Dear Editor: After reading the Jan. 1 New York Times article on Madison, I think it can be safely said that whatever tradition of “progressive liberalism” upon which Madison built its reputation has been trumped by a culture of public alcoholism that is out of control.
Now that this culture, and its gross and violent consequences, has been revealed for all to see in the nation’s paper of record, it can no longer be hidden behind Madison’s myopic and nostalgic civic ego.