Letters to the editor

Restoring honor

Leonard Pitts' desperate attack on Glenn Beck and the Restoring Honor gathering ("This is 'we,' Glenn Beck," Other Views, Aug. 27) demonstrates the colossal blind spot of partisan political perspective. I need not defend Beck. He has three hours on radio and one hour on TV each weekday to make his points.

I am a child of the prejudiced South that resisted the Civil Rights movement. I see Beck's exaltation of the leaders of that movement as a plus. He should be lauded, not attacked, for trying to learn and then teach the lessons of that movement.

I disagree strongly with Beck's Mormon beliefs, and yet I can take up his challenge to do the research and then do the right thing regarding our nation and heritage.

The desperation and disdain Pitts exhibits may be due to the increasingly evident failure of his and President Obama's social and economic policy preferences. Pitts wants to claim and keep the virtue for himself and his side, forever disclaiming that any good thing can come from the right. He should welcome those like me who are trying to learn the errors of the past and overcome them with truth, humility and, yes, honor.

DAN COGGINS

Wesley Chapel

Who are 'we'?

In response to Leonard Pitts' article on who is the "we" in the Civil Rights Act that Glenn Beck is referring to, I think I have an answer.

Obviously, he was not Rosa Parks or any of the other people who visibly protested and brought the issues to the public eye. The "we" to which I think he refers are the Republicans in the House of Representatives whose votes guaranteed the act's passage. In fact, as a percentage, more Republicans voted for passage than Democrats. And it was a Democrat, Robert Byrd from West Virginia, who filibustered for over 14 hours (the second-longest filibuster on record) in an attempt to thwart passage.

Of the 290 "yes" votes, 138 were Republican and 152 were Democrats. There were only 176 Republicans (vs. 259 Democrats) in the House at that time. Obviously, Republican "support" was vital. Yet, it is the Democrats who attempt to take full credit. I think it is this to which Beck refers.

DAVE MULLAN

Tampa