I was intrigued by the Davis family's reference to "shared values" on the rule of law, democracy and individual freedoms specific to Britain and America (Topic of the week, Letters, June 15).
The treatment of Native Americans throughout the 19th century and beyond indicated that these values were not applicable to all Americans. These values were also in short supply during the McCarthy era, when the senator conducted witch-hunts against Americans suspected of being communists. International law was certainly flouted when America-backed Britain launched an unprovoked attack on Iraq.
In the field of democracy, rule of law and the upholding of individual freedoms, Britain and the US have a long way to go.
Malcolm Cordell
Broughty Ferry
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
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