To the Editors:

I arrived in this strange land as a student three years ago, and am delighted and bemused to see the two presidential candidates tear each other apart, especially in the debates [NATION, Oct. 29]. I do not know which man is better. But I do know I like the U.S. because all this is happening without a single stone being thrown.

Jun Sung Lee Hoboken, N.J.

The ability to debate is not necessarily the sign of an effective leader. In fact, debates are often won by the candidate most skilled in the quick sidestep and the artful dodge. A leader must take time and have some solitude before engaging his mouth. Robert Brundin Torrance, Calif.

If rhetorical agility were important to carrying out the functions of a President, then we might do better to scrounge up future candidates from the ranks of criminal lawyers or radio talk-show hosts. Fortunately, most voters give more weight to other qualities that a president must have, such as leadership and judgment.

Robert Bao East Lansing, Mich.

What has happened to American politics, that a man like Walter Mondale can question the competency of President Reagan and manipulate the media to the point that Mondale has credibility?

Russ Scearce Seattle

During the debates I felt as if I were watching the emperor without his clothes. I saw a President outfitted by imagemakers; yet the nakedness of his ideas was obvious. His economic and social policies will exploit the powerless, invade the most private aspects of our lives and in the process may bankrupt the country.

Anita Krusko Somers, N. Y.

Mondale debated well, but one night does not make up for four years of hard work. Under the Reagan Administration the U.S. has lower interest rates, lower unemployment and greater productivity. The President is making America healthy again.

Lenore O'Neill Salisbury, Md.

In the second debate President Reagan said the alternative to the Philippine regime of Ferdinand Marcos might be Communism. Is the President unaware of the democratically oriented opposition to Marcos? In that statement, Reagan summed up his simplistic and potentially destructive approach to foreign policy.

Kenneth A. Weene Syosset, N. Y.

From the debates it would appear that we have two responsible and informed men calling each other irresponsible and uninformed. Whoever is right, we are destined to elect an irresponsible and uninformed President.

Jim Mang Buffalo

Busted Brothel

Your article "Case of the Classy Madam" [NATION, Oct. 29] is disturbing. Has the New York City police department nothing better to do than crack down on a prostitution ring? In France, Sydney Biddie Barrows would have received the grand cross of the Legion of Honor for her services to humanity.

Andrew A. Recsei Santa Barbara, Calif.

I am sorry Barrows' bordello was closed. I hope her 3,000 clients will now become proponents of legalized prostitution. With all the social problems we must face, it is hypocritical to focus on this harmless "crime."

Boris Petrovchich Los Altos Hills, Calif.

Birdman of Prey

Biologist Jeffrey Peters transports a Merlin falcon across state lines for study purposes and ends up serving 18 months for the crime [NATION, Oct. 29]. Meanwhile, indiscriminate oil drilling destroys swamps and marshes, oil spills eliminate marine life, acid rain defoliates forests, strip mining grinds up the earth's surface, and hunters kill game with overpowered guns. How absurd.

Patricia Feltes Lincoln, Neb.

Capitalist Dawn

China's new policies for economic growth [WORLD, Oct. 29] are perhaps the most significant socioeconomic event of our time. The country's turn toward capitalism will hasten the coming of world government in the 21st century. I hope the Soviets are watching and learning.

Lonn G. Schwartz Fort Morgan, Colo.

Endangered Thatcher

The terrorist attack at Brighton [WORLD, Oct. 22] was a failed attempt to destroy Britain's democracy. Although I believe the British should leave Northern Ireland, I do not want to see that land left in the hands of I.R.A. slaughterers.

Robert Carson Carlisle, England

I hope the U.S. citizens who have contributed to the I.R.A. are proud of their accomplishments. To those Americans I say: Mind your own business.

Adrian Addington Huntingdon, England

A bomb for Margaret Thatcher was an understandable reaction by those Irishmen who will no longer accept the British demand that "Paddy lie down." No people should have to submit to oppression. The Irish have been patient for too long.

Patrick McVeigh Floral Park, N.Y.

Sexless Scriptures

Your report on the National Council of Churches' effort to remove all sexist references from the Bible makes me angry [RELIGION, Oct. 29]. Who do these people think they are, God? Man has no right to change God's word to please himself.

Raymond H. Vunk Memphis

It is unfortunate that even the Bible has to suffer from the foolish paranoia of the feminist movement. I just cannot picture Moses coming down from the mountain sporting an ERA button.

Lee Pederson Naperville, Ill.

Suicide Pills

I was offended by your coverage of the Brown University referendum calling on school administrators to stockpile cyanide pills for use in the event of a nuclear war [EDUCATION, Oct. 29]. We who support this measure do not see it as "a quick way out." We want to dramatize the unthinkable consequences of nuclear war by equating it with suicide. The referendum is designed to provoke thought and action so no one will need a way out.

James Bernard Providence

The notion that Brown students supported the prosuicide referendum because they are spoiled and come from affluent backgrounds is without substance.

Brown students, rich and poor, white and slack, like me, supported the proposal to show our outrage at the nuclear arms race. Ronald Thibou Jr. Providence

Brawling Fans

Your piece titled "Take Me Out to the Brawl Game" [BEHAVIOR, Oct. 29] concentrated on the negative aspects of the small riot that erupted in Detroit after the World Series. I am a Tiger fan and know what the pennant victory has done for a city that has had little to cheer about.

David W. Gorick Toronto

Violence by the fans is directly related to the disorderly behavior they see on the playing field. Don't blame the fans; they are only copying their heroes.

Don N. Lee Jr. Alvin, Texas

Viewing Van Gogh

In reviewing the "Van Gogh in Aries" exhibit in New York City [ART, Oct. 22], Robert Hughes notes that the enormous crowds who attend such exhibits make it nearly impossible to see, let alone appreciate, the pictures. This is tragic for observing the works of Van Gogh, which need careful study of the dashes and slashes that create his unique style. This matter concerned Van Gogh as well. While he was at Aries, he wrote to his brother Theo, "When anyone says that such and such is done too fast, you can reply that they have looked at it too quickly."

Theodore D. Pappas Rockford, Ill.

I almost did not go to the Van Gogh exhibit because your article warned that "the general public will see very little ... Distanced from the work by crowds and railings, they will find their hope to experience Van Gogh's art in its true quality thwarted." I found the railings only inches from the wall, and could be nose to nose with Van Gogh's tremendous talent for as long as I wished.

Joy Kluess Ridgefield, Conn.

Training Tots

In his new book The Nature of the Child [BEHAVIOR, Oct. 22], Jerome Kagan is throwing out the baby with the bathwater when he discounts the influence of the environment on a youngster's development. Kagan's defection from the environmental camp may exacerbate the growing tendency to excuse parents and societies from social responsibilities by citing sociobiological theories.

Stephen R. Buchanan

Associate Professor of Psychology

University of South Carolina at Union

Union, S.C

As a parent of three now grown adopted children of different genetic backgrounds, my experience confirms Kagan's observations. Our children's moral and emotional characteristics developed with almost total disregard to the values my wife and I attempted to instill.

James E. Walter

Professor of Education

Culver-Stockton College

Canton, Mo.

Your report on Jerome Kagan's theories of child development indicates that parents would like all their children to be extraverted and fearless. I knew a child like that, and true to his nature, he fell out of a tree and died. Your story also implied that youngsters who have relatively major health problems grow up to be introverts. I learned about a boy like that. He grew up to be President Theodore Roosevelt.

Edward Robinson Taylor Oklahoma City

Jerome Kagan has finally acknowledged what most mothers have always known: each child arrives in the world with an individual personality. Psychologists have imposed an enormous burden on parents by insisting that they are somehow solely responsible for their children's personalities. Now parents can sit back and enjoy each child's uniqueness.

Kathleen S. Ruckman Kensington, Md.

On-Screen Violence

Reviewer Richard Corliss maintains that sexually violent movies do not influence viewers toward similar acts and that suppressing such films will not end violent behavior [CINEMA, Oct. 29]. However, the youths who raped a young girl in imitation of the movie Born Innocent and the spouses who tried to kill their mates after seeing the TV movie The Burning Bed are examples of how some personalities are affected by these films. They see the movie as a rationale for their own violent impulses. While I do not believe in censorship, I do not think everyone is capable of separating fact from fantasy.

Michelle Lequin San Diego

Perhaps Critic Corliss would have more sympathy for the "porn vigilantes" if he were constantly assaulted with depictions of members of his own sex being brutalized, mutilated and humiliated in the name of sexual entertainment. The only point of view these film makers ignore is the woman's point of view.

Elizabeth Montgomery Chapel Hill, N.C.