To the Editors:

On Christmas Eve I looked through Christmas cards, called friends, watched a basketball game and visited family. Upon reading "The Darkness Descends" [Dec. 28], I tried to imagine how different my day would have been in Poland. The comparison is incomprehensible.

Jean F. Meske Carol Stream, Ill.

In the most desperate hours of our history Poland sent us Kosciuszko and Pulaski. Surely we can do more for the Poles in their time of need than wring our hands.

Adele Nelka Dallas

Is Poland's fate to be sealed by European apathy and U.S. caution? The answer is probably yes, unless tough sanctions are applied now against the Soviet Union. It's unrealistic to wait for the forces of moderation and reason to prevail.

David E. Wilke Chicago

Even if the Reagan Administration continues to hold back emergency shipments of grain to Poland, it ought to make available the mountains of stockpiled cheeses. There would be no doubt among Poles as to where these unfamiliar-tasting cheeses came from.

Edgar H. Leoni New York City

My sympathy goes out to the people of Poland. Nevertheless, the Poles brought this upon themselves and must suffer the consequences. In the short time that Solidarity has been in existence, it has gained much for its people, considering the circumstances. Unfortunately, the union gave the Polish government too little room to maneuver in without arousing Soviet apprehension. Although human rights should not be begged and bar gained for, they aren't prizes to be won overnight either. Now Solidarity may have lost it all.

Philip Naff Fort Sheridan, Ill.

Why are the Polish leaders getting all excited? The people are only following the Marxist motto "Workers of the world unite!"

Jim Schneider Big Rapids, Mich.

Hit Squad

As things start going bad at home for the Administration, the public's attention is directed overseas; this time toward Libya [Dec. 21]. Why should anybody believe such talk of assassination teams when there hasn't even been any proof?

Samir and Ramzi Nahas Arlington, Texas

Muammar Gaddafi is a dangerous man. The alleged plot to kill President Reagan and other top officials is perfectly consistent with Gaddafi's character. But to be fair, I must disagree with Aberdeen University Professor Paul Wilkinson's comment, which implied that Libya is the first sovereign nation since World War II to plot the assassination of a head of state. For better or for worse, it is well documented that the CIA attempted more than once during the 1960s to eliminate Cuba's Fidel Castro.

Richard Lee Pennington Boston

If the Reagan Administration would submit some valid evidence that would substantiate its claim of a Libyan hit team, then some observers wouldn't get the impression that the U.S. was attempting to isolate Libya.

Steven E. Holland Cleveland

The rise in international name calling and global insults by our current Administration scares me. Americans "should speak softly and carry a big stick," said Teddy Roosevelt. If the stick is no longer as big, then it is illogical to increase the rhetoric.

Michael R. Mclntosh Sarasota, Fla.

Monkey Trial Revisited

True science never overlooks any possibilities. The attempt by the American Civil Liberties Union to rule out theism as a valid hypothesis for the creation of the universe is about as unscientific as one can get [Dec. 21].

Sam Beanie Federal Way, Wash.

The ultimate irony in the creationism-evolution debate has been overlooked. If the creationists are right, we have come from a single pair of parents to the present genetic diversity of the human species in just 6,000 years. This requires a much faster rate of evolution than scientists had thought possible.

Donald S. Matteson Pullman, Wash.

Many Evangelicals and Fundamentalists believe that the fossils indicate an ancient earth as well as limited or partial evolution at the level of the genus or order. They also see nothing unscientific about giving God ultimate credit for creation, and usually still believe in man as a distinct formation.

Timothy L. Cole Deerfield, Ill.

Why is concern for evenhandedness in teaching about the earth's beginnings centered on one aspect of biology? Laws should be passed mandating impartial treatment over the whole spectrum of knowledge. Equal attention should be given to astrology and astronomy, to alchemy and chemistry, etc. This will then assure our children of an unbiased education.

Irwin I. Shapiro Lexington, Mass.

Your articles "Darwin vs. the Bible" and "Some Bones of Contention" shocked me and raised doubts about the American legislative system and the courts. Americans, who once supported the fighters at the frontiers of knowledge, are now falling back on a mystical comprehension of the world. If this new attitude is adopted by other countries of the Western world, we are in danger of facing the Dark Ages again.

Gerhard Nicolait Kalchreuth, West Germany

Noble Mustangs

Your article "Chasing the Mustangs" [Nov. 16] seriously misled the American public about the wild horses. These animals have been on the rangelands for more than 100 years, much longer than the big cattle and sheep corporations. A large part of this area is public land, owned by myself and other Americans who object to the destruction of the mustangs.

Carol Buchanan Broomfield, Colo.

The wild horses of the West are a living heritage of the past, not, as you say, "mongrels of the range." There are those who would destroy this legacy, believing that only animals that turn green grass into green money should be permitted to live on the land.

G. Martin Winemiller Sebring, Fla.

You only mentioned the glories of the horse roundup but neglected the horrible cruelty involved. Horses have served our country well and are not mongrels of the range.

Lori Humphries San Rafael, Calif.

Sacrilegious Sub

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops feels the naming of a nuclear sub Corpus Christi is "very near sacrilegious" [Dec. 21]. What then do they call the methods of their "brother," Father Corrado Catani [Aug. 17], in promoting his "Jesus-Jeans," in which he uses a titillating Playboy-type poster bearing the caption He Who Loves Me, Follows Me? Now that I would call sacrilegious!

David L. King Atlanta

At Trafalgar the biggest battleship was the Spanish Santissima Trinidad. It was destroyed by Nelson's fleet in spite of its name and 30 guns. The crew of the Corpus Christi should not expect any special protection, at least in this world.

RolfTruffer Yverdon, Switzerland

A + B = C

When I retired from teaching in 1973, the new math had already begun to destroy the teaching of algebra. In the dim period that followed, I kept hoping for something like the new textbook written by John Saxon [Dec. 21]. Unfortunately, it is too late for some of the misled students of the '70s who are not able to deal with complexities such as filling in Form 1040. For today's students, the Saxon book spells a renaissance.

Arthur E. Sebelius West Hartford, Conn.

If the mathematics test scores of high school students have declined so frighteningly, they must have been higher at one time. I do not believe algebra has become that much harder. It is well known that American high schools are graduating many students who simply cannot read. People who cannot read cannot be expected to learn algebra. I hate to see a subject of such precision and beauty being translated into third-grade terminology just to make it accessible to those who are not able to appreciate it.

Emily Rush Glen Ridge, N.J.

Absence of Rights

Reader Mark Rogers [Dec. 21], who wrote, "If the choice is between death and life under the Kremlin, I choose the latter, along with the right to oppose such tyranny," will find that under the Soviet system of government, Mr. Rogers would enjoy no such rights. That is the point.

Daniel Patterson Batavia, Ill.

Debs in Dallas

As for those Dallas debutantes and their patrician paters who can think of nothing more socially responsible to do with their millions than throw garish, three-month-long coming-out parties [Dec. 21], I'll bet they're all supplyside, trickle-down, cut-school-lunch-program Republicans. What about the poor? Let them eat leftover crab souffle.

Howard Witt Ann Arbor, Mich.

Mimi and her debutante friends should be locked in a time capsule and sent to a distant planet. Let the whole universe know why there was a budget deficit in 1981.

Julie Curtis New York City

Burying the Hatchet

The controversy over reburying the remains of California Indians is not simply a dispute between archaeologists and Indians [Dec. 21]. Indeed, some collections of potentially threatened artifacts are in museums owned and operated by the tribes. The disputed materials--and the information they hold--are part of the scientific and cultural heritage of all the people of the state of California. As a window on the lives of ancient native Californians, they help us understand the past and therefore ourselves.

Edwin C. Krupp, Director

Griffith Observatory

Los Angeles

In the article "Soirje Bones of Contention" Curator Francis Riddell says that by allowing California Indians to rebury the bones of their ancestors, "we are unwittingly assisting the Indians in destroying their past." If white men wanted to learn about their own history, would they dig up Arlington National Cemetery?

Anne M. Plossl Hanover, N.H.

Bettering Bizet

The review of Peter Brook's recent version of Georges Bizet's Carmen [Dec. 21] at the Bouffes de Nord in Paris collapses when it argues, "Would anyone think of touching up the Mona Lisa, redesigning St. Peter's, or editing Paradise Lost? These works already exist as painting, edifice and book; they are frozen in time. By its very nature, however, an opera (or play, for that matter) exists by reconstructing it anew from its blueprint. There is no aesthetic rule that says something cannot be left out or rearranged. The only valid criterion is: Does the work embody the spirit of the original vision?

A. Sanford Wolf Paris

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.