Of Gallantry & Patriotism

Sir: The entire world will mourn the loss of the three astronauts [Feb. 3]. It is certain that the last thing the three gallant men concerned would wish would be for the space program to be abandoned. The benefits already given to mankind as a result of the space program are indeed tremendous, thanks to the devotion to duty of all concerned. Thank you, U.S.A.

G. O. PRIESTLEY

Yorkshire, England

Sir: Perhaps the death of the three astronauts was a tragic reminder to the American public that will hopefully shock us out of our increasing indifference toward our space program.

The most glorifying encomium is not sufficient praise for the astronauts' tenacity, gallantry and courage. On television, their ardent patriotism was spoken of in a seemingly apologetic manner. In this day and age, there aren't enough heroes to emulate, and when someone has to apologize for patriotism, then our country is in a sad state of affairs.

JEFFREY PAUL CUSTER, '68

STEPHEN J. BINDER, '68

Mount Hermon School

Mount Hermon, Mass.

Sir: I shall always feel as if three members of my family were lost.

(MRS.) NAOMI RUSSELL

San Diego

Gasp!

Sir: Your article on air pollution [Jan. 27] is a timely call for immediate action to combat an evil about which too much is said and too little done. Man's greatest problem has always been one of resisting some form of self-destruction, and the threat posed to life on earth by pollution is certainly more serious than most of us would even privately admit.

DAVID L. WESTERMAN

Ann Arbor, Mich.

Sir: Cities, states and nations will continue to clamor for new industry even though it contaminates the air and pollutes the lakes and streams. You see, those belching smokestacks symbolize prosperity. And we congratulate ourselves on the good fortune to live in this effluent society.

JOHN M. KEEPER

Medina, Ohio

Sir: With regard to the air pollution of Los Angeles, I recall that in the very beginning of the smog era, the city's transportation officials did what has proved to be a foolish thing. They eliminated all the electric trains that fed into the city from the suburbs and tore up their tracks.

DONNA L. PREBLE

Carmel, Calif.

Sir: For heaven's sake, let's think ahead this time! If the ignition on my neighbor's car can cause interference on my hi-fi and TV, think of the electronic havoc that would be wrought in a city full of cars powered by electricity. The car must be replaced by mass transportation in urban centers--there is no other choice.

THOMAS A. CABARGA

Chapel Hill, N.C.

No Cool at Cal

Sir: Your article regarding the dismissal of California's President Clark Kerr [Jan. 27] is disturbing in its lack of perception. Dr. Kerr most certainly did not "lose his cool" during the 1964 demonstrations at Berkeley, nor has he since. If anything, he lost the deserved, rational support of the news media and moderate public in California, who were willing to allow the hue and cry of a few brief, sophomoric disturbances to obscure the significant miracle of Berkeley's steady rise to first place among the nation's--and probably the world's--graduate schools.

It was a coalition of sensationalism and anti-intellectualism that sacrificed a great man to minor issues. It was the 14 regents of the University who, in firing Dr. Kerr, "lost their cool." Now the vast majority of students and faculty who have been directly affected by his dismissal are straining to keep from losing theirs.

JOHN PETERS, '67

U.C.L.A.

Los Angeles

Sir: Your assumption that Clark Kerr was fired justifiably because he "failed to keep the peace at Cal" has disturbing implications for those of us who do not believe that "peace at any price" is an appropriate slogan for a university.

According to your reasoning, a prime candidate for Kerr's job would be the warden of San Quentin--except that he has had his own troubles keeping the peace lately, even with the aid of armed guards.

(MRS.) ANN LAPIDES

Los Altos Hills, Calif.

Sir: I would like to congratulate Governor Reagan and the board of regents for an excellent decision in terminating Dr. Clark Kerr as president of that institution. I feel certain that, had the ex-president used a little forethought and restraint, the demonstrations of recent years might not have occurred.

I firmly believe in democracy in every facet of society, but there must be certain guidelines and considerations for others. From the number of demonstrators and the enrollment of the university, it appears to be another minority group attempting to dictate policy, as is the case in most upheavals in today's Great Society.

EDGAR P. GARRISON SR.

Richmond

Pop Goes the Easel

Sir: Three cheers for your excellent Essay on art today [Jan. 27]. I recently completed a course in modern art in hopes that I might gain some appreciation for the currently hailed art trends. However, I was completely disillusioned with the hodgepodge of junk that supposedly caters to the American taste. I can find beauty in the colors of Pollock, design in the geometric abstraction of Malevitch, and esthetic reasons for the distortions of Picasso; however, I can find no purpose in pop art or minimal art. Previously, I thought that I just wasn't with it; now I know there's nothing to get with.

PAMELA TRIEFF

University of Bridgeport

Bridgeport, Conn.

Sir: Your Essay reads as though contemporary art were imported from another planet. Do you forget that these works are products of earth men reflecting or reacting, albeit esoterically, to their life and times? The gold-plush-carpeted stairway leading nowhere may indeed be a most appropriate symbol of our time.

Whatever the criticism of minimal art, it is certainly thoughtprovoking. (An occasional unsolvable puzzle is rather fun.) It invites, demands, investigates and hinges upon intellectual involvement on the part of the viewer, and this, I think, is good. If art is not giving us answers, why single it out? Who or what is offering answers in our chaotic world?

DON CRINER

Painter-Teacher

Henry Ford Community College

Dearborn, Mich.

Sir: Never before have the artists made such an attempt to involve their audience with the objects of art. They create art around us in the form of happenings, environments, events, and Barney's Beanery. They make it possible for us to experience art unique to ourselves by asking us to peer into a box containing a kaleidoscopic arrangement of mirrors.

I, for one, am enjoying a new excitement in the formerly drab, everyday world about me. For this, I thank the modern artists without making any attempts to define art.

FRANK MUDRAK

Beloit, Wis.

That Wilsonian Complex

Sir: I read with some concern your review of the Freud-Bullitt book on Woodrow Wilson [Jan. 27]. It seems that your anonymous reviewer fell into the trap of biting prejudice that he so violently objected to in the book. It is quite true that the very basis of the book--the Oedipus complex and the general libidinal theory--is under serious review by psychologists today, but judging from the article, I find it hard to believe that your reviewer considers psychoanalysis much more than "a fantastic parlor game" anyway.

DOUGLAS M. McGiLPIN

Westfield, Mass.

Sir: Your critical comments on the Freud-Bullitt analysis of Wilson come as welcome news to scientists engaged in psychological research. Such people have long been troubled by the general acceptance of Freud's work by the public. Freud always considered himself a scientist, but neither he nor his followers have achieved much more than the unscientific system of fanciful ideas represented by the Wilson analysis. Scientists expect more of their theories than Freud's system has yet achieved, or probably ever will.

JOHN W. REICH, PH.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology

Arizona State University

Tempe

The Acid Test

Sir: Let's get on with a meaningful and unbiased national assessment of school performance [Jan. 27]. This is something long past due. It would make much more meaningful the various federal aid programs. We're spending an awful lot of money in this area. What are we buying in the way of performance? Right now, it sounds as if we have no way of knowing.

JACK WICHELS

Vienna, Va.

Sir: For half a century now, the proponents of the testing movement in schools and universities have been corrupting education by coercive actions in making course content, student behavior, discipline, teacher behavior, guidance and administration correspond to their stupid, inane and monotonous tests.

The testing racket has no scientific foundation and can serve only to corrupt and mold education further to its crude guesswork, senseless statistical values and fraudulent scientism. It makes cheats and dissemblers of a majority of the students and educational institutions, and is the main barrier to equalization of civil rights.

KARL U. SMITH

Professor of Psychology

University of Wisconsin

Madison

Lifesmanship

Sir: Metropolitan Opera's Rudolf Bing, while pondering the virtues in growing old [Jan. 20], should consider Maurice Chevalier's statement--"Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative."

JEROME E. SALNY

Morristown, N.J.

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