Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com
...............................................................................................
Rabbit-hole fears
Re The President-Elect, The Sum Of All Fears (editorial, Jan. 12): What is most astounding to me about the the history of American society and politics is that what began with the drafting of a brilliant constitutional document and the election of intelligent leaders such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Abraham Lincoln has now, almost 250 years later, brought us to the election of Donald Trump.
At the beginning, there was admiration and respect. Now there is disbelief, mockery and fear. Is this the mark of a society that is evolving – or devolving?
Ray Arnold, Richmond, B.C.
.............................................
It does appear clear that we in the United States have gone down a yuge, yawning rabbit hole with the election of Donald Trump. But given our horrendously divided citizenry, it might be more accurate to say we are going down at least two separate (though not equal) rabbit holes. Holes that contain very separate realities.
Mary Stanik, Phoenix
.............................................
While Donald Trump has offered plenty of fodder for his political enemies, your editorial has the feel of attempting to strangle the baby in the crib. The man has not yet even taken office; he presented a credible legal plan to step aside from his private holdings while he is president; he had to fend off belligerent behaviour from a reporter that would not be tolerated in the White House briefing room. Yes, he did display his trademark petulance with the CNN reporter, but keep in mind that one of CNN's senior on-air stars (and former Democratic Party operative) was proven to have fed the Clinton campaign planned questions in advance of one of the presidential debates.
Paul Ranalli, Toronto
.............................................
It seems we are watching the U.S. government slowly implode. Were this happening in another country, we might anticipate a coup d'état. But there cannot be a coup in Washington, as the old story goes, because there's no U.S. embassy there.
Frank Rooney, Toronto
.............................................
Memory of origin
Re Admitting To Mistakes, Boyden Backs Down As Indigenous Spokesperson (Jan. 12): This is a story for Joseph Boyden, and it's for anyone else with a deep memory of origin, too.
It was 1992, I believe. I was attending a major international aboriginal conference in Ottawa, and ended up in a circle/workshop of aboriginal elders from many countries where, for most of the session, I felt very out of place until, surprisingly, I was offered the sacred pipe by a Hopi shaman. Another person in the circle that day was Ovide Mercredi, then national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, a person I admired and was anxious to meet. When the circle disbanded, I told him how honoured I had been, as a non-aboriginal, to have been offered the pipe. He put his hand on my shoulder, smiled and replied, "We are all aboriginals my friend, it's just that some of us have forgotten."
I never forgot his words, because there has always been something in me reminding me that I am, indeed, aboriginal.
David Weale, Charlottetown
.............................................
Thanks to Andrew Cohen (PM's Friendship With The Aga Khan Should Be Celebrated, Jan. 12) for explaining why Canada should welcome a close relationship with the Aga Khan, not least because of his impressive contributions to development in Africa and Asia.
But Mr. Cohen makes a more important point about how Canadians "remain strangely insecure. We are accountants of envy, and the saga of the Aga Khan and Justin Trudeau is the latest entry in our bulging national ledger." Another entry is the almost gleeful take-down of Joseph Boyden for every misdemeanour imaginable, except of course the one thing that makes him a tall poppy: his unassailable talent as a writer.
Ian Smillie, Ottawa
.............................................
Pilots, booze, sleep
Re Blame Unions For Our Drunk Pilot Problem (Jan. 10): The accusation that labour is responsible for intoxicated pilots is shortsighted and misleading. A recent incident involving a Sunwing Airlines pilot is not an example of a "problem," but an example of how the complex system of multilayered checks and balances that are a key component of the aviation safety structure worked successfully. In this instance, the pilot was reported by the first officer, per standard protocol, and removed from the flight before he jeopardized safety.
North America has one of the safest aviation systems in the world. Our entire structure thrives on redundancy and works to eliminate potential risks before they occur. Canada's aviation unions have been vital in continuing to enhance safety in multiple ways, including pilot health.
Dan Adamus, Canada Board president, Air Line Pilots Association International
.............................................
Fatigue has the same effects as alcohol impairment: The image of pilots on Atlantic crossings "hanging from the straps" and struggling to stay awake as the sun rises over the Outer Hebrides is the one that scares the real aviation experts. Let's skip the witch hunt and recognize the true bogeyman in aviation: fatigue.
Why is Canada still ranked at the bottom globally in regard to flight and duty time limitations?
It's time we woke up.
Kris Elliott, airline pilot, Squamish, B.C.
.............................................
Health-care bloat
Re The Real Health-Care Change We Need? Strong Leadership (Jan. 10): While Ontario's doctors agree the leadership of our health-care system could and should be strengthened (it would also be improved by meaningfully partnering with physicians), there is evidence that suggests the system's bureaucracy is inflated.
Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has repeatedly decreased its spending for physicians and hospitals, and other vital parts of our system, insisting care providers do more with less. It should heed its own advice: Between 2011 and 2014, according to the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's spending on administration grew by more than 20 per cent.
Ontario's doctors have grave concerns that the provincial government's health-care restructuring legislation, Bill 41, which is now law, will further increase an already lethargic and bloated government bureaucracy at the expense of patient care.
Virginia Walley, president, Ontario Medical Association
.............................................
So happy to hear that the CEO of Alberta Health Services is pleased with health care in Alberta (Health-Care Models, letters, Jan. 12). My guess is that she obviously has not needed health care for herself recently?
Darlene Plastow, Calgary
.............................................
Hmm …
Not-so-plain Jane Fonda, after a tour of Alberta's oil sands, says "we shouldn't be fooled by good-looking liberals" (Fonda Says PM 'Betrayed' Climate Stand – Jan. 12).
Well, that applies not only to her but to Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Redford as well. Luckily for environmentalists, there's still Neil Young.
Rudy Buller, Toronto