Human side of immigration helps newcomers survive
As an Atlanta resident, immigrant and first-time author, I wanted to share a reflection on how culture — especially music — can quietly shape lives and communities.
I grew up in El Salvador during the civil war (which lasted from 1979 to 1992), and daily life was marked by uncertainty and fear.
When I later immigrated to the United States, music became an unexpected refuge. Long before I understood English fluently, the songs of the Beatles offered comfort, structure and a sense of belonging. Sound crossed borders when language could not.
Today, while raising my family in metro Atlanta, I see how deeply music and art continue to connect people across backgrounds. In a time when immigration is often discussed only in political terms, it’s worth remembering the human side — the small, personal anchors that help newcomers survive and eventually contribute to the communities they call home.
I recently wrote a memoir reflecting on this journey, but more importantly, I wrote it as a thank you to the art that carried me here. Atlanta thrives because of stories like these, whether they’re heard through music, memory or shared experience.
HORACIO CHAVEZ, ATLANTA
Vaccines are greatest gift of public health
In reference to “Chair: Make polio shots optional,” AJC Jan. 24, there is a vast difference between private practice and public health. In the former, a physician advises an individual patient, while public health provides for the greater good for all.
Dr. Kirk Milhoan, the second top political appointee to the CDC, suggesting that the former should replace the latter is an abuse of his position. Vaccines have been the greatest gift of public health ever, and to replace them with a watered-down recommendation that will open the door to the return of diseases like polio, measles and others is unthinkable. We deserve better.
LEONARD TURNER, ATLANTA
Causes of inflation preceded Biden administration
Inflation is caused by demand for goods exceeding supply (prices go up) or excessive spending (printing of money/debt).
During the first Trump administration, federal deficits increased primarily because of the tax cuts aimed at corporations and higher-income individuals. Then COVID hit and deficit spending increased dramatically, including three COVID relief payouts — two from Trump and one from Biden — and the tax cuts reduced revenue by an estimated $1 trillion per year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
All the seeds (except the third relief check) for inflation had been planted before Biden — pent-up demand, supply chain shutdowns, huge deficit spending and excessive debt. Inflation was the only possible outcome.
BOB DALTON, LILBURN
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