The Real Problem

Sir: I was sitting alone in a perimeter observation tower in Viet Nam when I heard of the tragic and violent death of Senator Robert F. Kennedy [June 14]. How and why can death be so prevalent in an advanced civilization such as ours? At that moment, my attention became fixed on the M-60 machine gun which rested, black and suddenly very ugly, in front of me. I wondered when I would have to kill or be killed.

I was disgusted with myself, for had I the courage of a Kennedy or a King, I would be fighting this war at home with words, rather than in a perimeter tower with guns. With that thought in mind, I pledged myself to peace--and at that same time felt very hypocritical, for I knew full well that when it came right down to it I would have to do my talking with the M60.

(A/1C) RICHARD W. CLATWORTHY

U.S.A.F. A.P.O., San Francisco

Sir: Bonnie and Clyde are glorified in an "artistically creative" movie, civil disobedience is condoned by churchmen, children are allowed to do whatever they please so as not to injure their development as total persons, and American youths are justified when they seek freedom without responsibility as a way of life; yet the nation expresses shock at one man taking another's life. Come now, if a disease is allowed to spread, why such surprise when it kills?

JAMES L. TELFER

Public Relations Director Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tenn.

Sir: Only because I wept so for John Kennedy, I have not enough tears to weep for Bobby Kennedy, for Martin Luther King, for the young men in Viet Nam, for the poor, for President Johnson and those others who today bear such heavy burdens and who, while still living, suffer character assassination. Or to weep for those of us who mistake anarchy for dissent and free speech or violence for justice.

MICHAEL A. SHELL Columbia, S.C.

Sir: Is there a way in which we Americans approve of assassination? May it not lie in our enjoyment of the feeling of national unity that comes from a common feeling of personal involvement in a great tragedy? Christendom is or was united by a feeling of personal involvement in Christ's tragedy. Are our assassinations sacramental?

DAVID MULROY East Palo Alto, Calif.

Sir: America is not sick. It is not just this country that is violent, or society in the 1960s. Pointing fingers at the U.S. is, seemingly, a favorite pastime in today's world, and the people from other countries who do it forget or ignore their own past. One need not enumerate the bloody history of England or France, the revolution of 1917 in Russia, the conquistadores of Spain, the banana republics of Latin America, the wars of independence in Africa, the dynastic wars in China, the long conflicts in Europe, to establish such an obvious truth.

The problem in America is: you are always the last ones to want to recognize that something is wrong. The ideals of democracy, good, country and family have been instilled in you for so long that it is taking you an undue time to account for the evil, unmovable, base nature of human beings. We are beasts and so shall we remain as long as somebody's wife is better looking than ours; as long as a neighbor has a better car than ours; as long as our shouting for a principle or idea is overtaken by someone who shouts louder; as long as we may feel that there are weaker beasts willing to be told, to be led, to be directed. We have been like that from prehistoric man to the scholars of today. Because this country has refused to accept that fact for so long, its outbursts shock you and surprise you. You have always had an image of innocence, of overgrown children and maybe you reveled in it because innocence is related to purity of motives.

America is waking up to the facts of life and it doesn't like it. I don't either. But. as the hippies put it, that's the way it is, that's where it's at.

JEAN PIERRE FRANKENHUIS Cambridge, Mass.

Of Ferment & the Future

Sir: Are we really "The Cynical Idealists of '68" [June 7], or are we the frightened realists who see beyond '68? Are we really those who "may be guided by lofty ideals but offer no pragmatic programs?" I wonder what was said of the Pilgrims when they came to the New World as idealists, indecisive? Let us be thankful for the "creative ferment."

BARRY I. GOLD, '68 University of Cincinnati

Sir: I must admit that I was sorely disappointed by your portrayal of the graduating Class of 1968. I ask you, what percentage of the graduates look like that long-haired, bearded, psychedelic "freak-out" on your cover? Our society is sick with the pseudo intellectuals, acid heads and hippies.

Thank God for the straight people (the majority of the 1968 graduating class) who will provide the stable hinges to which our society has always clung.

T. STEVEN LALE Kansas City, Mo.

Sir: You select a highly unrepresentative sample of students, project as reality the mood of befuddled old-style liberalism in the face of New Left propaganda, decide to trust the mythological student you create on a flimsy basis, namely his "awareness" and "commitment." You fail to give credit to conservative activist students, who outnumber S.D.S. members by more than 5 to 1. Further, you fail to mention that there are students who intellectually envision the solutions to "bureaucracy" and "dehumanization" in addition to the few whose inarticulate ravings and uncritical grasp of history dominate your pages. There are many among us who do not erupt with empty slogans and undirected fury before a world not understood.

VERONICA MILLER New Orleans

Sir: I'm sure that the article hit hard at the older generation, but they have a harder blow to anticipate--the class of '69.

MARGARET R. SUTHERLAND, '69 Loyola University of the South New Orleans

Brute In Perspective

Sir: Having had the privilege of knowing and working with Lieut. General Victor H. Krulak, it was particularly pleasing to me to read TIME'S evaluation of this remarkable man [June 7]. You have presented "The Brute" briefly and in true perspective as a Marine and patriot. When a former Navy man expresses sentimentality concerning a news story about a Marine, you must understand that he speaks with conviction.

E. ROBERT ANDERSON San Diego

Patterning Problems

Sir: Although I am correctly described in your article about "Patterning" [May 31] as a critic of the Doman and Delacato methods, I would like to clarify several points.

So far as I am aware, Doman and Delacato have never claimed to have effective treatment methods for two of their three categories (psychotic and brain-deficient), but only for the brain-injured group. Not every child is put through the full patterning and creeping-crawling early stages.

You stated that the Institutes withdrew from the controlled, comprehensive study that was intended to compare the efficacy of their methods with others. According to the report of the principal investigator who coordinated the study, they withdrew their agreement to the original design, resulting in cancellation of the study by the other groups involved.

You correctly indicated that ten organizations had endorsed the critical official statement, but listed only seven in your footnote, omitting the American Academy of Neurology, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Association on Mental Deficiency.

ROGER D. FREEMAN, M.D. Wynnewood, Pa.

Housing Problems

Sir: Your article entitled "Why U.S. Housing Costs Too Much" [June 7] expressed the problem in a concise manner. I wonder what the price of a new Chevrolet would be if G.M. had to make it with 15-in. wheels for New York and 16-in. wheels for Los Angeles or with a twelve-volt battery in Chicago and a six-volt battery in Philadelphia. I hope that more articles will educate the public to problems such as codes, rising labor costs, mortgage markets, land prices and many others faced by the builder today.

J. C. JORDAN Raleigh, N.C.

Sir: You failed to indict the lending institutions for taking their "pound of flesh" from the already harassed home buyer. The questionable fees charged for making the loan and the "tribute" the seller must pay in points charged against him when a buyer seeks an FHA loan are tantamount to fiscal blackmail.

GEORGE W. CARROLL Edina, Minn.

Relevant

Sir: The word "dialogue" has descended like a plague on the American press. But this is not the only word that has become overworked. Some other good examples include "relevant" (or "irrelevant") and "confrontation." Your news subjects always seem to be taking a "creative and pragmatic" approach to problems. "Swingers' one and all, they have a "meaningful commitment to life," they're "opening up new channels of communication" and, of course, "getting down to the nitty-gritty." You're a boring bunch of fellows--almost, you might say, "irrelevant." Why don't you get a new dictionary?

SUSAN MILLER Baltimore

> Wouldn't that be too pragmatic?

Bubbles

Sir: Re Il Destino di Bubbles [June 7]:

Your opus operandi

Was simply grandi

And the heroine didn't die!

Really I could cry--

The climax gave me chills

Love and X X X

BEVERLY SILLS London

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.