To the Editor:
Re “Public Officials Are Living in Fear as Threats Mount” (front page, Oct. 11):
Your investigation describes more than a security problem. When threats force elected officials to alter their family lives, spend millions on protection or leave public service, intimidation begins to weaken democratic institutions themselves.
Fear is a hallmark of authoritarian rule, but a democracy can also be eroded when threats make people afraid to speak, serve or disagree. The danger extends beyond politicians to election workers, journalists, educators, public servants and ordinary citizens who may decide that silence is safer than participation.
Those insulated by wealth, influence or powerful employers may feel less exposed. They should not mistake their relative security for the health of the country. A society is not free simply because some people can live comfortably; it is free when citizens can express dissent without intimidation and public officials can perform their duties without fearing for their families.
Political threats must be condemned regardless of the target’s party or ideology. Protecting those who serve the public is not a partisan cause. It is a defense of democracy itself.
Nageswara R. Madamanchi Ann Arbor, Mich.
To the Editor:
Perhaps the most chilling words a parent could hear when seeking help from a former friend concerning a threat of violence aimed at her son: “Your fault, you deserve it.”
It was the president of the United States who gave that response, to former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. It says so much about where we are as a nation that we have elected this selfishly cruel, dangerous person president, twice.
Stephen F. Gladstone Shaker Heights, Ohio
To the Editor:
If it wasn’t already evident, it is now: This country’s moral decay is complete. It’s difficult to imagine how we will ever restore the standards of decency that all but the very young in America grew up with.
Pete Cassel Alameda, Calif.
To the Editor:
Re “After Threats, Arizona Lawmaker Asks, ‘Is It Really Worth It?’” (news article, Oct. 13):
I wish your article had more clearly assigned responsibility for the increase in political violence. The current climate of fear in which even low-level elected officials now live is the fault of every Republican who let Donald Trump off the hook for leading an insurrection after he lost the 2020 election.
Those who were (and still are) too cowardly to stand up to Mr. Trump need to realize the widespread and long-term damage they have done to our country.
Pamela J. Griffith Brooklyn
An Echo of 1938
To the Editor:
I will turn 99 on Jan. 5, and I remember World War II as though it happened yesterday. President Trump’s demand that Ukraine stop attacking Russian oil refineries and his call for President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to leave office trouble me deeply.
I remember the photograph of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of Britain returning from Munich in September 1938, holding up an agreement he had signed with Hitler. Chamberlain declared, “I believe it is peace for our time.” Hitler had promised not to make further territorial demands. Six months later, German troops occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia.
The lesson I learned was this: Giving an aggressor what he demands does not produce peace. It can only encourage him to demand more. Mr. Trump has criticized Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries and demanded that they stop, saying they are causing a “big shortage” of diesel.
Lowering fuel prices is important, but the principle that an aggressor, in this case Russia, should not be rewarded for aggression is more important.
I remember where appeasement led the first time. I hope we have not forgotten.
Arnie Moskowitz Sarasota, Fla.
The Human Role in A.I.
To the Editor:
I am 80 and a professor emeritus in psychology who also earned his living as a software developer. I have struggled mightily to get any of the large language models to stop pretending to be a conscious person.
It’s impressive to see the degree to which the bots resist dropping this pretense when instructed to do so. There are quite serious moral and psychological consequences of this choice. It’s a human problem: the humans who are pulling the strings in A.I.’s development.
Jonathan Mack South Newfane, Vt.
The post Fear Itself: What Has America Come To? appeared first on New York Times.
