RE “VANCE Gilbert: Wronged, but not right’’ (Editorial, Aug. 27): There is a difference between erring “on the side of caution’’ and losing the ability to think critically. In this day and age, most of us are resigned to the fact that our national security strategy falls into the latter category. I am sad to see that the Globe’s editorial page does as well.
Sean Colbath
Winchester
MY THANKS to the Globe editorial staff for the item on Vance Gilbert, and how reasonable everybody was when a fellow passenger reported him for reading a book about airplanes on an airplane. The message of your Aug. 27 editorial, that potential terrorists are everywhere and we can’t relax our vigilance for even an instant, can’t be repeated too often or too loudly, because otherwise we would be severely in danger of an outbreak of common sense.
George Mitchell
Hyde Park 
