Divisiveness at the top

The opinion-page column "On Alienation, Racism, and Hate," Sept. 11, is right on. But President Bush is doing more to divide and alienate this country than any of the groups mentioned in the column. The values that have bound this society together, or should bind it together, are being trashed by a politician insecure about what he stands for, if anything, and bent on reelection at any price.Public funds for parochial schools are an example. No citizen or taxpayer should be obligated to support the teaching of religions not of their choice. A more divisive issue is hard to find. This proposal for "choice" is what the "parochial aid" people have been after for decades. President Bush and the Reagan/Bush Supreme Court are squandering much of the equity this society has built up in the system for 200 years. The Bush policies on wetlands, civil rights, abortion, and population control all are creating what the column refers to as "dangerous public chemistry." This president is not bringing us together. He is dividing us. Walter C. Bates, Norwalk, Conn.

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