Letters: KC readers discuss Kansas civics test, unjust syphilis study, 1918 Spanish flu
Engage citizens
To keep a democracy, students should study civics. America is an experiment: a never-before-tried republican form of government that assures democratic control but with a complex government structure that avoids rash policymaking yet is accessible enough to let all interested parties have a say. The success of this experiment relies on an enlightened and engaged citizenry.
For America’s sake, we ought to pass Kansas House Bill 2039, the civics literacy test proposal, sponsored by State Rep. Steve Huebert. The bill would require each student enrolled in an accredited high school to pass an examination on the principles of American civics before receiving a high school dioploma.
Aside from the obvious enlightenment of our students, civics education encourages civic engagement — either in the government or nonprofits. The greater the exposure to civics education by students, the more likely the adult citizen will become engaged in governmental affairs. Studies show that students exposed to civics in high school go on to greater involvement in politics or nonprofits.
Alexis de Tocqueville said that the root of American exceptionalism lies in its people’s willingness to serve one another. Let’s keep it that way. Kansas teaches the ABCs, and C stands for civics.
- Jim Cusser, Prairie Village
Too much change
I would like to offer my opinion about returning to in-person schooling from a student’s perspective. Although I would like as much as anyone to be back to our normal schedule, I can see that it is not possible for this school year.
Schools have been pushing to get as close to an in-person learning model as possible, and it has led to a large amount of variation in my schedule. Though this has made for some nice changes, a lot of my peers and I are experiencing unnecessary reform fatigue and really just wish for a stable schedule to finish our last year of high school.
- Kent Deterding, Kansas City, Kansas
A KC great
Thank you for knowing that Alvin Sykes deserved front-page coverage. (March 21, 1A, “KC’s Sykes, ‘civil rights freedom fighter,’ dies at 64”) Also thanks for digging deeper about his life details. This information honors history especially because of his self-educated efforts. And to think, much of his research probably happened before the internet.
- Frankie Anderson, Kansas City
Study’s history
Cathy O’Neil’s commentary about NFL concussions (March 19, 9A, “NFL concussion case illustrates a deadly, real form of racism”) repeats a false allegation about the Tuskegee syphilis study.
O’Neil wrote that the men were intentionally infected. On the contrary, the study, begun in 1932, followed 399 Black men who already had syphilis and compared them with 201 who did not. The only treatment at the time was a dangerous arsenic drug, and the cost to treat the men would have exceeded the entire budget of the U.S. Public Health Service.
The study was done with the approval of the Tuskegee Institute and was originally intended to refute the allegation by Southern whites that African Americans didn’t need to be treated because they were “resistant” to the disease.
However, both the Health Service and Tuskegee Institute failed to inform the men of their test results and the purpose of the exams. Further, the fatal decision some 15 years later not to treat the men when penicillin became available was the real tragedy. Reparations began in 1974 and continue today.
- Allen Parmet, Kansas City
Editor’s note: A correction to the column appeared Wednesday on Page 2A.
Kansas’ fault?
The Spanish flu originated in Kansas in 1918. More than 100 million died in a world with a much smaller population. The coronavirus is not an “Asian” or “China” virus, even if the United States were to claim responsibility for the origin of the 1918 flu pandemic and spreading it around the world during World War I.
- Randall Jones, Lee’s Summit
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: KC readers discuss Kansas civics test, unjust syphilis study, 1918 Spanish flu."