Height of hypocrisy

It is the height of hypocrisy for the U.S. to insist on North Korea getting rid of its nuclear weapons while firmly refusing to even consider doing the same.

Fred Wooley, Yorkville

Timely reminder of sacrifices

Thank you for the story “Quest to find airman lost in WWII leads to discovery of downed plane” (Page One, May 23). As the Memorial Day holiday approaches, this article is a timely reminder of the sacrifices that American military servicemen and women made for our country during times of war.

I hope that the discovery of a lost World War II airman’s plane will bring some comfort and closure to his surviving family members.

Elliot Branca, San Francisco

Tower’s not a beacon of hope

Regarding “Benioff sets sights as high as tower on aid to homeless” (May 23): Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, the anchor tenant in the newly built tallest tower in San Francisco, is quoted saying that when homeless children and families look up and see this tower, “I want you to know you are not alone. We are thinking of you, and I hope you see this tower as a beacon, a symbol of hope, there is a company and city and a group of people all working together as one San Francisco.”

Let’s be clear, the $1.1 billion spent to build this tower of Babel (seamless connection between heaven and Earth) could instead have been used to actually build housing for most of the homeless children and families in this city, thereby actually giving them hope and alleviating their suffering.

It’s as absurd to think that this is a beacon of hope as it would have been to imagine the Egyptian’s slaves looking at the pyramids or the African American slaves looking at the White House that they built as a beacon of hope. The Chronicle should have covered the story from the standpoint of the powerless rather than from the standpoint of the powerful.

Cat Zavis, Berkeley

Country divided by politics

We all know that there is a huge political divide in the U.S. but most people do not know the extent and the detrimental effect that this divide has on our country has a whole.

Don’t get me wrong, the divide is not inherently bad, but it is only good in moderation. The parties allow for people to converse with and elect people that share similar views as well as creating healthy competition.

However, now the two major parties are polar opposites in ideology and cannot seem to agree on anything.

Many Republicans and Democrats will refuse to speak with or acknowledge anything from a member of an opposing party simply because they don’t share a similar belief and ideology.

The Bay Area and California as a whole is one of the most liberal places in the United States, which creates an echo chamber of leftbias information and news and the same is true with strictly conservative places in the deep South.

I hope that people in the near future will realize that this is a pressing issue tearing our country apart and must be acted on.

Nicholas Lyons, Mill Valley

Exploitation of teachers

Regarding “Teachers are overlooked” (Letters, May 23): The letter about the exploited part-time English as a second language teachers brought back memories from the late 1970s when I was one of the exploited, cobbling together a marginal living by working at both Chabot College in Hayward and City College here in San Francisco.

I am shocked and saddened to learn that this exploitation continues.

Louis Bryan, San Francisco