Candidates' safety is imperative

I CAN relate to the fears expressed by James Carroll in "Courage, wisdom in an age of fear" (Op-ed, Oct. 20). In 1960, as an editor, I published a prediction that John F. Kennedy would die in office, based on the pattern of presidential deaths every 20 years over the previous century.

Today I am as fearful as Carroll of another assassination of a charismatic leader. The turmoil and trauma of the 1960s still weigh on me. I pray the wing nuts of the world stay home.

At this critical juncture in our nation's history, the safety of our candidates is imperative.

THOMAS DRESSER
Oak Bluffs

JAMES CARROLL'S "Courage, wisdom in an age of fear" struck a deep chord.

When I watch live broadcasts of Barack Obama rallies, I find myself involuntarily scanning the crowd and worrying about hidden weapons and adequate Secret Service protection. What if, what if?

It's a fear born perhaps of watching "In the Line of Fire" too many times, but born too of the same historical experience Carroll recalls - the JFK, MLK, and RFK assassinations, which are imprinted not just visually but viscerally. Not to mention Malcolm X and John Lennon, and the attempts on George Wallace, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and others I may, mercifully, have forgotten.

I, too, wince when someone talks about the possibility of something happening to Obama. It's hard to even write this.

But Carroll is right. For Obama himself to say it aloud in referring to the shouts of the crowd at McCain-Palin rallies is an empowering act not just for the candidate but for those of us who yearn to be released from past burdens of tragic events and free once again to hope.

DEBORAH SOSIN
Watertown