Horrors of war rage in the Middle East and Ukraine. The toll of gun violence mounts. Net-zero targets float like mirages in the distance of a warming planet. University campuses seethe. Congress plodded on with a speaker-less House while the 2024 GOP front-runner roared on, trailing a string of indictments behind him. It’s been that kind of year, with no sign of any letup. Closer to home, we grappled with nightmare rides on the MBTA and a crisis in nursing home care. For distraction, we had “Barbie.” For confusion, X (née Twitter). For frustration, the Patriots.
Through it all, one saving grace is that Globe readers have brought insight, passion, indignation, and humor to the unending task of making sense of the world. Here’s a look back at 2023 as seen through the lens of letters to the editor.
— Matthew Bernstein, letters editor
JANUARY: Speaker McCarthy; King memorial unveiled
In 2015 Kevin McCarthy was forced by conservative factions to drop out of the race for speaker of the House. He resolved then to attain his goal using whatever means necessary. Alas, he has bargained himself into impotence in his quest. We will be excused for wondering how such a man rose to this level. We may also wonder what’s next. Probably two years of malevolent, destructive amateurs running amok. (William Koscher)
Though debate is characteristic of this city, as are conservative aesthetic predilections, “The Embrace” is an inventive, contemporary, conceptually innovative semiabstract representation of two courageous civil rights icons that should be considered mindfully and indeed embraced as a proud addition to Boston’s landscape. (Andrea Foggle Plotkin)
Not yet embracing “The Embrace”? Give it a minute. We need only look at the Citgo sign looming over Kenmore Square to see that what ultimately wins Boston’s affection may be simply what’s here long enough to become part of the landscape. (Ellen Steinbaum)
FEBRUARY: Duxbury murder case; artificial intelligence
I am a reproductive psychiatrist who has spent her career studying and treating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. I have, as the world has, been very troubled by recent events in the Boston area with the killing of three children in Duxbury. The beautiful reproductive biology of women can create a baby who inspires awe and joy for many new mothers. Unfortunately, that same biology can also misfire, causing catastrophic consequences before and after the birth of the baby. (Dr. Maureen Sayres Van Niel)
When photography was developed in the 19th century, it may have seemed a threat to painting, at least in its naturalistic form. Why paint a portrait or landscape when a photograph could produce an even more faithful image at a fraction of the cost and in far less time? Painters responded to the challenge by inventing new modes of expression and representation. AI may well provide a similar stimulus to writers. (Robert Levy)
MARCH: Nursing home crisis; bank collapse; sky-high concert tickets
My family is struggling to find a path for my chronically ill sister, who uses a wheelchair, that will allow her to transition from her private-pay facility to Medicaid when we can no longer afford the $8,000 monthly fee for her care. Our journey has taught us that the private sector cannot be relied on to take care of our vulnerable loved ones and that the public sector feels no sense of urgency to address this heartbreaking issue. What a mess. (Pat Canavan)
I realized early in my career as the CEO of a bank the enormity of the responsibility to the public. Everyone complains about the complicated process to deal with a bank, but please realize there’s a safety and soundness reason for every cumbersome step. The industry outliers only make it more complicated for other banks and clients once their cutting-edge business model implodes. (Jonathan Sloane)
I, too, had hoped to see Bruce Springsteen — just this one time — until I saw the “dynamic pricing.” Do I feel bad missing Springsteen? Not when I realized how many times I can see Guster for the price of one Springsteen ticket. (Cynthia M. Sullivan)
APRIL: Mel King dies at 94; Trump indicted
My strongest memory of Mel King is when he spoke to a group of educators in the mid-1990s. We had just spent two days putting together a 10-year educational technology plan for the Boston Public Schools. After reading the final report, which we were pretty pleased with, he was standing in the back of the auditorium, and with one simple question he exhorted us to do better. He yelled, “This is great, but what will you do tomorrow? WHAT WILL YOU DO TOMORROW?” (Kevin Freeley)
The indictment against former president Donald Trump over payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter was a declaration that our democracy is still alive and kicking. Damaged but not destroyed by the rule of terror. (Robert S. Nussbaum)
MAY: COVID emergency declared over; Ron DeSantis (he/him/his); debt limit showdown
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health caved to pressure from hospital system leadership, who urged the state to drop mask requirements in tandem with the May 12 end of the federal pandemic emergency. I am appalled that health and safety are being sacrificed for hospital bottom lines. Health care settings are one place where masking should continue. (Katie Vhay)
Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has signed legislation banning students from requiring others to use their preferred pronouns. I hope she understands the consequences. (Richard Klibaner)
This debt deal is another critical failure of our ability to govern ourselves. Having a debt limit in the first place makes little sense to many of us, but it gives Washington a chance to concoct a crisis for itself, which it then heroically solves. (Ron Evett)
JUNE: Trump indicted again; Titan submersible lost at sea
When the indictments came down against Donald Trump and I saw the scrupulous case special counsel Jack Smith had woven over Trump’s handling of top-secret classified documents, I still managed to smile. Would Teflon Don finally be made to answer for his lifetime of unethical, unconscionable grifts and acts? My smile faded to worry. The worse it gets for Trump, the more money he raises. I worry that this poisonous influence might never be stopped. My worry will not subside unless and until he is fairly convicted by the very system he so rudely attacks. (Natalie Rosen)
I am disheartened and saddened by what happened with the OceanGate submersible. That it is a tragedy is an understatement for the friends and families left behind. But why, given what was reported about the unusual construction of this specific submersible, would anyone deliberately challenge the elements for such a momentary thrill? We have known of the Titanic’s whereabouts since 1985; why is it still necessary to visit the remains? (James R. Weiss)
JULY: After affirmative action; Barbie world
Those of us committed to equity recognize that affirmative action is just as necessary today as ever. Racism and racial inequality remain persistent cancers in our society. People who think that there is a level playing field are mistaken. History tells us the final chapter has not been written. (Julian Kenneth Braxton)
I had to earn my own Barbie in 1960 by doing small chores around the house. A Barbie doll was $3 then, and many a wastebasket was emptied to earn my $3, all in dimes. The Barbie doll offered one of the first alternatives to baby dolls that reinforced that the only thing little girls could become was a mom. Barbie could do other things with her life, albeit stereotypical for the times, pre-women’s liberation. Still, her independence was a revelation to 7-year-old me. And I love that Barbie’s independence, appearance, and career aspirations have evolved with the times. (Lynne Byall Benson)
AUGUST: Trump indicted yet again
Had it been discovered that Donald Trump had shot somebody on Fifth Avenue, as he once joked about doing to prove a point about how loyal his supporters are, should the legal authorities have overlooked it until after the election? I would say attempting to stage a coup in order to stay in power is at least as serious a charge. (Barry Brodsky)
SEPTEMBER: Ukraine fights on; parents’ rights campaigns; Mitt Romney bowing out; another grim climate report; X … just plain X
Look at what reportedly happens under Russian occupation, since that’s what permanently awaits Ukrainians if they lose: Widespread torture and sexual violence. Subjugation of the local population. Sham elections. Cultural obliteration. Forced deportation of Ukrainian children for indoctrination and adoption by Russians. No wonder Ukrainians don’t want peace at any cost. They know what that cost is. The least we can do is respect their will to fight for freedom and support them with what they need, when they need it. Democracies must stand together. (Elizabeth L. Merrick)
Those who are calling for “parents’ rights” are doing nothing of the sort; rather, they are fighting for the right of a small group of people to impose their views on others. What about the rights of the parents of transgender children who want their kids to be acknowledged in school? What about the rights of parents who want their children to learn what really happened in American history, rather than being told that everything has been almost perfect? Far from accommodating parents, the GOP wants to impose a rigid dogma on education. (John C. Berg)
I am disappointed with Mitt Romney’s decision not to seek reelection to the Senate in 2024. The Utah Republican has been a voice of reason amid chaos and lies. His criticism of his fellow Republicans rings true and his concern for the party and our democracy sound equally valid. I wish Romney would choose to stay and fight. (Susan Shelton)
I don’t know why we have experts if we’re not going to listen to them. We need to drop everything and save the planet right now. Not tomorrow. Not next year. Now. Now, now, now. (Andrew Gooding-Call)
I hope the media will stop using references such as “X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.” It is unnecessary. If some fool wants to rename his company “X,” then use that name. You don’t write, “Exxon, formerly known as Esso, formerly known as Standard Oil.” This is ridiculous. You are giving the same importance to Twitter as you gave to Prince (who deserved it). Please stop. (Dan Fennelly)
OCTOBER: Woes of the MBTA; speaker ousted; Israel-Hamas war; shootings in Lewiston, Maine
Unbelievable! How long have railroads been built in the United States? Almost 200 years? Yet it seems they somehow installed rails for the MBTA Green Line extension that were too narrow. (Joe Ponti)
The Republican Party began devouring itself in small bites in the 1990s with the emergence of Newt Gingrich. The removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House is a continuation of that destruction in alligator chomps. How much longer will it take before they burn the whole thing down? (Glenn Brodeur)
Hamas’s terrorist attack was meant to be an orgy of atrocities. It was meant to cause Israel to strike back by killing, wounding, and displacing so many Palestinians that Arab nations would be forced to isolate Israel or even attack it. Hamas did not care how many innocent Palestinians might suffer. And if Israel did not respond harshly, thus rendering Hamas’s plan to turn the world against Israel a failure, Hamas would be stronger than ever. Either way it would be a win for the terrorist group. (Michael Biales)
The people of Gaza have been placed in an unimaginable situation, largely unable to escape the 140-square-mile purgatory despite strenuous efforts. I implore my fellow Americans, Jews, indeed all humans to put themselves in Gazans’ shoes. What happened in Israel was abhorrent. But it is wrong for hundreds of thousands to be forced to leave their homes without any certainty of how they will eat, work, shower, or survive. (Jared Perlo)
The great horror of the shootings in Lewiston, Maine, is not the number of people killed, not the number of people injured, not the number of members of the surrounding community locked down in their houses in fear. No, the horror is that this is no aberration. When mass shootings occur by the hundreds every year, leaving hundreds killed and thousands injured, and when the primary cause of death in children is gun violence, this is not an aberration. This is the American way of life. (Christine M. Nolan)
NOVEMBER: Bill Belichick; federal charges in interstate brothel ring
Give the greatest coach of all time a break. Show some gratitude for all the good years, people. (Philippa Mulford)
You have got to put a well-trained professional team on the field, no matter how successful your previous seasons were. As fans, we’d like to have a team that wins more often than it loses, but what we really expect is a well-played game from the home team, win or lose. (Dan Kaplan)
While we have yet to learn the scope of the enterprise and the extent of the sexual exploitation, the buyers, since at least 2020, number in the hundreds in this [interstate trafficking] case alone. Our organization, Health Imperatives, has worked with dozens of women who have been sexually exploited commercially in Massachusetts during this same time period. Most were sexually abused as children, all were first trafficked as teens, and every single one was promised a better life. Not one found it. (Julia Kehoe)
DECEMBER: Unrest on campus; Brookline smoking ban
The failure of university leaders to unequivocally prohibit calls for genocide reflects a fundamental flaw in their view of what a university should be. They are allowing their institutions to become ivory gutters. (Dan Gruen)
The Brookline tobacco prohibition for anyone born in the 21st century brought an image to mind: In the future, we can expect to see 40-year-olds hanging around outside convenience stores waiting for a 50-year-old patron willing to buy them a couple packs of smokes. (Jim Mesthene)