Letters to the editor: Meritus president thanks doctors for job done in, out of hospital

Hospital president offers physicians appreciation for work in, out of office

To the editor:

March 30 marked National Doctors Day, a time to recognize and celebrate the contributions of physicians to their patients and the communities they serve.

We are fortunate to have the expert care our community needs and deserves so close to home. The contributions of our local physicians transcend the walls of our medical buildings and our hospital.

At Meritus Health, our mission is simple, to improve the health of our community.

As many of you likely understand we can’t have a healthy community without wellness checks and routine blood work. We can’t have a healthy community without colonoscopies and mammograms. We certainly can’t have a health community without the life-saving expertise of an emergency room physician or the specialists who are called in when tests and screenings or symptoms tell a story.

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But what you may not factor into the equation of a healthy community are all of the “extra” touches I observe our community’s physicians offering us. I’ve seen them on classroom floors reading to and engaging with students. I’ve seen them at summer camp teaching kids about the importance of sunscreen. I’ve seen them on walking trails with senior citizens to encourage physical fitness. I’ve seen them pick up the phone as a volunteer to call a lonely person they’ve never met. I’ve seen them spend Christmas Eve packaging up meals for people in need, and then delivering them door to door. I’ve seen them handing out certificates to the winners of art contests. I’ve seen them look their patients in the eye, pause and then ask, “What matters the most to you?”

I invite my neighbors to join me in considering the many ways our community’s physicians are improving the health of our community. To our physicians, we thank you for the countless ways you provide care for us!

Maulik JoshiPresident and CEO, Meritus Health

Thanks to Nora Roberts for fighting against book banning

To the editor:

I want to thank internationally known writer Nora Roberts of Boonsboro for taking a stand against book banning.

Ms. Roberts recently sent $50,000 to the Patmos Library in Jamestown Township, Mich. This library was denied the funds it needed to remain open because of a dispute between the library and a parent-backed organization over an LGBTQ-themed book.

Libraries have no problem with a parent deciding what book their child can read, but it is a different thing when a parent tries to make that decision for other people’s children.

Over the decades, there have been many attempts to make “controversial” books unavailable to the public, from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain to "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, from "The Handmaid’s Tale" by Margaret Atwood to "Carrie" by Stephen King. The reasons and the subjects vary, but the desire to curtail individual freedom is the same.

Talk to your own children. Give them your values and let others do the same. Repressing ideas does not make them go away.

Pamela Faulkner President, United Democrats of Washington County Hagerstown

Sharpsburg mayor's letter also falls victim to 'straw man' fallacy

To the editor:

In his factually challenged letter to the editor of March 5, Sharpsburg Mayor Russ Weaver falls victim to the same straw man logical fallacy as did columnist Pete Waters in his Jan. 16 column which Weaver seeks to defend.

Weaver falsely claims “there is an organized, well-funded effort to diminish policing and completely do away with incarceration,” in support of which he cites two supposed “examples.”

Weaver first cites “the George Soros-funded effort to elect progressive district attorneys committed to ending incarceration.” Simple fact-checking proves this claim to be completely untrue.

According to multiple media sources, including Politico, Soros has financially supported district attorney candidates who promote policies “that help ensure equal treatment [of criminal defendants] regardless of background or race” and candidates who have platforms of “reducing racial disparities in sentencing and directing some drug offenders to diversion programs instead of to trial.” Note these policies absolutely do not advocate for completely doing away with incarceration.

Weaver’s second “example” cites “misguided billionaires such as Mark Zuckerberg [who] have additionally established and financed a large network of ‘bail funds’ organizations that network to provide bail for those arrested during activities they endorse.” Note this involves only pre-trial detention, not post-conviction incarceration.

In short, Weaver doubled down on committing the same classic straw man fallacy that plagued Waters’ column. To paraphrase the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Weaver is certainly entitled to his own opinion but not to arguing his own erroneous facts.

Bruce R. Larson Hagerstown

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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Nora Roberts praised for Michigan library donation