Starvation in Sudan

Lovisa Stannow’s compassion for the appalling situation in southern Sudan appears sincere, as witnessed by her arduous and heart wrenching stint in a feeding center (Commentary, Dec. 27). However, her article would have been much more effective without the minimizing of the American space program through the repeated snide references to John Glenn’s heroic and well-deserved space shuttle trip.

It is clear that Americans are caring and giving individuals. Our voluminous charity starts at home and extends to the far corners of the Earth, even where we are unwelcome. The story of the starvation in southern Sudan has been well-covered. However, it does not merit daily and extensive exposure in the mainstream U.S. media, considering the comparatively larger and more pressing disasters in the former Soviet Union and in Central America.

Stannow puts forth the false assumption that media bombardment to stimulate charity will prevent children from dying in southern Sudan. Children are starving there because of Sudan’s present unsavory government and its somewhat self-destructive history in the 20th century.

DOUGLAS HUGHES, Pasadena