Letters to the Editor

+ America has diminished its exceptionalism
Dear Editor:
In the past 14 years U.S. media has focused attention on American exceptionalism. I refer to: American exceptionalism is the theory that the United States is qualitatively different from other nation states. Do our differences still exist or have they been overshadowed by other differences?

The increasing role of government, internally and externally, over the past 100 years has reduced this exceptionalism.

The growing role as a world power/leader — gladly encouraged by some (e.g., Theodore Roosevelt) and reluctantly pursued by others (e.g., Harry Truman) put us on a path of historical normality.

Internally the increasing role of the government is obvious today though it has been growing for the past 100 years. The Republic is becoming more like the less open and more rigid societies with the government as society’s “problem solver.”

This Republic is now not so different from other countries, especially those of Europe. The Republic was exceptional in its creation. The exceptionalism has diminished over time.

Gerald Luhman II
Bradenton

+ Improvements will help preserve St. Armands
Dear Editor:
I’m not sure whether this message will be received, but I wanted to comment on the St. Armands Circle situation.

I am a retail leasing consultant and I have been visiting the Sarasota area since the early 1970s, during which time I have spent a lot of time on St. Armands Circle. Although I have not read Robert Gibbs’s retail report, I wanted to point out that The Mall at University Town Center will be a bit of a distraction for all retailers in and around downtown Sarasota, St. Armands, Siesta Key, Bradenton and along the Trail, but St. Armands should suffer the least because it is a recreational shopping and entertainment destination that has a good (not great) mix of national and local merchants.  Furthermore, St. Armands is of a good scale and the buildings have excellent “bones”, so updating the storefronts and lighting is a worthwhile endeavor that will help immensely.

The local merchants give the district its character, while a carefully selected group of national merchants give it “strength”. Of course there will be some merchant fallout on St. Armands, but if the property owners have resourceful brokers / consultants working with them, who have been empowered to recruit clever, mom and pop merchants (as opposed to recruiting more nationals), then St. Armands can benefit from a more diverse collection of specialty retailers. However, I would caution the landlords to not give in to the temptation of leasing to more food operations, as the Circle already has enough. (It’s tempting for the landlords because food users will usually pay higher rents for small-store space. However, one only has to look downtown to see that overpopulating the streetscape with an excessive number of food businesses is detrimental.)

If St. Armands Circle is willing to become a niche shopping district, designed to serve a recreational shopper seeking unique retail and food offerings, then I believe there will be a place for it, even in the face of a chain-leased shopping behemoth like The Mall at University Town Center.

O. Bowie Arnot, associate broker
MacKenzie Retail LLC