Uneasy Allies

To the Editors:

America's allies [April 28]--always there when they need you.

(The Rev.) Larry N. Lorenzoni San Francisco

Who does Carter think he is, trying to dictate foreign policy to independent nations? Does he not realize that the nations of Western Europe are not puppets of the U.S. and are well qualified to decide on their own what action should be taken toward the illegal detention of American subjects in Iran?

Ian D. Hay Aberdeen, Scotland

I am an Englishwoman who was never very pro-American. Now, however, the U.S. has all my sympathy. It is expected to help out every Tom, Dick and Harry as the years go by, and gets precious little thanks for what it does. People say President Carter dithers. Who wouldn't with the "friends" he has?

Daisy Swindell Minchinhampton, England

While we are clogging the roads on the way to the ballparks, race tracks and gambling casinos, what right do we have asking our allies to ruin themselves by joining our Iranian boycott?

Jules Kean Philadelphia

What surprises me is that countries think that by imposing sanctions on Iran they are only trying to free the American hostages, when, in fact, they are protecting all the embassies around the world.

Evelyn Lane Canoga Park, Calif.

A Vote for the Veep

Why don't we cut out all this nonsense regarding the forthcoming election of a President [April 28]? Nobody I know is for Carter, but most are also against Reagan. Get it over with and draft Vice President Mondale as the nominee of the Democratic Party.

Raymond C. Emery Tempe, Ariz.

Capitalism (Contd.)

The U.S. no longer has a capitalistic economy [April 21]. What we have instead is an aristocracy of Big Business--a handful of conglomerates that control every facet of American life. The American consumer no longer has a choice. Whatever "rose" I pick, the name turns out to be Mobil or Ford or General Foods.

Margaret V. McGill Philadelphia

Sorry, but your observation that "capitalism has lifted the vast majority of laborers into the middle class" ignores the historic role of the labor union movement. Without the labor unions, Marx would have been right: workers would have been pushed "deeper into poverty."

Kirk Bell Sacramento

To attribute the ills of our current (mis)managed economic mess to capitalism is like blaming the victim for the crime. Do not blaspheme a noble ideal by giving capitalism's name to years of Keynesian meddling.

Oakley K. Davidson Clarendon Hills, Ill.

Children of the Holocaust

It is only now that I am 33 years old that my parents, survivors of the Holocaust [April 21], are finally willing to describe their ordeal to their children. We are in the process of making a taped dialogue that painfully relives their horror and persecution. Why? I feel it is my responsibility to ensure that my children and future generations of our family will know in detail what happened to their German ancestors in the '30s and '40s. My parents can never forget; I will never forget; nor should any of us ever forget, lest it happen all over again.

Doris Melnick Westminster, Calif.

As one of the children of the Holocaust, I never felt persecuted or different. We all are a product of our backgrounds, but to blame our parents' experiences for all the problems we may face is unfair. My problems are primarily associated with inflation and the high cost of living. Do we blame this on our parents' history?

Bernice Guest Yorktown Heights, N. Y.

Polls, Mo and Money

The conclusion in your Essay on the presidential nominating process [April 14] is accurate when you say that the sys tem favors the candidate who wins the early primaries.

As one who struggled to stay in the race, I found it discouraging that 99% of the media focused on polls, momentum and money, rather than the issues. Some contenders who understood the issues never really had a chance because the media ignored experience in government and politics. I shall always believe voters would be interested in an early analysis of all the candidates and their grasp of the issues.

Bob Dole

U.S. Senator, Kansas Washington, D.C.

Nader's Day

Now that Ralph Nader has had his

"Big Business Day" [April 28], I suggest

the rest of us hold a "Big Government

Day." We could celebrate it May 11, the

day the average worker stops working to

pay taxes and starts working for himself.

Stephen S. McNaughton

Bath, Me.

Nader's attack on Big Business is an ignorant stereotype. Perhaps we should all honor him on Ignorance Day.

Steve Adamek Riverside, Calif.

The Preppie Look

Having grown up in the '50s, I had a feeling of dej`a vu on reading "Here Comes the Preppie Look" [April 28]. Egads, think of the money we could save in these inflationary times if all that stuff hadn't been sold in garage sales years ago!

Shirley Catter Dallas

The day the Preppie Look becomes popular is the day the Preppies stop wearing it.

Mary Venker Washington, D.C.

Iron Will and Loyalty

I believe that G. Gordon Liddy [April 21], despite his idiosyncrasies, should be honored and admired for his seriousness of purpose, iron discipline and especially his unfaltering loyalty to both the U.S. and the President. Few people today possess such qualities in our Government.

William C. Stuhldreher Jr. Indianapolis

Gordon Liddy is unique. I hope.

Bob Black Lubbock, Texas

False Idols

Sidney Hook's attack on certain popular figures [April 28] brings to mind another false idol of our time: Bertolt Brecht. Brecht's purpose was not to bring down the Nazis but that tender sprout of democracy, the Weimar Republic. Rather than undermine the Nazi movement, Brecht et al. made the brown-shirted thugs acceptable to millions of middle-class Germans ("Somebody's got to do something!"), and thus contributed to the eventual rise of Hitler.

Walter Ducloux, Professor of Music

University of Texas

Austin

Optimistic Sartre

The death of Jean-Paul Sartre [April 28] comes at a time when masses of people are embracing prefabricated values and ideas, and seeking security in political and religious fundamentalisms. Sartre was not a lonely pessimist, but was hopeful about the emergence of a harmonious worldwide society, which is necessary to deal with the growing problem of material scarcity.

Although fickle intellectual fashions may have left Sartre behind, his ceaseless demand for individual and social responsibility should not be forgotten.

Stuart Charme

Department of Religion

Camden College of Arts and Sciences

Camden, N.J.

In Defense of Mice

The tone of your article "Mighty Mice: Naked Came the Rodents" [April 28] reinforces the attitude that it is acceptable to regard animals as products and nothing more. The way we treat animals--as living creatures or as inanimate objects--reflects on our respect for life and our attitudes toward man himself. "They are only rats" becomes "They are only Jews," then blacks, then women, then workers. And so on, and so on.

Judith A. Oliver Wexford, Pa.

Cheerful Grandmother

I'm the 83-year-old grandmother that my granddaughter Donna Ragland wrote about [April 14] in response to your Essay on ageism. I had so many calls concerning the letter, even from out-of-towners, it made me feel good. I am hoping my health and outlook will keep me going so I can keep on cooking and baking for folks, to add a little cheer to life.

Mrs. Justin Mischik North Miami

Casting a Stone

It would be too bad if Iran got caught between Iraq and a hard place.

Nadra Dangerfield Lawrence, Kans.

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