Letters to the editor June 16

Toomey defended

I take issue with the editorial page of the Jewish Chronicle (“Toomey’s learning curve,” June 9). The editors should not be criticizing Sen. Toomey’s well-intentioned remarks.

Sen. Toomey is an Israel supporter and the Chronicle should be doing everything in its power to commend the senator on his courage. His idea that the Israelis would have to maintain a security presence on Palestinian territory after statehood is backed by recent comments made by Netanyahu.

We should not forget that Toomey ran against Joe Sestak, an ally of the militant Hamas movement and Toomey has been a good friend. The editorial board should use more discretion before antagonizing friends.

Elliott Bergman

Mt. Lebanon

Losing our humanity

The renowned Dr. Cyril H. Wecht’s latest sage words for the young people of our community were uttered at the Jewish Association on Aging’s “Eight Over Eighty,” in which he and seven other outstanding community luminaries were honored.

Wecht said, “Don’t get so caught up with the cell phones and Facebooks and Twitters that you forget what it is to be a warm, gracious human being,” (“Eight over 80 raises thousands for senior citizens,” June 9).

I trust that his fellow awardees would second the motion. When one recognizes the amount of time and effort that this generation devotes to looking at a screen and engaged in mindless chatter, the future of civilization must be skeptically pondered.

This unfortunate phenomenon is something I witness every workday in my walks throughout Downtown Pittsburgh and within rides on the T. One need not go far to hear and see individuals on their cell phones yelling at, cursing and spewing hatred toward the individual who is obviously their significant other. What were once private feuds are now brought into the public domain.

I have been on buses and trolleys when an individual told her fellow gabber and everyone on the car that she is pursued by the authorities for child abuse charges. Another dim bulb told everyone on the vehicle her name, address and social security number as she was providing it to the individual on the other end of the conversation!

We know that the engagement in dopey conversation via cell phones and texting have needlessly made our roads more dangerous, but our state legislature has been timid about enacting bills to put the safety of our families first. Cell phone companies and their contributions to elected officials have helped to establish the mindset that distracted driving is a necessary evil. Common sense has been thrown in the trash bin in favor of special interests.

We are losing our humanity, our civilization, and the human touch that has made us great. I hope that Dr. Wecht’s admonishment will be heeded, but I fear that he and I are fighting a losing battle.

Oren M. Spiegler

Upper St. Clair