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Opinion

Letters to the Editor — Tyler Adams, the education of boys, Gen Zers, Taylor Swift

Readers praise the U.S. men’s soccer captain; disagree with the op-ed about how to educate boys; urge Gen Zers to keep voting; and point out there are more important issues to tackle than the Taylor Swift ticket debacle.

A classy man

Re: “A double win for U.S. at World Cup — In press conference before win over Iran, U.S. team captain delivers a lesson about freedom, democracy,” Wednesday editorial.

Tyler Adams, the captain of the U.S. soccer team, is a very classy American young man. We should all take a lesson from him as to how to handle people’s prejudices and lack of understanding, or unwillingness to understand differences and accept these differences respectfully. Thank you, Tyler.

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Jane Manning, Pleasanton, Calif.

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Boy, is thesis off base

Re: “Are our schools failing boys? Imbalances in incarceration, murder and suicide in young men suggest they are,” by Patrick B. Whalen, Tuesday Opinion.

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Whalen, an assistant to the president of the conservative Hillsdale College, uses research from the conservative American Enterprise Institute to paint a grim picture of boys slogging through our educational system. The accompanying artwork of what looks like a depressed male skeleton adds to his thesis that schools ask boys to believe they do not have a masculine nature, and this is killing them.

He says “a boy’s education is preparation for manhood.” A good man should have the habits of “strength, independence, fidelity, responsibility and compassion.” Women can possess these habits, too, he begrudgingly concedes. “Possessing them doesn’t mean you’re not a good woman, but lacking them does mean you’re not a good man.”

In my opinion, whenever you start educating children with expectations that boys should be taught one set of “manly” habits, and girls should have others, you are starting to close the heavy door of judgment and self-doubt on students who don’t fit Whalen’s simplistic and, I believe, misogynistic view of educating our children.

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Keith E. Johnson, Dallas/White Rock

Look to parents, not schools

Though giving us many poignant ideas as food for thought, I think the author of the column missed a very basic principle. For the first six years of his life, parents have the boy for 24 hours. When he starts school, they still have him for 16 hours, and yet the school is supposed to instill in him how to be a man? To put it bluntly, that is passing the buck!

I never hoped to be like my teacher or principal, but I did hope on many occasions to be at least half the man/father/uncle/brother/husband my daddy was! Note that I used the term “daddy.” I am now 81 years of age, and I think of the person who sired me in an endearing way.

He prayed with me, taught me how to treat other people, played games with me, had talking sessions with me and was a glaring example of how you should treat your wife.

In my opinion, the problem with most children (boy or girl) is the American family has fallen apart. The end result is millions of children have parents who don’t know how to parent!

Ernest L. Morrison, Frisco

Starve former president’s campaign

What is it that a fire must have in order to survive? Oxygen. I am begging that this newspaper and the news media at large deny the former president the oxygen that will feed him and feed his “campaign.”

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Treat him as what he is — a been-there-done-that loser. He failed his party, he failed to uphold his oath of office, he failed the presidency and, most important, he failed his country. Along the way he failed all of us. Deny him the oxygen he needs for his movement to survive. Please.

Sharon Lathrop, Richardson

Gen Z voters will save us

Re: “Musings on the midterm elections,” Sunday Letters.

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Several letters to the editor have indicated how democracy was saved for now. But let’s give real credit to women and the Gen Zers who came out in record numbers and who will only continue to grow in numbers. Women came out mostly because of the abortion ruling, but the Gen Zers came out because voting rights are being suppressed, women’s rights, the gun issue, climate change and other issues that are important to them. They are a force to be reckoned with.

This is a country for Gen Zers to make better, because most of us will be gone and they will surely want a country that is better than this. I also believe they want to protect democracy.

So do not underestimate these young people. Some Republicans even suggested raising the voting age to 21. Really? Yet, they say a 10-year-old must carry a baby!

Gen Zers keep it up and continue to save us!

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Cindy Gumpert, Southeast Dallas

Pot calls the kettle black

I was expecting to read some quality, thought-provoking letters. But no, once again just letter after letter criticizing Republicans. It seems to me that the main thought was that the Republicans might be investigating Hunter Biden and, of course, his father and their possible ties to China when they should be working on the problems we face.

This whining coming from the folks and party who spent four years investigating President Donald Trump over and over again and trying to obstruct anything the Republicans proposed. What we have here is a real case of the pot calling the kettle black.

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Donald Reichert, Garland

Of all the woes to fix, tickets?

Here we are just weeks past the midterms and we hear of a new “investigation” to be undertaken in Washington, D.C., by the new set of politicians. Russia? COVID-19? Inflation? Lower health care costs or jobs and/or training for the needy? No! The item of the day last week was the debacle of Taylor Swift and Ticketmaster. Please, Washington, get your priorities straight.

Marc W. Morisseau, Heath

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