Bands reinforce students’ worth

Re: “COVID no match for these dedicated kids,” by Sharon Grigsby, Sunday Metro column.

Grigsby’s column was about Richardson ISD’s 300-member Berkner High School band and director Jason Schayot’s response to a less-than-ideal year. I was a Lake Highlands High School band member and Grigsby’s description of an RISD band has been true since the ’60s. Every student needs a place to fit in. Bands reinforce students’ worth, give them a sense of place and pride and a place to hang out. Their friends, mentors and sense of worth come together in the band halls.

I’m grateful for teachers like Schayot during this pandemic, learning new methods, motivating the kids and letting them know that normalcy is always possible along with camaraderie, self-respect and pride — both on and off the field and even in Zoom sessions. Thank you for bringing back fond memories.

Sarah Scott, Richardson

Great presidents show humility

Re: “One trait set Reagan apart — He had the courage and vision of any good president, but humility made him a great leader,” by Mark Weinberg, Sunday Opinion.

Beautiful column by Weinberg on President Ronald Reagan. His conclusion was right, too. Reagan was not only a great president but truly a great leader as well.

Reagan’s humility was frequently on display. I recall it being pointed out by one of Reagan’s aides several years ago. Reagan rarely if ever talked about what “I’ve” done. It was always what “we’ve” done. He wanted to always share credit and be careful not to put focus on himself alone.

It’s unfortunate this is not at all what we’ve seen in the White House during these last four years.

Scott Wheeler, Dallas

Commit to fighting COVID-19

Re: “In a health crisis, hope can be reborn — President George W. Bush helped lead a successful fight against AIDS epidemic in Africa,” by Dr. Mark Dybul, Sunday Opinion.

Dybul challenges all of us to support the funding of a global response to the coronavirus pandemic. His column eloquently describes what led to a world-changing response from the U.S. by implementing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003. That program led to controlling what had been an out-of-control pandemic by stabilizing the spread of disease, saving more than 17 million lives and bringing hope to the people of more than 50 countries that they and their children would not die.

PEPFAR and other programs, including Bush’s malaria initiative, “changed the way many Africans think about the U.S.” These successes were both humanitarian and beneficial in many ways to the U.S.

Now we are challenged by the novel coronavirus pandemic and it deserves a global response.

So far little has been done, but now is the opportunity for the U.S. to support the global fight against this virus by committing $12 billion to $20 billion for this purpose in the upcoming COVID-19 response legislation now before Congress. Urge your representatives and senators to make this commitment.

Martin White, Dallas/Turtle Creek

Section gives food for thought

Re: “Moral Authority to Lead,” Sunday Opinion section.

It is rare for me to read every single word of every single column of The Dallas Morning News Opinion section. Sunday’s section on presidential leadership was the exception. Each Opinion column was meaningful, well thought-out and beautifully crafted. Without being partisan or histrionic, the Opinion section clearly educates us, as citizens, about what our needs and expectations should be from our leaders.

As a reader of presidential historians such as Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jon Meacham, Michael Beschloss and H.W. Brands, I congratulate the editorial staff for putting together this diverse collection of 10 columns that, taken together, give us so much food for thought as we enter what may be the most crucial election period of our lifetimes.

If anyone has not read this section, please read it. If you have read it, it is worth rereading and sharing with others. I hope that when the time is right, The News will be courageous enough to recommend a presidential candidate who possesses the virtues and values necessary to guide our nation through these turbulent times. Thank you for this great section of journalism.

Irwin Segal, Far North Dallas

We need a third option

As I study Sunday’s Opinion section and its “Moral Authority to Lead” theme, I regret that neither President Donald Trump nor former Vice President Joe Biden is qualified to be the president of the United States. I sincerely doubt if anyone in the Senate or the Congress is qualified either. We need a dark horse candidate to step up to the plate and swing the bat. Only then can our game begin again.

Donald N. Wright, Garland

One candidate has these qualities

Last I heard, The Dallas Morning News has chosen not to recommend a presidential candidate this election cycle. After reading the fine selection of columns in your Sunday Opinion section, it is obvious on which side of the fence you are standing.

Those who expressed their opinions on presidential leadership spoke of brave, wise, honest and thoughtful men (thus far) who have served in this most difficult position. After reading these columns, there is only one man who fits into those categories. Thank you for printing these.

Hans Voorn, Frisco