What does “know[ing] the Bible better than anyone else in the room” have to do with whatever point you are trying to make in your May editorial (“There is a line of women”)? Is it that a person who is wicked smart should be held in higher esteem? That’s a position of snobbery not unlike the patriarchy you write against.

Are you the brightest person in the room? If not, why should I listen to you? Here’s why: Being the brightest or holding the highest academic degree has nothing to do with the respect one should be given. And neither does the sex of a person. All people are worthy of honor. As a special education teacher for 12 of my 33 years as an educator, I learned more about life, kindness and acceptance from beautiful people who were never, in terms of “book smarts,” the brightest or most knowledgeable person in the room.

Your writing perpetuates classification based on “the brighter the better” and, indeed, judgment based on the sex of a person. It does nothing to bring an end to such historical leanings.  

John Myers, Spokane, Wash.