Readers’ comments: September 6, 2024

On the Same Page makes its 2024 selection
Dear editor:
The Friends of the Claremont Library created the On the Same Page committee in 2007 to bring people together to read and discuss the same book, to help build bridges between communities and generations. Over the years, we have selected 18 books and have hosted 13 of the authors.
We are pleased to recommend this year’s selection, “Hollywood Park,” by Mikel Jollett, a memoir published in 2020. The book’s back cover sums it up: “Funny, heartbreaking, and brave, this stunning portrayal of a fractured family’s ability to rebuild itself has the hallmarks of a classic, and signals the arrival of one of our most promising and uniquely gifted writers.” We agree.
Books will be available for check-out at the Claremont Helen Renwick Library, 208 N. Harvard Ave. Lawn signs are being created by graphic artist Joel Cinnamon. We are planning programs, and hope to bring the author to the Alexander Hughes Community Center during the season.
And we are looking forward to seeing you at our events. Please stay tuned by visiting our website, claremontlibrary.org.
Lanore Pearlman
Claremont
Pearlman is the chair of the Friends of the Claremont Helen Renwick Library’s On the Same Page Committee.

Do Republicans really know what socialism is?
Dear editor:
Trump and followers say that the Democratic candidates are socialists or communists. Any real socialist or communist would sneer derisively at such an idea. Socialism and communism are not in the Democratic Party imagination.
How do Trump, et al, get this so wrong? Is it just ignorance? Very doubtful — it requires little effort to learn that socialism calls for major economic organizations to be nationalized. Communism would end all privately owned businesses. There is nothing like that in the thoughts of Harris and Walz.
Perhaps it is dishonesty that is behind the name calling. That cannot be ruled out. However, there is a misuse of the word “socialism” in American political culture. What is labelled “socialism” is any attempt to improve the lives of ordinary citizens — think Social Security and Medicare. Those programs, and further extensions by current Democrats, are what are called socialism by Trump.
Tim Walz got it right when he said that one person’s socialism is another’s being neighborly. That is, what is called socialism is simply caring for our neighbors. Or for others, Republican socialism is Christianity. The Rev. John Forney, speaking for Christianity, said in a recent sermon, “Not only are we talking about freedom from hunger, but the freedom for each woman and man to be fully alive, to reach their full potential. It’s about being fed with the freedom to have decent work at a living wage. The freedom to have political agency. The freedom to love whom you love. It’s about the freedom to have decent housing in a safe community. The freedom to learn and go as far as your talent and effort will take you. In short, to thrive.”
The next time you hear Trump talking about socialism, remember that he is condemning being neighborly, being Christian, being fair.
Merrill Ring
Claremont