Man of the Year

To the Editors:

If we can produce Christlike figures such as Lech Walesa [Jan. 4] and his brave countrymen, then 1981 was not a bad year for humanity.

Eugenia Pawlik Zeitlin

Woodland Hills, Calif.

The suffering! The sorrow! The face of Lech Walesa is the face of Poland.

Thomas C. Moran

Longboat Key, Fla.

I applaud your choice of Lech Walesa. Like past selections for Man of the Year, Walesa is a natural leader. But the award should not go to Walesa alone. It belongs to all the Poles who, through their dedication to freedom and their bravery and defiance in the face of overwhelming military might, taught the world a lesson in human dignity.

Toby Moffett

Representative, Sixth Connecticut

Washington, D.C.

The very things the Poles are striking for today--freedom to govern themselves, economic stability, sufficient food and fuel to survive--are strikingly similar to what Lenin sought when he created the structure that is now choking Poland. The circle is complete.

Patricia Bradley

Miami

As President Reagan stated in his Inaugural Address, "Those who say we're in a time when there are no heroes--they just don't know where to look." There is no problem finding one in Lech Walesa.

Steve Barnhoorn

Honeoye, N. Y.

Lech Walesa and other nameless union officials and workers deserve our admiration. But let us not be sanctimonious about the events in Poland. The U.S. press and the Administration would have us believe that there is something new about a superpower cracking down on one of its pawns. What about Chile in 1973, the Dominican Republic in 1965 and--though the effort was unsuccessful--Cuba in 1961?

Thomas A. Gentile

Chevy Chase, Md.

Lech Walesa is a poor choice for your Man of the Year. He is not an antiCommunist. He is only protesting against mismanagement and mistreatment by overlords--but not because they are Communist overlords.

Carl Swanson

Tomah, Wis.

Your choice of Lech Walesa for Man of the Year is good, but not best. Anwar Sadat taught the world what Christ meant by forgive and forget. He overlooked historical grudges for the cause of peace.

Victoria Finley

Phoenix

I try to equate Walesa's contribution to his country with Bobby Sands' death for the cause of a united Irish republic. Sands would have been my choice.

Julia M. Bernstein

Elizabeth, N.J.

In Poland a gigantic trade union has called strike after strike, causing much of the country's industry to halt, food supplies to dwindle and transportation to become sporadic. If U.S. labor unions joined forces and called a national strike so that food vanished from the stores and oil supplies stopped, what would President Reagan do? He would bring in the Army and call a state of emergency.

B. Rosalyn Moran

Redondo Beach, Calif.

The Third World remains mute on Poland. The Catholic Church sidesteps the repression and detention with vague symbolic rhetoric. Europe dares not speak for fear of offending the Soviets. Napoleon was correct when he declared that morality belongs to the country with the largest artillery.

Frederick M. Burkle Jr., M.D.

Kula, Hawaii

Communism's Troubles

Strobe Talbott's essay on the failure of Communism [Jan. 4] is prizewinning material. He captured the contradictions, false assumptions and lust for power that underlie this vast totalitarian system. However, the essay failed to pay sufficient attention to one striking aspect of the dilemma presented by Soviet power: it is the support of the Western world that has made the U.S.S.R. so indomitable. With our shipments of food and technology we have not only sustained the sinking ship, we have armed it as well.

Steven Oppenheimer

Yonkers, N. Y.

Congratulations on an excellent article lucidly describing the powers and weaknesses of Communism. Mr. Reagan should study it thoroughly. He may then understand that discontent in a populace ruled by a dictator, no matter how benevolent, is fertile ground for the growth of a Communist Party. The right-wing dictatorships of Latin America, which Reagan supports, are a mockery to capitalism.

Felipe Lebron

Baltimore

If we accept the theory that the ills of a society are found in its political and economic institutions, then we must concede that the use of force, an anemic economy and widespread alcoholism are indictments of the Soviet system of repression and command economics. By the same measure, our own anomie, represented by industrial decline, drugs and divorce, is symptomatic of the American society's weaknesses brought about by unrestrained freedom and excessive self-interest.

Tyler Carpenter

Boston

Strobe Talbott's commentary is a superb assessment of the legacy of Karl Marx. I am not blind to the shortcomings of our political and economic system. Nevertheless, misuse of power and position, however gross, is hindered in the U.S. by internal controls and (sometimes excessive) scrutiny by a free press. Even if some abusers go unseen and unchecked, their terms are limited by law.

Gary Sternick

Philadelphia

Fair Wage

Motion Picture Association of America President Jack Valenti's letter [Jan. 4] must be answered. No one in this country is better compensated than the actors and writers in Hollywood, and no one in any other profession gets paid over and over for the same job. But just how many times should Marlon Brando receive a million dollars for a week's work? Once is enough.

Robert H. Downing

Panama City Beach, Fla.

The large majority of video-recorder owners utilize their machines for delayed viewing of TV programs. Since the tapes are expensive, they are seldom used to store programs. The usual practice is to erase and reuse the tapes. It is difficult to understand how watching Tuesday's TV program on Wednesday or Thursday deprives any artist of his just income.

Arthur B. Nehman

Osprey, Fla.

Embattled ERA

What a display of twisted legal logic by Federal Judge Marion Callister [Jan. 4]: on the one hand he rules "that states have the constitutional right to change their minds," while, on the other hand, Congress has no constitutional right to its decision to extend the original deadline for passage of ERA.

Seija A. HytOenen

Berkeley, Calif.

I am a pro-ERA Mormon who has closely followed the legal maneuverings between NOW and Judge Callister. The outcome of the ERA extension-recision cases was determined by the male Mormon hierarchy from the day the case showed up in Callister's courtroom.

Susan W. Howard

Santa Barbara, Calif.

Having Judge Callister, a member of the Mormon Church, rule on the fate of the most significant piece of women's rights legislation since the 19th Amendment 60 years ago is akin to having an executive of the National Rifle Association decide on the constitutionality of gun-control legislation.

Leslie B. Hardy

Oklahoma City

Begin Erupts

Menachem Begin asks [Jan. 4]: "Are we a vassal state; a banana republic; 14-year-old boys . . .?" The answer must be yes. Years ago the U.S. assumed its "special relationship" with Israel, and we have confirmed it with untold amounts of economic and military aid and political support. We have become hostage to Israel's unpredictable actions.

Dallas M. Coors

Bethesda, Md.

Prime Minister Begin certainly has no diplomatic finesse. Yet what he told U.S. Ambassador Samuel Lewis accurately represents what his fellow Israelis feel. Israel has always made clear that it is in our camp but does not want to be bullied in the name of friendship. Israel is our only enduring ally in the Middle East. Can't we respect its judgment as to what security means? After all, we do not have to face Syrian-manned Soviet-made tanks. Israelis do.

Ron Menestres

Raleigh, N.C.

Ever since Begin became Prime Minister he has pursued a policy that has promoted the cause of the Palestinians. His myopic actions have earned friends for the Palestinians at the expense of the Israelis. He has alienated many of the traditional supporters of his country and, even inside Israel, has generated some sympathy for the Palestinians.

Sudhangshu B. Karmakar

Flushing, N. Y.

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