Unaccountable Journalism

Paul Rusesabagina, the man who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda, writes in his book An Ordinary Man, Words are the most powerful tools of all, and especially the words that we pass to those who come after us. In a speech at Wake Forest University on April 4, 2007, Mr. Rusesabagina reiterated this point. With that in mind, I agree with America’s recent Current Comment, Unrepentant Media (4/30), which appropriately speaks of the shallow moralism that drives media coverage of the news here in the United States. Lives, reputations, hopes for a future with truth and reconciliation are too often disrupted and sometimes even crushed by the irresponsible reporting and the inappropriate use of words that has become all too commonplace in the U.S. media today. I applaud America for asking the talking heads...to take a hard look at themselves and the harm wrought by today’s unaccountable journalism of personal destruction. Words are powerful tools! I implore the media to use these powerful tools more responsibly, and I thank the writers and editors of America for doing just that.

Michael Lorentsen, O.F.M.Conv.

It seems an unlikely place to start a school with a strong faith tradition—the formerly Communist Czech Republic. Yet as Josef Horehled, a priest of the Czech Province of the Society of Jesus, explains it, “This is what we need, a Nativity-type middle school in the Christian tradition, one that reaches out to the children of poor minority families who remain on the margins of society.”

Syndicated Columnist

Reading the tongue-in-cheek-but-with-a-punch column by Jim McDermott, S.J., (4/9) had me laughing out loud, as it resurrected a personal memory of my beginning writing days back in 1952.

I had written something, long forgotten from my memory, and sent it to Sign magazine, a respected Catholic publication. I do remember, though, that I included a note telling the editors something like I was a beginning writer and weren’t they lucky to get one of my first pieces. Practically by return mail, the article came back to me with a rejection slip. On the back of it an editor, no name, wrote bluntly to the point: Professional writing requires much practice.

I patched up my wounds, but somehow I knew that was the best advice I would ever be given. It is now 55 years and I’d guess about 10 million words later, published because of much practice thanks to that unknown editor. Could his name possibly have been Brother Mortimer F. X. Snerd? Thanks for the memory, Father McDermott!

Antoinette Bosco

Graduation from college brings many questions: Who am I? What do I want to do? What kind of person do I want to be? How do I get there? Finding worthwhile answers is not easy.