I am writing in regards to the reaction of the current White House occupant to the letter from Capt. Brett Crozier, former captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
In the letter, Crozier expressed concerns about ship safety in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At an April 4 press conference, the occupant stated with incredulity that the letter asking for safety and help was “inappropriate; all over the place. Terrible. To write a letter? I mean, this isn’t a class on literature."
A letter. Consider the letter in literature. Cast your mind back to school, where we study, annotate, and analyze historical and political letters.
Letters effect change, alter history. Consider an example, Martin Luther King’s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."
Letters are powerful, universal, egalitarian and effective.
Letters keep. They are often beacons of “the hard conversation” for posterity. Letters don't lie. They cannot be altered or walked back as can a conversation or a phone call.
Letters are American.
Literature is a language art, a life skill, and letters are a concrete example of essential, effective writing.
I encourage you to write a letter, to a loved one, your senator, your former kindergarten teacher, a health care worker. Letters make a difference to the people who receive them. It's a great, lost art.
Jody Brings, Salt Lake City
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