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AIG’s Bad Reverberations

The fury over AIG executives’ bonuses is heightened by the overall anonymity of those behind the broader economic collapse, for which no one is being held responsible [March 30]. However understandable, this scapegoating distracts from the bigger problem and may debilitate the political will to enact appropriate legislation. Connell J. Maguire RIVIERA BEACH, FLA.

The AIG debacle aside, the rotten apple in our culture is the notion that executives are able to “create” value that is worth astronomical multiples of that created by the daily toil of ordinary members of our society. We have lost our sense of proportion. Jim Williams, CASTLE ROCK, COLO.

It is time we change the paradigm from “too big to be allowed to fail” to “too big to be allowed.” John Carlson, LITTLE RIVER, S.C.

Sorry Is the Hardest Word

The corruption of “the culture of contrition” Nancy Gibbs speaks of in her profound essay on apologizing is the direct consequence of the erosion of personal grace in our society [March 30]. Sadly, decency has been replaced in great measure by coarseness–hence the absence of remorse or contrition. When our courts can demand that a defendant pay damages but not insist on any admission of guilt, we further validate as unnecessary any gesture of true contrition. Edmund Nasralla, BOCA RATON, FLA.

The reason we haven’t heard apologies yet is an increasingly widespread belief that “I didn’t do anything illegal” is equivalent to “I didn’t do anything wrong.” Clearly it is not. How do we fix that? Dan Horsfall, CHANHASSEN, MINN.

The villains in this saga are not sorry. Almost 70 years ago, C.S. Lewis wrote that “the greatest evil is not done in those sordid dens of evil Dickens loved to paint but … in clear, carpeted, warmed, well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices.” Never before has the truth of his words been so apparent. Vicky Brago-Mitchell, LOS ANGELES

Kindle Me Delighted

If Josh Quittner were elderly with macular degeneration, he would be as thrilled as my Kindle-loving 76-year-old husband [March 30]. The print can be made larger. It is so light, he can hold it. If his eyes get tired, a soothing voice can read to him. Whiny kids in their 40s and 50s can complain, but for us, the Kindle is priceless. Barbara Plungy, DENVER

Sex Education: Just Say Yes

My congratulations to South Carolina for recognizing the importance of comprehensive sex education for our young people [March 30]. Other Southern states should follow suit and realize that holier-than-thou abstinence and “Just say no” platitudes do not impact young people whose hormones are raging and whose self-image may not be as secure as it seems. Linda Jewell, SILVER SPRINGS, FLA.

More on 10 Ideas

Re the new Calvinism, one of TIME’s 10 world-changing ideas [March 23]: Your approach is a bit U.S.-centric. While Calvinism is certainly gaining influence in the States, that influence pales in comparison with the global sway of charismatic Pentecostalism, which is transforming the religious landscape of the developing world. Sadly, no Christian movement, Calvinist or otherwise, currently has that kind of impact in American society. Richard Land, NASHVILLE

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