My Impromptus today is offbeat — a Mexico City journal: “On the sights, sounds, and tastes of a mammoth capital, and a bit beyond.” Give it a try, here. Now, let’s have some mail.

Two days ago, I devoted my column to Ukraine, Russia, and the United States (here). In response, I received many anguished notes. One of them is from a reader in England:

I told my father (who lost his brother in World War II, in North Africa) that I thought I could understand how his generation must have felt in 1938.

A reader from Virginia writes,

I think of George Shultz, Paul Nitze, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Scoop Jackson, Pat Moynihan, and, of course, William F. Buckley Jr. Where are such leaders now? Is there no balm in Gilead?

Someone brought to my attention a quotation in the New York Times (in this article). Anna Murlykina is a Ukrainian, a journalist, 50 years old. At the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she had to flee west from Mariupol. She said:

“When you live in a world that is crumbling under your feet, the only thing that helps you survive is to believe in guidelines, in civilized democratic countries that uphold values. When countries like the United States cease to be pillars, there is nothing to hope for.”

In my Impromptus on Tuesday, I discussed an issue of nomenclature and presidential decree. I said, among other things, “To rename the Gulf of Mexico is so petty — unworthy of our greatness as a nation.” A reader writes,

There are many bigger issues, obviously, starting with Ukraine. But it’s the smallness of this thing that makes it, in a way, big. The sheer smallness.

On Monday, I discussed a statement from President Trump two days before: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” A reader writes,

That statement is attributed to Napoleon, whether he said it or not. I myself think of Animal Farm — where Boxer the horse says, repeatedly, “Napoleon is always right.” There are lots of Boxers around.

Last week, I had a post about diversity — ethnic diversity in America and the Americas. A reader writes,

For a good example of this diversity, take a gander at the Juárez, Mexico, phone book. It’s got pages of names like “López-Chan” and “Wong-Villa.” Every country in this hemisphere is a nation of immigrants.

Yesterday, I had a comment on Saturday Night Live, which has just marked its 50th anniversary. They marked it with a special on Sunday night. A reader writes,

I watched the SNL gala and was a little disappointed in it (so was my wife). I was born in 1961 and remember the show when it was new. I didn’t catch it every Saturday night but watched it frequently. In the gala, there was not much for us ’70s and ’80s folks. The show was mainly for youngsters: ages 20 to 30, let’s say. But maybe I am jaded!

I also had a comment, yesterday, on the theme to Mission: Impossible. It was composed by Lalo Schifrin, the nonagenarian Argentinian American who once came on a National Review cruise (what a treat that was). A reader writes,

Has to be one of the most famous and recognizable TV-show themes in history.

Oh, yes. I wrote an essay on this subject — TV themes — in 2021: here. A rich subject.

Thank you, as always, to one and all readers and correspondents.