The development of media literacy, as described by Columbia College professors Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin and Yonty Friesem in their op-ed earlier this month, is so important you should re-run this piece every month.
If democracy is going to continue in this country, there must be an electorate that, even if not well-informed, is at least not significantly misinformed. The authors are right that as long as there is money to be made from miring people in whatever they want to hear — regardless of its connection to reality, in all its messiness — the viability of democracy is at risk.
The only solution is media literacy that is sufficiently ingrained to resist the temptation. The truth does not, by itself, set you free. But if you don’t start there, you can’t sustain freedom.
Mike Koetting, West Loop
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Nursing home visitors always bring Valentine’s Day
I volunteer on a daily basis in a nursing home where Valentine’s Day seems to occur way more than once a year.
When our residents see a loved one getting off the elevator, their eyes light up with joy and anticipation. A most touching scene is when a child holds the hand of a resident who cannot communicate. Or a former neighbor walks with his friend up and down the corridor while chatting and chuckling about who-knows-what.
Every day is Valentine’s Day when 85-year-old Lucille sees her husband and son standing in the doorway of her room. It’s Valentine’s Day for Lester as his daughter drops in with his laundry and folds each item just so in his chest of drawers. And it’s definitely Valentine’s Day when, on a nice day, Tom rolls his mother outside in her wheelchair to his car, opens the trunk to make a table for tea and cupcakes, and blasts Irish music from the radio.
Yes, Feb. 14 is the official day for acknowledging our loved ones, but blessed are those whose calendars always seem to have 365 Valentine’s Days.
Kathleen Melia, Niles
VP Musk?
Who actually got elected last November? Up until November, it was Donald Trump and JD Vance. Not that I’m in favor of Mr. Vance, but ever since Inauguration Day, all you hear about is Trump and Elon Musk. I’m not a fan of any of them, but if Vance is supposed to be second in command, why isn’t he more in the news instead of Musk? Is Vance VPINO — vice president in name only?
Patricia Murphy, Aurora
Public transit for public leaders
Every supervisor and administrator who works for the city, including City Council members and the mayor, should be required to use the CTA for their daily trips to and from the office. Doing so would greatly increase safety for all riders.
Muriel Balla, Kenwood
(Plastic) straw man
So sorry, Donald Trump. Poor baby is too rough and tumble to use paper straws. Perhaps someone could have taught him how to drink liquid from a glass, or even a can without needing a straw. But sure, that’s was clearly not feasible, so he is now forcing the government to exclusively move to back to using plastic straws and continue the destruction of our ecosystem. At our current rate, there won’t be many generations of people left to worry about.
Susan Adams, Lake View