Editorials

The following editorial appeared in The New York Sun on Sept. 21, 1897 in response to a Letter To The Editor by 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon. Dear Editor, I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say that there is no Santa Claus. Papa says...

In these times of distrust of public officials, attacks on police and hate mongering, it’s reassuring to know that the dedication of individual citizens to their communities is still recognized and honored. It means that legacies of good and selfless work can live on as examples to all and all who will follow.

Amidst current discussions and controversy about the merits and challenges of the new “Core Curriculum,” a less dramatic yet equally important issue is the trend away from teaching “cursive” in our schools. As a retired teacher and current voter, genealogist and sports fan, I think the loss of the ability to write (and therefore read) cursive is another step in the increasing “depersonalization” of our culture with potentially disastrous consequences. I was further reminded of this as I went to vote by mail, where, on the envelope, you are told emphatically to sign your name (not print it) for your vote to count.

Don Christopher wears a crisp, dark shirt embroidered with a 60-year medallion over the pocket. It commemorates a proud achievement for a business, but dresses a walking portal to history with a encyclopedic recall, a window into an how the global agricultural revolution underwent transformation during the second half of the 20th Century, and in Don’s case, transformed a community.