After watching people take advantage of birthright citizenship, the U.S. needs limits | Opinion
Abusing the system
Birthright citizenship should not be without certain conditions. I know at least six women from my homeland who have come here specifically to give birth, obtain a passport and Social Security number and then return home.
Although they have not asked for government help — yet — it just is not right.
Guillermo A. Martinez,
Coral Gables
Oil vs. oysters
According to the Dec. 11 front page article, Florida oyster farmers in Gulf, Franklin and Wakulla counties are fighting a permit for drilling near Apalachicola Bay. The drilling may harm the environment and thus their oyster businesses.
I guess when most of the residents of those counties voted for Donald Trump, they thought his “drill, baby, drill” mantra was meant for Alaska. Elections have consequences.
Elena Raulerson,
West Kendall
Friend of music
Miami classical music impresario and lawyer Julian Kreeger died on Nov. 22. In my earliest days in Miami, he took me out for Sunday brunch. I would later discover this was his favorite meal of the week. He was a man of specific enthusiasm. We talked about his Miami. I told him of the New World Symphony’s dreams. We finished this first meeting with a stroll down Lincoln Road. Four blocks into our walk, he interrupted the conversation to address me directly and firmly, “you must understand that I will always tell you what I think.” What a forthright and promising way to begin a relationship.
As a pianist whose primary playing experience was as a chamber musician, I got to know Julian over the years as the gentleman who brought some of the finest chamber ensembles in the world to Miami. Chamber music, which flourished in 18th and 19th century Europe, is comprised of small ensembles, one player to a part, no conductor and designed for small rooms.
How would such an art form speak to the emergent city Miami has become?
The answer begins with friendship. I don’t know when or why Julian decided to call his series Friends of Chamber Music. When he did, he invited everyone to share his enthusiasm. Those who attended were part of a friendship. What could be better than that.
Chamber music asks much from all participants: independence of the musicians, concentration from the audience, an embrace of the complexity of the expression and comfort in the company of like-minded dreamers. Miami is thriving because it is attracting independent thinkers who are energized by thorny challenges and opportunities. They come together with others who share a vision for this new city — an activated friendship.
May the Friends of Chamber Music series continue. May Miami continue to find solutions in our own unique way. And may we remember the many gifts Julian gave us.
Howard Herring,
president, CEO,
New World Symphony,
Miami Beach
Haitian violence
As a physician who ran a community development organization in the slums of Cite Soleil, Port-au-Prince, Haiti from 2010-18, until I was threatened with kidnapping, I’ve watched conditions there spin further and further into chaos.
Gangs control much of Port-au-Prince, including sea ports and major roads. Foreign embassy staff and NGOs have vacated the capitol. Gang rape, pillaging and murder are daily occurrences. The Multinational Security Support mission is no match for the well-armed gangs, who are only interested in “overthrowing the system,” controlling the population and dividing the spoils.
Unfortunately, there is only one solution. During the glory days of Haitian history, Haitians overthrew their French masters and mulatto overseers and became the only successful slave revolt in the world.
The U.S. and international community should embargo the flow of arms and ammunition reaching the gangs and support the Haitian police force by arming civilians, who are barricading their communities and battling the gangs only with machetes and assault rifles. This will likely precipitate a brutal civil war that will eventually defeat the gangs and restore the country.
Lawrence R. Kaplan,
Cape Elizabeth, ME
Biden’s pardon
The Miami Herald’s Dec. 10 editorial, “Biden’s pardon sets a bad example,” was as disappointing as it was misguided. If Kamala Harris had won the election, I am confident Joe Biden would not have pardoned his son and would have let justice take its course, even if that meant some jail time. If Harris had won the election, normal legal standards would apply and the Department of Justice would, as always, be independent of the White House.
With Donald Trump’s victory, however, normal standards no longer apply. Trump, his presumptive attorney general and his presumptive FBI head have all vowed vengeance against the president-elect’s perceived enemies.
Biden was not shielding his son from justice and the legal consequences of his actions. He was protecting him from the unprecedented vengeful wrath of a deranged dictator and his minions. Hunter Biden has few if any redeeming qualities, but none of his many faults deserve the cruel punishment Trump would gleefully enact. As for the pardon “setting a bad example,” Trump does not heed examples or excuses. He does whatever he wants.
The editorial board does a grave disservice to its readers by blaming the future excesses of the Trump administration on a father’s compassion for his son.
Patrick Alexander,
Coral Gables
Teens and media
Miami Herald opinion writer Andres Oppenheimer is correct in his Dec. 1 column, ”Let’s ban kids from social media, just like Australia.” My colleagues and I see the detriment of social media daily at our middle school.
Teenagers have access to pornography, violent videos and political conspiracy theories. Their views into these sites impact the social, emotional and academic well-being of our children. They are learning how to bully and use violence and they believe the misinformation of our history and current events.
I am baffled how quickly parents are willing to ban classic books from school libraries but seem unwilling to control their children’s use of social media. My students tell me they prefer to read captions on TikTok rather than novels. How sad. Many of my students have never been to a public library or know the services they provide.
Social media is creating an illiterate generation in our country. Australia is correct in banning it for children under the age of 16.
Mayade Ersoff,
Palmetto Bay
Trump’s bluff?
Re: Andres Oppenheimer’s Dec. 6 opinion, “Trump’s tariffs threat to Mexico, Canada likely a bluff.” Donald Trump’s recent tariff rhetoric may indeed be a bluff, but I grimace a bit at Oppenheimer’s coda: “Most likely, he’s bluffing. And if he’s not bluffing, he’s crazy.”
Napoleon Bonaparte wrote that “the great proof of madness is the disproportion of one’s designs to one’s means.”
Is it so hard to believe our once and future president is mad enough to think he can single-handedly resurrect the glory days of the American economy through the imposition of ludicrous tariffs?
Steven James Peterson,
Irvine, CA
Latin hero
I agree with the sentiments of the Dec. 11 letter, “Eminent domain,” who detailed concerns about Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo’s efforts to deprive a private owner of his riverfront property. I wonder, however, why it was necessary to slander Simón Bolívar in the process.
Bolívar was not some mere “rebel;” he was an emancipator of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. His courage and leadership freed these populations from Spanish domination, no different then George Washington’s efforts to free the American colonies of the yoke of British rule.
As to Carollo’s idea of naming the park after Bolivar, that is obvious pandering by a career politician, but it’s not Bolívar’s fault. He died nearly 200 years ago.
Robert C. Gross,
Coral Gables