Bjorn Is a Smash

To the Editors:

Even though I don't understand tennis, I cannot fail to see the beauty, grace and excellence of Bjorn Borg [June 30].

Leslie Jackson Glastonbury, Conn.

Just when I was beginning to believe that Borg was a bionic man, you showed a very human side to the best in the tennis world today.

Mike Schulte Cudahy, Wis.

Borg is the greatest!

Mary Lou St. Cyr Mesa, Ariz.

Instead of saying how well Jimmy Connors played at the '78 U.S. Open, you said Borg had an injured thumb, and implied that was the reason for his loss. Nobody could have beaten Connors that day. When Borg loses, nobody says how well the other man played, but only how bad Borg was.

Gregg Livingston Conway, S.C.

It is quite unfair to call Borg a machine when tennis means so much to his body and soul.

Hilary House Chatham, Mass.

Reagan as the Choice

Your interview with Ronald Reagan [June 30] has convinced me that he is the best candidate. What America needs is a man of action, not one with constantly changing ideas like President Carter.

Kenneth Ryan Plantation, Fla.

Reagan says the elderly "are not buying homes as they once did," and so Social Security should be reviewed. The elderly have been hard hit by rent increases and the conversion of apartments into condominiums, which we can't afford to buy. We have to live somewhere; where do we go? Who says housing isn't a problem for us?

Mr. and Mrs. Corey Smith Atlanta

For Ronald Reagan to suggest that John Anderson is running merely out of egotism is hypocritical. Anyone who believes he somehow has an answer to all of this nation's problems, that his candidacy will be the salvation of the country, is embarked on a monumental ego trip of his own.

Graydon John Forrer Grand Blanc, Mich.

The Decline of the U.S.

The U.S. is no longer No. 1. That's good news [June 30]. Now we can try harder. We can begin to appreciate other standards of living, instead of inflicting our own on everyone within our purchasing power. And learn, just in time, that friendships bought are only investments in resentment.

Edward Anthony Ann Arbor, Mich.

It's appalling that the Europeans see it as a sign of U.S. weakness that the standard of living in some parts of Europe is at least as high as that of the U.S. Hasn't that been the whole point of our leadership and generosity in the past--to strengthen our allies? European countries must now take a greater share of the responsibility for world leadership, since they have accumulated a greater share of the world's wealth.

Rod Cameron Council Bluffs, Iowa

When the Administration starts to talk with, not at, our European allies and allows them the latitude to breathe freely, then our relationships will improve.

You can be bullish on your friends, but you can't be a bully.

Edward B. Ryder IV East Williston, N.Y.

As a new U.S. citizen, I am thoroughly appalled by the so-called independent attitude of our European allies. Many of my European friends are anxious to buy real estate in the U.S. for fear of being overrun by the Soviets. Go your own merry way, European leaders, and be independent, but without U.S. support!

Margriet Janssen Boston

Bold Stroke?

The "Bold New Stroke for Peace" [June 23] is neither bold nor new nor pacific. In its "assertive initiative," the European Community merely echoes the language of its oil suppliers. The "big boost to the Palestinians" is only another effort to sanitize the P.L.O. Meanwhile, the P.L.O. leadership reaffirms its charter's call for Israel's demise: For peace?

Michael Weiss University Heights, Ohio

Since when does it take courage to grovel?

Charles Spungen Skokie, Ill.

I would prefer to call this "bold stroke" a simple case of meddling.

Manley Perkel Dayton

Dealing with the Bureaucracy

Almost anyone would agree that the present federal bureaucratic structure is highly inefficient, but Charles Peters' proposal of reviving the patronage system as an alternative to the "survival network" [June 30] is certainly incapable of making Washington work. A simple cutback in the number of outmoded or superfluous federal offices is a more reasonable, as well as obvious, solution.

Joseph Gabriel Champaign, Ill.

Peters is a Savonarola come to pronounce judgment on Washington. Of course there is empire building on the Potomac, as there is on the Moskva and was on the Tiber. Survival and self-promotion are natural, and probably even good. Would Peters rather have the bloated bureaucracies we now have, or a lean, hard corps of fanatical workaholics who could wreck the Republic?

Tom Gill Columbia, Md.

Bestiality in The Tin Drum

Reader Fitzroy Davis [June 16] remarks that in the film The Tin Drum there are "scenes that reduce sexual love to obscene bestiality." If we regard the act of love as a microcosm of the act of life, then it follows that the one mirrors the other. Life in fascist Germany had been reduced to obscene bestiality, and love offered no escape from this fact.

Nancy L. Roberts Biloxi, Miss.

Long Walk for the Navajos

Your American Scene article has an excellent historical overview of the Navajo-Hopi land dispute [June 30]. It is indeed possible that more than 7,000 Navajos may be forced into the second "Long Walk." The question, however, is where and to what.

Loren A. Corsberg Lakeside, Ariz.

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