Russia’s New Onslaught Against Ukraine

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/10/opinion/letters/russia-ukraine-war.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Putin Says ‘Mass Strike’ on Ukraine Is Revenge for Bridge Attack” (nytimes.com, Oct. 10):

The knee-jerk reaction to these attacks — “strike back at the barbarian Russians” — must be held in check. Instead, now is the time for renewed pressure for a cease-fire.

In the age of nuclear weapons, all accepted modes of just war — self-defense, justice and punishment for wrongdoers, recovery of international borders; in essence, all notions of right and wrong — are irrelevant. It really doesn’t matter who was the aggressor, who the aggrieved, who committed crimes against civilians, who was merely acting in self-defense.

In an asymmetrical exchange of nuclear missiles in which hundreds of millions could die, it does not really matter who was right and who was wrong. No historians will survive to tell the story.

President Biden should publicly muse about alternatives and dispatch his diplomats immediately to Russia to give Vladimir Putin off ramps. An immediate cease-fire must occur, and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine must be pressured to agree.

No ideas should be off limits: Altering NATO, new elections for parts of the disputed areas, immunity for Mr. Putin and his military leaders, even inviting Russia to join NATO, and more, should be on the table.

Playing chicken with nuclear weapons until somebody swerves, or blinks, may have happened once, during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962; it may not happen again.

Mr. Putin is not Khrushchev, nor is Mr. Biden Kennedy; nor is “luck” to be counted on to occur again.

Kennedy made an effort to see things from the Soviet perspective — at least 20 million Soviet citizens lost in World War II, the threat of NATO expansion and Western missiles stationed in Turkey. That walking in a Russian’s shoes by Kennedy helped to de-escalate the Cuban crisis.

Mr. Biden needs to do the same, keeping in mind that America has done similar things and gotten away with them (that much of the world abhorred), at least in the view of Mr. Putin and many in Russia.

John E. ColbertArroyo Seco, N.M.

To the Editor:

Predictably, Russia (that is, Vladimir Putin) has responded to the humiliation and the military setback of the bombing of the strategic bridge to Crimea by launching terror attacks.

The attacks are retaliatory, but in no way improve Russia’s position on the battlefield, suggesting that Russia is unable to mount any effective response to Ukraine’s offensive. They also reveal that Mr. Putin is too impulsive to develop any sound military strategy.

And they show the world the barbarism that lies at the heart of the Russian state. And that, perhaps, is the key lesson we should remember when it comes to dealing with Russia.

Orin HollanderJamison, Pa.

To the Editor:

Re “Math Is the Great Secret,” by Alec Wilkinson (Sunday Opinion, Sept. 25):

When I was a boy, I had math phobia. Whenever I saw a x b = c, I froze. Over many decades, I tried to conquer my phobia twice. Despite getting grades of A or A- in mathematics (including algebra and calculus) and statistics, my phobia never went away.

Now, at 73, I am relearning basic math from the beginning. I now want to embrace the mystery of mathematics. My goal is not to get a good grade. My hope is to feel comfortable with the wisdom in math, just as I want to feel comfortable with the mystery of nature. Mr. Wilkinson’s guest essay shares the same emotions I now have.

James ChanPhiladelphia

To the Editor:

I am sure that Alec Wilkinson’s essay resonated with many readers who, like me, started out on the wrong foot studying an academic discipline that finds its way into every aspect of our lives.

As early as first grade, I found math to be monotonous. I failed to see any practical reason behind solving a seemingly repetitive stream of number exercises. I feared that I would never understand math.

That changed when I sought guidance from a math teacher, who simply said: “Math is all around you. All you must do is find it.”

This statement had a profound effect on how I viewed mathematics. The more I looked for math in my day-to-day life, the more those formerly meaningless abstract numbers came alive.

As Mr. Wilkinson notes, “Mathematics is a story that has been written for thousands of years.” Perhaps if the history of math were taught in elementary school alongside traditional math instruction, students would understand how math links us to every facet of the world — and they would have a lifetime ahead to use that knowledge.

Shantanu PatelAshburn, Va.The writer is a high school junior.

To the Editor:

I am a math professor at the University of Iowa. What is math? I finally decided that math is that which is true in any universe.

Victor CamilloIowa City

To the Editor:

Re “Spending on Children Surged During the Pandemic. It Didn’t Last” (Business, Oct. 4):

During the Covid-19 pandemic, investments in families — including the child tax credit and health care and nutrition expansions — kept nearly four million children in the United States out of poverty.

This more robust social safety net coincided with declines in child welfare reports and investigations. Widespread fears of increased harm to children never materialized, indicating that reduced involvement from child welfare systems didn’t make children less safe.

Dismantling the pandemic safety net will plunge at-risk families back into financial distress. We fear that child welfare involvement will return to prepandemic levels because poverty is often mistaken for neglect. This is especially true for Black and brown families, who are disproportionately targeted by the system.

Allowing pandemic spending programs to expire will cost thousands of children the anguish and trauma of being separated from parents whom a weakened social safety net failed to catch.

Michele CorteseNew YorkThe writer is the executive director of the Center for Family Representation.

To the Editor:

Re “G.O.P. Redoubles Efforts to Tie Democrats to High Crime Rates” (front page, Sept. 27):

Republicans’ misleading attacks against Democrats are intended to distract from their complicity in fueling a higher murder rate in America. While violent crime increased 28 percent from 2019 to 2020, gun homicides rose 35 percent. It’s clear that gun crime is a key driver of the national increase in violence. There’s a reason: Republican policies like permit-less carry make it easier for people to get and carry guns.

What doesn’t explain the increase in violence?

One, a lack of police funding. Democratic-run major cities spend 38 percent more on policing per capita than Republican-run cities, and 80 percent of the largest cities increased police funding from 2019 to 2022.

Two, criminal justice reforms. Data shows that wherever bail reforms have been implemented, rearrest rates remain stable. Data from major cities also shows no connection between the policies of progressive prosecutors and changes in crime rates.

Yet states that have weakened gun laws have seen gun crime surge. Democrats must go on offense and hold Republicans accountable for siding with the gun lobby over their constituents.

Patrick GaspardWashingtonThe writer is president and C.E.O. of the Center for American Progress.