Letters
It’s the pledge … period!
Rabbi Craig Scheff’s op-ed exposes yet another example of the loose grasp of language pervading society today (“I pledge allegiance to three flags,” June 7). Here he expatiates on the three entities to which he pledges allegiance: the United States; the State of Israel; the LGBTQ movement. The problem with this usage is that it ignores the status of the term as a legal one, denoting the duty of loyalty which a citizen owes to one’s government in return for that government’s protection. Therefore, it would seem that the only entity to which the rabbi could properly pledge such fealty would be the United States. It is a bit jarring to view this lapse coming from a clergyman; for as the saying goes, if gold rusts, what will iron do?
Sanford Kluger
Englewood Cliffs
Who will love him
when we’re gone?
My wife and I are elderly (ages 81 and 79) adoptive parents of a young man of special needs. He is 32 years old. He suffers from a disorder in the autism spectrum.
He is high functioning, friendly, and socially charming. He resides in a group home and attends day programs in which he functions well and has many friends. Although he is physically able, in good health, and intelligent, he is not able to pursue gainful employment.
We are devoted to him, as is he to us. He is dependent upon us to provide the the loving attention he craves.
Our health is declining, and we fear for his future.
We are hopeful of finding a person who is willing and able to develop a longstanding loving relationship with him that will fill the lonely emptiness that he will face when we are gone.
Jerrold Terdiman M.D.
Woodcliff Lake
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