Sadat's Murder

To the Editors:

With Anwar Sadat's untimely death [Oct. 19], I feel as though a beloved appendage to my life had been brutally chopped off. The state of Israel--and Jewish people like me--has lost a dear friend and ally. I hope all Israelis will join in mourning a true 20th century hero whose 21st century foresight will be woefully missed. Saryl Schwartz Phoenix

While some men cursed the darkness, Sadat lit a candle that continues to light up the world. Jean Nile Harwell New York City

I am an American Jew who has lived with a "blind" hatred toward all Arabs. I never thought anything would make me alter my feelings, but Sadat demonstrated to me through his wisdom and courage that nothing is more important than the attainment of peace--not tradition, not pride, not even life itself. I will always feel that the world has lost a man who may have changed the meaning of life for all of us. Barbra Christodoulidis Cheltenham, Pa.

It is a sad sign of our times that not only was this valiant leader gunned down but the President of the U.S. could not attend the funeral without endangering his own life. Robert Adams Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

I am happy that former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford represented our country at Sadat's funeral. However, Richard Nixon cannot represent me at anything, and I question Ronald Reagan's judgment in sending him. Naomi Lee Bloomington, Ind.

Anwar Sadat has been ridiculed in many countries. Only the rarest person can rise above prejudice, false pride and dignity, and embrace former enemies to further peace and the brotherhood of mankind. The Egyptian President's memory should be enshrined, and he should be awarded a perpetual peace prize.

Donald C. Malcolm Long Beach, Calif.

Anwar Sadat is being mourned by Americans because he was good for America. But, after all, he was the President of Egypt, an Arab country. The true mark of a leader is whether or not he is mourned by his own people.

Saleem Haddad Norman, Okla.

Sadat was a man who left the world a better place than the one he entered. But we must wait to see whether his impact depended on his own personality, or whether Middle East minds have been permanently influenced by Sadat's peace policies.

Joan Anderson Swafford Nashville

Good leaders are those who ride the flow of events and direct their people's energies along that current. Great leaders are those who change the flow and rechannel it to the most productive direction despite the dangers politically and otherwise. Anwar Sadat was that kind of leader, and the likes of men with his vision and foresight are few and far between in the long history of man.

Glenn Rose Lexington, Va.

Bonn Peace Rally

If I were a citizen of West Germany, I too would certainly take part in the rally for peace [Oct. 19]. I would protest the deployment in my country of American nuclear weapons over which I had virtually no control, weapons that would make my homeland a prime target for the Soviets.

How close to a nuclear nightmare do we have to get before we realize the sheer madness of arms escalation? Can't we at least make an effort to negotiate the zero option, whereby the U.S. would not place in NATO countries its new medium-range missiles provided that the Soviet Union would dismantle the SS-20 missiles it has targeted on Europe?

Nicholas C. Brown Lancaster, Pa.

The European protesters have good reason for concern. We all do. We are often led to believe that those who speak out against greater military strength are at best naive, at worst Communist. These Europeans who understand so clearly the dangers of war should be classified as realists.

Jeanne Nash Fort Collins, Colo.

Voluntarism Begins at Home

President Reagan's vision of voluntarism [Oct. 19] certainly appeals to the traditional American belief in aiding those less fortunate than ourselves. It's a shame that in the midst of his rhetoric the President is dismantling one of America's most successful volunteer programs. If the Administration has its way, VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) will be eliminated by the end of fiscal 1983.

Tim Breen

VISTA Volunteer

Wheeling, W. Va.

It occurred to me that if Ronald Reagan feels so strongly about public voluntarism, he should offer his services as President free of charge, or at least at a very reduced salary. I'm a strong believer in practicing what you preach.

Marion Lake Meeker, Colo.

Reagan has repeatedly affirmed that Americans are a generous people, and indicated that the private sector should support the arts--and presumably the needy--in order not to burden the Federal Government. He apparently does not feel bound to follow his own recommendations. Last year the President made $227,968, yet, of his reported deductions, the grand total for charitable contributions was only $3,085.

Does he think that all social needs not sup ported by government can possibly be met with contributions of less than 1.4% of personal income?

Ginevra del Pozo Greenwich, Conn.

The President pointed out that "mothers and grandmothers have been taking care of children for thousands of years without special college training." He questioned the necessity of states' requiring certain educational courses of those who would operate day care facilities. Reagan apparently has failed to understand that there must be standards for people who take care of children other than their own on a regular basis. His remark was often made by well-meaning, uninformed people 30 years ago. Since then, however, most people have come to understand that being a mother or grandmother who looks after two or three children is pretty different from being a day care center director who is responsible for 60 or 100 children. Loving little kids is just not enough any more.

Karen Stevens St. Petersburg, Fla.

Crying Wolfe

After reading Robert Hughes' criticism of the "commonsensical attitudes" of Tom Wolfe in his new book From Bauhaus to Our House [Oct. 19], I understood that his harshness was merely a manifestation of his competitive instinct. Unfortunately, Hughes finds fault with Wolfe for precisely those things that are typical of his own reviews: "Nudging and stylistic razzle-dazzle."

Chris Castaneda Houston

Robert Hughes spent almost half his space criticizing the fact that Tom Wolfe is a clever writer and has a persuasive style. He appears to hate the fact that people might possibly enjoy reading the "razzle-dazzle" and not think of it as "padding."

Also, Hughes seems to have a real aesthetic limitation. He cannot conceive of an American who dislikes the works of Mies van der Rohe and actually prefers the "Baroque exuberance" of other architects. I have lived near a Mies van der Rohe building, and it was like living around the epitome of ugly, resembling in every particular a monumental tombstone.

Alcestis R. Oberg Dickinson, Texas

I want to thank Robert Hughes for so properly skewering Tom Wolfe's shallow intellectualism.

Jack Krentzlin Titusville, Fla.

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