shall is a Canadian citizen with dual citizenship. Should that free them of the obligation to demand Iranian officials treat this Canadian fairly and openly? Even if he were not Canadian, he is the innocent pawn of a regime with an agenda against the Western world.
Frances Moore, Aurora, Ont.
People power
Tom Flanagan, in his article about the long-form census (Should We Just Shut Up And Do What Statistics Canada Tells Us? - Aug. 20), points to the link between the words "statistics" and "state," before suggesting that it is inappropriate for the state to gather detailed information about its citizens. What he fails to mention, however, is that in a democracy " L'état, c'est nous."
Elizabeth Marsland, Qualicum Beach, B.C.
Lessons from the past
I applaud Rod Mickleburgh for his article Let's Stop The Posturing About Prospective Refugees (Aug. 20). Let us not forget the decision of former prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King when the MS St. Louis asked permission to dock in the Canadian safe harbour of Halifax in 1939. The boat was carrying more than 900 German Jews trying to escape persecution by the Nazis. Mackenzie King rejected the request and the boat returned to Europe. Many on the boat eventually perished during the Second World War.
I think of all the lost potential. Those people, and their children and grandchildren, would likely be contributing in significant ways as Canadians. Who knows, but perhaps some of them would have discovered a cure for serious medical conditions. Maybe they would have harnessed alternate forms of energy or new food sources to save our planet, or been brilliant artists, architects, engineers, scientists, musicians, actors and professors - or even become prime minister.
Accept the Tamil refugees. Encourage Canadians to open their hearts and their minds. We cannot even fathom those brave Tamils' futures right now.
Diana Zoe Coop, North Vancouver, B.C.
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Goran Simic's Letter To A Fellow Refugee (Focus - Aug. 21) was a poignant and instructive message to all Canadians about remembering our pasts as we think about new Canadians arriving on our shores. I've just returned from a trip to the Rockies, where I saw the memorial to "enemy aliens" at the Castle Mountain Internment Camp. Most of the people interned during the First World War were Ukrainians who were classified as enemies because they had come from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
They were innocent immigrants who were struggling for peace and social justice in Canada. They paid dearly under extremely harsh working conditions - building mountain highways and a golf course. They stayed in Canada after the internment and helped to build cities and towns, and farm the land. They and their offspring have contributed much to Canada over the succeeding generations.
I think of them as we decide whether to open our doors to those who have just arrived from Sri Lanka. We can follow due process, but let's make sure it is a just process that will not discriminate and shut the doors to those who have a right to be here and can contribute much to Canadian society.
Don Kossick, Saskatoon
Desperate times and measures
Pakistan is a moral test case for the world. The catastrophic floods in Pakistan have claimed at least 1,500 lives and affected 20 million people (Another 150,000 Displaced As Floods Engulf More Pakistani Towns - online edition, Aug. 21). It is very important that Pakistan's immediate and long-term needs be a priority for the international community. It is indeed gratifying that Islamabad would take India's offer of $5-million and not let rivalry stand in the way of helping its citizens in flood-ravaged regions.
Waris Shere, Winnipeg
Russian roulette
My apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning as I direct a thought to the Ontario government and to governments at all levels these days: "How are you so gutless? Let me count the ways."
As the Ontario government prepares to legalize online gaming - leaving out the "bling," as John Sainsbury so aptly says - it shows that it is prepared to prey on the weakest of our citizens, the up to 17 per cent of those addicted to online gambling already, with more to come (What If Dostoyevsky Had Been An Online Gambler? - Aug. 21).
Why doesn't this government have the guts to tell its citizens that in order to have services for everyone and a good infrastructure, taxes are required from everyone who is able to pay? Why does it not have the guts to stand up to the illegal online gambling industry and shut it down instead of caving to the lowest common denominator of human nature?
Murray D. Lumley, Toronto
A Northern light
As a native Sudburian transplanted to Southern Ontario several years ago for graduate school, I was ecstatic to finally read a piece about my hometown that does not rely on hearsay and the same old platitudes. However, I take exception to the assertion that Laurentian University has "served largely as a default option for kids who grew up in Sudbury or parts north" (Why The Big Nickel's A Magnet For Global Education - Aug. 21).
I would submit, rather, that Laurentian's students have long recognized it as an excellent centre of education and research - a place where the kind of crucial one-on-one interaction with professors that is fast disappearing in other postsecondary institutions across Canada remains one of its greatest features and top priorities.
Vanessa Rukholm, Guelph, Ont.
Insects and peacocks
Christie Blatchford's tongue must have been firmly wedged in her cheek when she wrote her column in faint praise of Toronto mayoralty candidate Rob Ford (Built Ford Tough: The Gadfly That Torontonians Need - Aug. 21). I've lived in Toronto since 1967 and have observed the voting habits of Torontonians in many municipal elections over many years. As voters, we ricochet in our choice of mayor from the brilliant to the lame to the corrupt to the ineffectual to the downright kooky, frequently back to back.
If we add Mr. Ford to the roster of Mayors We Should Never Have Elected, we will be laughed off the planet. The city is infested with bedbugs. We don't need gadflies, too.
Eya Donald Greenland, Toronto
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In spite of her warning, my head didn't explode while reading Christie Blatchford's column. But her article did make me reflect. Perhaps Toronto will get the mayor it deserves: someone light on substance and stuffed with self-importance.
Marshall Webb, Toronto