Regarding the Sept. 9 online roundup, “‘I felt so small’: Five writers on the best national parks”:
Last month, I traveled to Big Bend National Park to see firsthand what was happening along the border. What I saw was difficult to accept. Land that had been largely untouched was being disturbed by construction. The park shares 118 miles of border with Mexico, but the landscape does not feel like a conventional border at all.
After visiting the park, I met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and told him directly: I am frustrated with how we got here. Construction is on pause for now, but the federal government should have talked to the people who live in Big Bend before construction even began.
But what should border security look like in a place like Big Bend? The answer should begin with recognizing that not every mile of the nearly 2,000-mile southern border is the same. That does not mean abandoning border security. West Texans understand the need for a secure border better than most. They welcome Border Patrol agents and support the people who do difficult and dangerous work in some of the most isolated terrain in America, but securing a remote border does not require turning the landscape into a construction zone.
Technology can help agents monitor remote stretches of border without permanently altering every acre in between. Existing roads and infrastructure can be used where appropriate rather than cutting through undisturbed land.
I hope that one day my daughter will be able to experience the same wild and beautiful Big Bend that has meant so much to me and to so many people from around the world. That is worth protecting.
César J. Blanco, Austin
The writer represents the 29th District in the Texas Senate.
These terminal patients also deserve a choice
Steven Petrow’s Sept. 7 Health column, “Learning to accept my sister’s choice,” was thoughtful and information-packed.
I’m glad that his sister was able to have a dignified death that was less painful with the medical assistance that Petrow describes. He and his family, while grief-stricken, had to be relieved that she was allowed autonomy.
Unfortunately, those with dementia, and a few other medical conditions, are not given the same opportunities for a peaceful and dignified death. This is because under current law in the states that allow medically assisted death, medical professionals must be able to reasonably state that a person requesting assisted death is likely to die within six months. Dementia by itself does not meet that requirement. And as the article noted, the states that allow medical aid in dying share pretty much the same criteria for eligibility and safeguards that protect people who choose this option.
I hope that legislatures and governors will address this issue and give other groups of sufferers an option that they, too, deserve.
Eugene M. Hyman, Los Altos, California
Close the dementia data gap
As the Sept. 4 online Health article “The dementia that often strikes in midlife — and the signs people miss” described, much about frontotemporal dementia (FTD) remains poorly understood: Its symptoms can look more psychiatric than neurological, for example, and researchers are still investigating possible risk factors beyond genetics, including environmental factors, lifestyle and head trauma.
One point stood out: Although 60 percent of people diagnosed with FTD are between 45 and 64, experts believe the estimated number of Americans living with the disease is a significant undercount. Thus, the challenge with FTD is not only that doctors and researchers are missing the signs and contributors, but also that they are missing the data.
California’s Neurodegenerative Disease Registry, for example, tracks diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s — but not FTD. The nonprofit End Chronic Disease, which I run, co-sponsored S.B. 1047, which just passed the state legislature and now sits on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) desk. The bill would add FTD diagnoses to the registry, giving researchers and public health officials a clearer picture of who is affected and where. This is information that could be critical to research into causes, risk factors and possibly even prevention.
This matters to everyone, not just to Californians. As the article pointed out, researchers still lack the population-level information needed to understand FTD. Last year, New York became the first state to establish a statewide FTD registry. California now has an opportunity to help close the data gap — and set an example for other states to follow.
Kelly McKenna, New York
The writer is CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit End Chronic Disease.
Salty over chips
I try to limit my salt intake (blood pressure and all that), so I was drawn to the Sept. 9 Food article “A hunt for chips worth their salt,” in which a panel of judges rated several brands of potato chips. I thought their ratings were fair enough, but I was disappointed at the underlying assumption that potato chips require salt.
Over the past several years, I have switched to salt-free potato chips. (My current favorite is Kettle Brand, but Utz is fine, too.) An additional advantage is that these chips actually taste like potatoes and not salt.
Like the excellent practice of Post food critics reporting on restaurants’ noise levels in addition to food, this article would have been improved by also reporting the sodium levels of the various brands.
Vic Baum, Charlottesville
Letter submissions
Send letters to [email protected].
Submissions must be exclusive to The Post and should include the writer’s address and day and evening telephone numbers. Letters are subject to editing and abridgment. Please do not send letters as attachments. Because of the volume of material we receive, we are unable to acknowledge submissions; writers whose letters are under consideration for publication will be contacted.
The post Border security doesn’t have to destroy Big Bend appeared first on Washington Post.
