The way we hear the words

Re “A war of fiery words,” Aug. 10

My generation, the boomers, were born just after a most lethal war. Families lived through relentless trauma from it.

When we were toddlers, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb. Lives felt threatened in a terrifying way. In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea; the U.S. went into the conflict. Americans suffered: Fathers, uncles, brothers and neighbors’ boys died gruesome deaths or returned maimed and troubled.

Then, the U.S. tested the massive hydrogen bomb; we children saw its fearsome detonation on TV. “Drop and cover” exercises were held in schools.

In 1962 came the Cuban missile crisis; the Vietnam War followed, devastating our generation. War’s ugliness and terror cloaked our entire childhood and youth.

When we hear President Trump carelessly threaten that he can unleash unspeakable horror, those of my generation lose sleep and we fear. We understand what is unleashed. Walter Dominguez Los Angeles

Two crazies who can not control their fiery words make for a terrified and uncertain world.

And of course, Trump’s aides defend his words. They always defend his words.

That’s one of the main problems with this presidency: No one speaks truth to power. No one in his closest circle of aides and advisors has the ability to rein in Trump’s tweets or prepare him — or us — for the consequences of his bombastic utterances and false claims.

Whatever happened to reasoned leadership, to calm, controlled assurances from our commander in chief ? Bette Mason Corona del Mar

It is no surprise that the readers of The Times despise the language President Trump used to confront the maniacal dictator of North Korea. They prefer the previous administration’s cool, stylish rhetoric designed to “kick the can down the road” and leave the most dire threat in our history to the next guy.

Yes, the cool kids in the Obama administration were geniuses at coining hip phrases like “strategic patience” while the decidedly evil dictator continued to assemble his nuclear arsenal. And, as usual, the cool kids and their inaction were widely accepted and lauded by the pacifist left.

But now we have a grown-up as president who is willing to step up to the plate and actually confront this danger head-on. No cute sayings, no “contemplative” musings about sixparty talks that don’t work and no offers of appeasement — just plain talk and bold action. Joseph Schillmoeller Gardena

A straight-forward, honest fellow like Donald Trump would never think of creating a diversion, such as a war with North Korea, in order to divert attention away from his own political woes — the investigation into his dalliance with Russia — now would he? Joann Randall Newport Beach