Recipe for fear

The letter (February 23) from a Mount Druitt writer who reveals the rich nature of his neighbourhood and surrounds is enviable. When you have a monoculture environment with sameness a prerequisite,then “fear of other” prevails and is easy to manipulate.Margaret Wilkie,Peregian Beach (Qld)

Hand of history

My grandmother died before I was of school age,but luckily a bundle of her letters,written to my mother,survived “clutter sorting” (Letters,February 23). They date back to a time when my mother was a teenager and continue until just before my grandmother’s death. These letters provide an insight into her life that would otherwise remain unknown to our family. One person’s clutter is another’s treasure.Joy Cooksey,Harrington

Bring back fireside chats

Kaz Ross (“What makes so many conspiracy theories so plausible to so many?” February 24) shows how conspiracy theories have spread over the past decade,aided by social media platforms’ favouring of juicy stories that allow them to sell more ads. But it was a different kind of story that allowed them to re-elect Trump,who had previously demonstrated he had no intention of ever giving up power. He now promotes Russian propaganda and is aided by Russian disinformation. Democracy is under threat everywhere in the West,and it might take some version of Roosevelt’s fireside chats to tell people what is true and what is not true.Gary Barnes,Mosman

Sing it to me

Prince Lorenzo and his gay Venetian fable are surely crying out to become a musical (“Prince Lorenzo:35 years on from Australia’s ‘royal wedding’ scandal”,February 23)?Andrew Woodhouse,Potts Point

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