Readers Write (June 27): The U.S. Constitution, civil disobedience, disabilities, energy production, north Minneapolis, Gretchen Carlson

A recent letter writer blasted the concept of rewriting the U.S. Constitution, as proposed in a June 17 commentary ("If we were willing to redraft …"), since the originators were, basically, beyond reproach. When visiting the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., a few years back, I remember this statement emblazoned on the southeast portico. Thomas Jefferson, arguably the most intellectually gifted of those founders, writes in a letter to a friend:

"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as a civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

I think it's time we visit the tailor shop.

The tantrums by the Democrats in Congress last week have somehow drawn the label civil disobedience. That is the latest affront to the concept masterfully orchestrated by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. True civil disobedience involves the following: (1) Laws that specifically affect a particular group defined by an ascriptive characteristic (e.g. race, sex); (2) The group in question has no political ability to change the law because it is excluded from the political process (not just outnumbered — excluded); (3) Members of the group openly disobey the law in question as a means of bringing attention to the unjust law; (4) the disobedient accept the punishment to further emphasize the injustice.

Whether it is the House of Representatives, Black Lives Matter or any other organization that seeks to impose its opinions on others, we should not denigrate the concept of civil disobedience as a term to apply whenever somebody wants to break the law or refuse to follow the rules in aid of a cause. King garnered a lot of sympathy for his position, but the current iteration of civil disobedience seems to be having the opposite effect.

Disability activists are rightly protesting the film "Me Before You," which suggests that life as a quadriplegic is not worth living ("How 'Me Before You' gets the message all wrong," June 21). This plot reinforces clichés about living with a disability. It also may cause confusion about the difference between euthanasia and the practice of medical aid in dying.

Euthanasia, in which a doctor injects a lethal medication, is illegal in every state in the U.S. and bears no resemblance to medical aid in dying. The character Will Traynor in "Me Before You" could not qualify for medical aid in dying in this country. Medical aid in dying is reserved for adults of sound mind who are suffering at the very end of life and who wish to shorten, rather than prolong, the dying process. They do not want to die. They are dying.

"Me Before You" raises questions that Americans can and will discuss. Let's just be sure we do so with accurate information and clarity about what is and is not before us in the Minnesota policy debate.

In "Reliable power sources in the U.S. and Minnesota: A primer" (June 20), the writer supports curbing our consumption of coal to mitigate climate change. He cites an ongoing need for stable base load power that only coal, natural gas or nuclear power can provide. While addressing the safety concerns we face with nuclear power, he also identifies a risk of methane leaks during natural-gas production.

This risk has to do with the strength of methane as a heat-trapping gas. Methane doesn't linger as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, but it's initially far more devastating to the climate. In the short term, methane is up to 90 times more potent in heat absorption. Its dominant source is the production, transportation and use of fossil fuels.

The nation as a whole is leaking methane in massive quantities — leaking at every stage of the oil-and-gas supply chain. These leaks aren't just happening at big oil and gas facilities or in oil fields; they're a problem even in neighborhoods.

Affordable solutions exist to prevent, detect and repair these leaks. This year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized national rules that would, for the first time, directly regulate oil and gas methane emissions. But the rules are not retroactive. The EPA and the White House need to hear that Americans support even stronger national standards for methane emissions.

The writer is an energy analyst.

In the battle of hope vs. hopelessness being waged in north Minneapolis, the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ), under the deft leadership of Sondra Samuels, can claim more than a few victories ("Not all bad news in 'the battle zone,' " June 20). Thanks to the NAZ and its support services, I witness daily miracles in the lives of our Ascension scholars and their families. The NAZ's mission, vision and outcomes have raised the bar for all of us who love north Minneapolis and are trying to do some good here. Thank you, Sondra. Thank you, North Side partners.

The writer is pastor at Church of the Ascension.

Gretchen Carlson of Fox News graced the Star Tribune Opinion Exchange page on June 20 ("The changing face of beauty, and messages it can send"), and shared the grim numbers on the social pressure placed on girls regarding appearance.

This is ironic, because a September 2012 article in the Atlantic ("Foxy Ladies") said that a " 'Fox regular once commented to me that she gets more calls from network management about her hair, clothes and makeup than about what she says. 'I just think of it as a uniform,' she said of her getup."