You said a mouthful

Re “Blending and stirring,” editorial, Oct. 14

Americans are the pickiest eaters on Earth. We raise our antibacterial-slathered children in gastronomic bubbles. We forgo the culturally affirming taste and texture of the wonderful old-world foods that sated our ancestors. We reject time-tested methods of preserving foods without refrigeration. Because there are no reports of massive deaths in China from Peking duck or in Italy from cured meats or in Sweden from lutefisk, it’s definitely us and not them.

ELLEN ZUNINO

Monrovia

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Although there are those who preach that all cultures in America should remain separate but equal, they fail to point to any nation that has successfully implemented a policy of multiculturalism. America’s historical melting pot was a unifying force in the success of the unique American ideal. With such a demand for multiculturalism, we now see groups in the country competing with one another rather than banding together for the betterment of the nation. Absent such a unifying force, we now see the rest of the world plunged into a clash of cultures. Governments such as those in Britain, France and Germany that have attempted to follow the path of multiculturalism are now wracked with such cultural pressures that they have begun to question the practicality and the value of such a philosophy.

ROBERT B. EVANS

Anaheim