When the State Commands . . .

Martin Goldstein’s comparison of the story of the Zumwalts, father and son, to a Greek tragedy could hardly be more apt. However, there are a couple of other points he seeks to make in his review of “My Father, My Son” with which I would take exception.

Perhaps I am being picky, but to say that Hiroshima was “an event whose symbolic importance after (World War II) ultimately looms larger than its actual effect during it” needs a response. Granted, Hiroshima as a symbol of man’s inhumanity to man and our potential for repeating errors of the past looms larger. But since our leaders seem not to be heeding the lesson of Hiroshima, perhaps it could be argued that it does not loom large enough.

The other exception to Goldstein’s review is his assertion that the bombs we dropped on Japan “forever ended our collective innocence.” He follows this with, “For a generation of American Vietnam veterans, Agent Orange has done the same.” If our collective innocence had been “forever ended” in 1945, perhaps there would never have been a Vietnam. In any event, I fail to see how the extinction of innocence “forever” can occur twice.

ROBERT BRIGHAM

Manhattan Beach