Man of the Year

Sir / I commend you for naming Richard Milhous Nixon as Man of the Year [Jan. 3]. At the time of his inauguration, he was faced with troubles at home and many more abroad. Yet he has taken his stand and made for himself a well-deserved place in history. This country isn't perfect and neither is Mr. Nixon, but his undying concern and his faithful help have led me to believe that some one finally turned on the lights. Things do look brighter. This man has filled American minds with hope, replacing the despair that lived there for so long.

GLENDA M. GOODRICH Washington, D.C.

Sir / Crime is up. The economy's down.

The war goes on. Hordes of unemployed walk the street. White and black are far ther apart than ever. Our elderly find it impossible to exist. Yet TIME picks Nixon as Man of the Year.

NAT H. TOLEN Stamford, Conn.

Sir / By picking Richard Nixon, you have once again voted for planned mediocrity in Government office and many things contemptible in American life.

MICHAEL G. BALLINGER New York City

Sir / The year must be 1984. Otherwise, I know that such a perceptive and objective magazine as yours would not have named Richard Nixon its Man of the Year.

(MRS.) ISABEL J. FORD Jefferson, Mass.

Heroic Helpfulness

Sir / Your article "The New American Samaritans" [Dec. 27] helped to redeem the sadly faded images of "charity" and "doing good" from their demise at the hands of cynics, ego-trippers and radicals of both right and left.

Pondering your nine vignettes of heroic helpfulness may not lead your readers to imitation, but it may help sensitize them to see such courage and compassion all around them.

L. ALEXANDER HARPER Director for Domestic Affairs Council for Christian Social Action United Church of Christ New York City

Sir / Hurray and hallelujah for the do-gooders. That name still makes people sound like goody-goodies, but you have proved there's no sissiness about the guts that these people have and the good work that they do.

ANNE PARKER Arlington, Va.

Sir / I was interested but not surprised at the complaints of Do-Gooder Frank Ferree's neighbors about his house. If his neighbors had his spirit of brotherhood, they would take brush and ham mer in hand and help him put his "damned eyesore" in order.

MARY ANN CONNERY Coon Rapids, Minn.

Sir / Thank you for including the Perpetual Mission and Mother Waddles in your story, but I feel it is necessary to point out that Integrated Medical Services (not McKesson & Robbins) of Detroit has totally funded the clinic to date and will continue to fund it.

Although we have eight volunteer doctors, we will also have two full-time doctors and a full-time paramedical staff, furnished and paid for by Integrated Medical Services.

CHARLESZETTA WADDLES Mother Waddles Perpetual Mission Detroit According to the Prophets

Sir / Gee, fellas, it's real nice of you to give us back the right to our Jewish city of Jerusalem [Dec. 27]! We're glad you're big enough to swallow your doubts and to tell the world you think Jews are fit to govern a city that's had a Jewish majority for the last 100 years.

We're trying, we really are, to act with the decency, humanity, compassion and mercy that our prophets taught us in Jerusalem 2,500 years ago. Thanks for advising the Israelis to take especially good care of the Arabs; it never hurts anyone to hear a good sermon a few thousand times. But we do wish the world would stop yammering about Jerusalem. If Christianity and Islam also chose it as a holy place, it was because of what the Jewish people did there 2,000 and more years ago.

(MRS.) EDITH SAMUEL New York City

Sir / The unanswered question still remains: Does a Russian of Jewish faith have more right to live in Jerusalem than a Palestinian whose ancestors have lived in the Holy City for generations, but whose home or lands have now been expropriated by the Israeli government?

The crux of the problem still remains: the Palestinians, now dispossessed, their identity a flame without a candle, a people without a country to call their own. Perhaps it is well to ponder Isaiah 61:8: "I, the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong."

MAY MANSOOR Houston Irreconcilable Confusion

Sir /The article "Who Has the Good News Straight?", about the accuracy and order of the Gospels [Dec. 27], was un necessary. That a solution to the syn optic problem might be of interest is obvious, but to wonder as to its pos sible effect on Christian faith reveals an irreconcilable confusion between the "good news" and the Six O'Clock News.

JOHN J. RACER Ottawa, Ont.

Sir / Re "Who Has the Good News Straight?": God used four faithful men to write independent accounts. Each writer tells his own story using his own theme, objective, personality, and keeping in mind those to whom he is writing.

Matthew wrote his book primarily for his own people, the Jews, and quoted many times from the Hebrew Scriptures to serve his purpose. Since he had been a tax collector, it was natural that he would be explicit in his mention of money, figures and values. He alone emphasizes that mercy is required in ad dition to sacrifice.

Mark wrote mostly for the Romans, which required him to make many ex planatory comments on Jewish customs and teachings with which non-Jews would be unfamiliar. Mark's writing is so vivid that his account must have been obtained from an eyewitness, probably Peter. He portrays Jesus as the miracle-working Son of God, the conquering Saviour. He puts considerable stress on the activities of Christ rather than on his sermons and teachings.

Luke wrote for "men of good will" of all nations. To achieve universal appeal, he traces Jesus' genealogy back to "Adam, the Son of God," and not just to Abraham. Being a doctor, he employs more than 300 medical terms or words. Keeping his audience in mind he also made it a point to tie in events with secular history.

John wrote primarily a supplementary work, in both what it says and fails to say. The more we search these writings, the more we appreciate that each has its distinctive features, and that the four inspired Gospels are in dependent, complementary and harmonious accounts of the life of Jesus Christ.

DAVID M. MILLS Stone Ridge, N.Y.

Sacred Bulls

Sir / I disagree with your speculations about the Amazon women's practice of kidnaping males for sexual rites [Dec. 27]. It is equally probable that these women maintained males to preside as titular priests of fertility and sacrifice.

The benefit in maintaining these sacred and sacrificial "bulls," while excluding males from any other social activities, was the formation of a nonaggressive female cult dedicated to motherhood and survival. It would seem quite disadvantageous "enemies," for yet the it would Amazons be to an kidnap advantage male to control their own men and to cultivate peaceful coexistence.

SHERRY FUZESY Alameda, Calif.

Sir / It is interesting to note that the legendary Amazons went much further than the bra-burning liberationists of today.

These hunters amputated the right breast so it would not interfere with their bow and arrow ability during their battles.

MARK YARWOOD JOHNSON Washington, D.C.

Home for the Instruments

Sir / I was very gratified to read TIME'S report on the long-awaited new musical-instruments galleries at the Metropolitan Museum [Dec. 27].

However, I would like to draw attention to the fact that Mrs. Andre Mertens made possible the installation of the instruments, which have "moldered in storage for more than half century as a memorial to her late husband, Andre Mertens, the distinguished impresario and concert manager. The galleries have been named the Andre Mertens Galleries.

THOMAS HOVING Director Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City

Witless Days

Sir /The pun-filled Letter from the Publisher [Dec. 20] was a sheer delight.

How often have we lamented that wit is out of style, and that this humorless generation doesn't know what it is missing? Thank you for the nostalgia.

VIRGINIA THOMASON Sarasota, Fla.

Sir / One need not be an especially shark reader to catch the porpoise of the Letter from the Publisher. Let me seas this oppor-tuna-ty to nettle you and perchance put an end to this.

You've got a lot of gill to keep carping on those same old puns! It really disturbots me and fillets my sole with roe.

O to be hard of herring!

I don't mean to be so crabby, but, my cod, let's finish the topic for once and for all. I've haddock.

MARY NED NYBERG Framingham, Mass.

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