Matthew Comments

(In The New Yorker, 2/4/08, p5) Jeanne Guillemin, a senior fellor in MIT's Security Studies Program, wrote an excellent letter to the editor regarding how Americans talk about casualties. I'm unable to find a link to a full-text example, but here is an excerpt: "In wars since 1945, American combat mortality figures have sharply declined, while the exclusivity of the American claim on memorialization has intensified, as if U.S. soldiers were the only casualties in Korea or Vietnam or, more recently, Iraq, and the deaths of many thousands of civilians killed in those distant conflicts merited no acknowledgment and carried no meaning. Whose deaths matter and whose do not always tells a great deal about American politics and culture."

There are poor people who take a “free ride” on the welfare system. They receive food stamps, health care, unemployment, and other benefits. I’ve been surprised at the emotion generated when these people come up in conversation: voices rise, foreheads wrinkle, and fingers wag. Why does this elicit such anger? Many psychologists think human behavior distinctly accommodates small groups. In groups, people divide tasks and share benefits. Even if you get more out of one transaction, I may get more out of the next one. A stronger group helps everyone survive—especially when threatened by other groups. Today, these “in-group” behaviors are inherent. People outside our group don’t get the benefit of the doubt. Our favor to them may never be returned. Their group is a threat to ours. We are miserly with our trust and quick to punish. It’s not just a rational decision we make. It’s a well-worn groove in our emotional path that we naturally slide down. There are many examples in life. Members o...

It’s time for a statewide ban on cigarette smoking in bars and restaurants. Our American society doesn’t let restaurants sell food that causes cancer, and they shouldn’t serve air that causes cancer either. If a private business had unlimited rights, we could have strip clubs next to schools and factories in residential neighborhoods. Thank goodness most people support some rules that help make our community safe and livable. I want to support people’s right to do as they please, but there are limits. You can chew gum all you want, but when I find it on my clothes and in my hair, we have a problem. Cigarette smoke ends up on everyone in the room, in their hair and on their clothes, and imaginary lines dividing a room into sections don’t stop it. If our clothes are disgusting after leaving a smoke-filled establishment, imagine our lungs. Clothes are passive receptacles of air quality, while lungs pump air in and out continually. It bothers me that our children are exposed to that. It bo...