#Letters to the Editor — July 18, 2021

Toppling Lee
Is taking down the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee going to make the lives of the people of Charl­ottesville, Va., better (“Robert E. ‘Lee’ving,” July 11)?

The old expression of philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” sort of sums up the nonsense of the “cancel culture” that is sweeping the country.

Over the years, we have changed our thoughts and actions for the better, but our past is for real, good or bad.

A statue is an inanimate object that should be used as an educational medium for promoting good deeds. They should not be taken down because of irrational sensitivity.

Chuck Lehmann
Delray Beach, Fla.

Dignity in death
It’s wrong to equate other nations’ euthanasia laws with US medical-aid-in-dying laws, which strictly limit this gentle dying option to mentally capable, terminally ill adults (“Unethical Spread of Assisted Suicide,” Charles Camosy, Post­Opinion, July 14).

California is advancing legislation to shorten the waiting period before obtaining aid-in-dying medication from 15 days to 48 hours because a Kaiser Permanente study showed that 21 percent of eligible patients died during the 15-day waiting period or were too ill to proceed, causing needless suffering.

Medical aid in dying has been authorized in Washington, DC, and 10 states, starting with Oregon’s 1997 Death with Dignity Act, with no documented cases of misuse.

Finally, as a physician living with multiple sclerosis and colon cancer, I can readily imagine that I will face an uncontrollably painful death. I pray that my fundamental humanity will be respected, and that I will be able to receive care that will best meet my needs.

That’s why I urge New York lawmakers to pass the Medical Aid in Dying Act.

Mary Applegate
Delmar

Carjacking tragedy
Another sure sign New York City is finished (“4 bullets to the head — & he’s alive,” July 15).

A guy is driving his car, minding his own business, when he is shot four times in the head, dumped onto the street and robbed of his vehicle.

The response by Gov. Cuomo and the rest of the progressive slobs to this depravity will be to blame the gun manufacturers or hire more social workers. But I must admit, I do feel safer knowing that former President Donald Trump’s bookkeeper has been collared.

Jake McNicholas
Whitestone

School-equity plan
The Post editorial “Poison in the Schools” (July 12) sends a mixed message that doesn’t distinguish the Education Equity Action Plan our Black, Latino and Asian Caucus successfully championed in this year’s budget from your critique of Critical Race Theory, and effectively conflates the two.

Although it implicitly but nonetheless accurately recognizes the plan’s goal of encouraging student learning about the African diaspora and contributions of black Americans to American history, that merit is undercut by your expressed concern about how Department of Education will spend the initiative’s $10 million, given past practices under former Chancellor Richard Carranza.

Our caucus and its partners are committed to upholding the highest educational standards in the development of an inclusive curriculum that serves to both empower and uplift students of all backgrounds, and, in accordance with the state Board of Regents, seek to ensure, “that all groups are included in the telling of the American story.”

Brandon Clarke
New York City Council Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus
Manhattan

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