Letters to the Editor: John Lewis deserves to be remembered as a modern-day founding father
To the editor: "Thank you" is simply not adequate to describe our gratitude for the impact that the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) had on our lives. The destiny of our great nation was made supremely better by his indelible courage in the face of pure evil. ("Eulogized by presidents and civil rights leaders, John Lewis laid to rest in Atlanta," July 30)
President Obama hit the nail on the head in his eulogy for Lewis. The late congressman belongs next to the legendary founding mothers and fathers of this beautiful country.
He was as resilient as George Washington and wise as Benjamin Franklin. Brave as Harriet Tubman and foresightful as Alexander Hamilton. Pioneering as Susan B. Anthony and eloquent as Thomas Jefferson.
Lewis stands among those men and women as one of the all-time champions for liberty, justice and equal rights. He may be gone, but he is not departed. May we garner the strength to hear Lewis' booming voice in these dark times, and make good trouble in his name.
Henry Wilson, Barrington, Ill.
..
To the editor: It's a real tragedy that the small number of protesters destroying property and throwing things at the police have learned nothing from Lewis' example of the power of nonviolent protest.
The Voting Rights Act was introduced in Congress within weeks of "Bloody Sunday" in 1965 because the nation was repulsed by the sight of nonviolent protesters being brutalized by officers.
Had those protesters, instead of marching peacefully, attacked the police, the national response would have been quite different, and civil rights would not have advanced as they did.
Scott McKenzie, La Cañada Flintridge
