Letters

Wobegon Tales

To the Editors: Garrison Keillor [SHOW BUSINESS, Nov. 4] has made me laugh and my husband cry on Saturday nights. If Keillor wants to be named The Sun God or King of America or even Idol of Millions, give it to him. Janis M. Houston Brush, Colo.

In a time when we put overwhelming demands on ourselves and others to be superstars, superheroes and superwomen, Keillor reminds us that most people are just plain folks. Jean-Paul Pegeron Ann Arbor, Mich.

Living in Yellow Medicine County (somewhat south-southwest of Mist County) has been good training for understanding the pathos of Keillor's humor, the essence of which is "It only hurts when I don't laugh." John W. Graber Burnsville, Minn.

Our family is scattered across the nation from Florida to California, but every Saturday we all get together in Lake Wobegon, Minn. Donna C. Noll Avon Park, Fla.

For a temporarily displaced Minnesotan, Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion is more than a Saturday-night entertainment. It is a two-hour break from the congestion, the frenetic consumerism and the looniness of California, a sort of "Radio Free Minnesota." Steve Anderson San Francisco

Congratulations on recognizing Garrison Keillor, one of Minnesota's great natural resources. We are proud that the nation finds humor and solace in hearing about the down-home values embraced by the residents of Lake Wobegon. But those values exist in real life, in hundreds of small towns and dozens of large cities in Minnesota. We welcome the rest of the nation to our well-kept secret: Minnesota is a great place to live and work. Rudy Perpich Governor, Minnesota St. Paul

A big-city boy now, I once lived in a small town like Keillor's Lake Wobegon. If you look more closely at the local charismatic characters, they invariably are vicious bigots of the worst sort. Ned Gross Sarasota, Fla.

As a longtime fan of Keillor's, I have often been struck by his meld of nostalgia with bitterness that reflects small-town life in the Midwest. We accept his barbs at our memories of narrow-minded ministers, spinster schoolteachers and children who try to comprehend the town's hypocrisy, simply because Keillor has the knack of laughing with us at our human frailties. He can make us think about our Minnesota forebears without hurting too much. Keillor is all of us who have left the old ways, but who recall the shimmering mists of childhood somewhere in the snow and wheatfields. John Scarborough Madison, Wis.

Keillor is one of the most gifted preachers around today. He entertains by relating simple gospel truths through fictitious stories that cut to the heart. His humor gently peels back the cover of human weakness to the point where it is laughable, lovable, forgivable and redeemable. His lies are the kind of modern parables any good preacher would love to imitate. (The Rev.) John William Bennison Clayton, Calif. Pressure Point

Your article on West Point [NATION, Nov. 4] managed to bring back all my regrets at having gone there. I regret not knowing what normal college life is like. I regret not having been able to keep a girlfriend. I regret having been compelled to take engineering courses. I regret the aches and pains of the physical rigor. And I regret that the honor code made me too trusting of society. However, I still have no doubts that I did the right thing. Rod Lurie Second Lieutenant, U.S.A. Giessen, Germany

West Point is a powerful experience, but it does not totally mold its graduates. Their values have already been established before they enter. My class ('69) included almost every ethnic, religious and racial group and, although basically conservative, was a good cross section of America. We did not have the "rigid military-academy mind-set" to which your article referred. You are perpetuating a popular misconception. I am sure today's cadets are much the same as we were. Gary L. Schappaugh Garland, Texas

Just as abused children grow up to become abusive parents, West Point plebes mature into upperclassmen oppressors. It is ironic that in a place that stresses valor, no one has had the courage to say "Enough!" to the treatment of plebes. West Point proves that respecting human dignity and training military leaders are mutually exclusive activities. Patrick J. Murphy Corona, Calif.

I was flattered to be quoted in your report on West Point, but I did not say that "it costs taxpayers $226,190 a year to train and educate each cadet." That figure applies to the cost per graduate, which by any standard makes the cadets very expensive students. Benjamin F. Schemmer, Editor Armed Forces Journal Washington

TIME regrets the error. Spreading AIDS

Certainly I agree with you that we must preserve a sense of proportion and not panic over the spread of AIDS [WORLD, Oct. 28]. After all, American aid has caused far more deaths in Viet Nam, Cambodia, Guatemala, Chile, El Salvador and Nicaragua, and no remedy has yet been found for this disease, in spite of efforts in Congress. Graham Greene Antibes, France Middle-Aged U.N.

You refer to the U.N.'s troubled 40th birthday [NATION, Oct. 28], but there is no doubt that the developing nations are greatly helped by the debating forum of the organization. And if by airing their opinions these countries are helped, then so is the world. Some of the U.N.'s agencies, like the World Meteorological Organization, the Universal Postal Union and the World Health Organization, also perform valuable functions. Fielding H. Nalder Rome Powers of Science

Charles Krauthammer's article "In Search of the Silver Bullet" [ESSAY, Nov. 4] puts science into perspective. No new theory and no technology will extinguish the tendency in man to kill members of his own species. Evil is as permanent as the sun and the stars. When we figure out what causes the sun and the stars, maybe then we can tackle the question of good and evil. Justin L. Panson State College, Pa.

I found myself saying a loud amen to Krauthammer's Essay. It is good to hear someone express a balanced position that does not throw out science altogether but grants it a rightful sphere that is limited in scope. The only question that remains is who or what discipline will fill the void if science is limited. Who or what will tell us the secret of genius, the wellspring of evil, the meaning of life? Psychology has botched its credibility. Perhaps it is time to consider a religious answer. (The Rev.) William E. Wood Elkins Park, Pa.

Krauthammer assures us that "science will hardly give us the key to evil and genius, which are, after all, not physical but cultural phenomena." Foolishly I have thought that the recent neurologic and psychiatric literature was beginning to clarify and advance our knowledge concerning the anatomic and physiologic basis of emotion in general, and criminality in particular, when along comes Krauthammer to set things straight. The millions we have spent on research can now be chucked out the window, and the hope that this research would solve significant problems for mankind can be cavalierly discarded. Maybe we should all take up alchemy. Morton S. Corin, M.D. Hialeah, Fla.

Your Essayist's naivete shows when he scoffs at the scientist who studies the brains of criminals in search of an explanation for criminal behavior. The answer to his question "What could the study have possibly hoped to find?" is "Everything." Whatever progress we have made in identifying aberrations and producing treatment is attributable to science. It is the duty of the scientist to research, explore, discover and develop. Alone, science has piloted our course from the caves to the stars. If we do have a silver bullet, it is science. June C. Parsons Charleston, W. Va.

There have been significant discoveries regarding brain malformation and behavior. Perhaps Marx did have a better brain, and perhaps some criminals do have flaws in theirs. Most crime probably stems from something other than brain malformations. But if we can learn what does result from such physical problems, then perhaps drugs or surgery could limit some criminal behavior. This approach has helped with epilepsy. Ronald E. Jeffries Pinckney, Mich. Gene Therapy

The article "Conquering Inherited Enemies: Doctors Stand on the Brink of a Genetic Revolution" [SCIENCE, Oct. 21] is accurate and informative. However, the cure of very serious diseases does not alter the defective genes in the patient's sex cells. Thus the individual will pass along the "bad" genes through reproduction. I do not want to give the impression that I am against the described research or the use of a genetic cure for diseases. I merely wish to call attention to an extremely grave problem, the solution for which may be to limit reproduction. Miguel Mota, Professor Department of Genetics Estac,ao Agronomica Nacional Oeiras, Portugal Stress at CBS

CBS may have a legendary reputation for impeccable news coverage during the Ed Murrow period [PRESS, Nov. 4], but its firing practices are another story, then as now. In 1937 I was taken to lunch at Delmonico's by Sterling Fisher, then head of CBS's public affairs department. He said he wanted me there because he had a nasty job to perform. He had to fire CBS Newsman H.V. Kaltenborn, who was causing too much trouble with his anti-Hitler broadcasts. In the middle of lunch, Fisher told "H.V." he was through. At this point, before dessert, H.V., red in the face, excused himself and stalked out. Ironically, when the 1938 Munich crisis heated up, CBS called H.V. to come back and broadcast the crisis because only he understood German. Ruth Brine Kaltenborn Palm Beach, Fla. Draped by Miyake

I am among the growing legion of Issey Miyake's admirers [LIVING, Oct. 21]. I have finally put away my Ivy League classics and am thrilled to be liberated by his exquisitely crafted clothes. I used to despise shopping, but no more. Now with every new season I am on the trail of Miyake's designs. Dodi Fromson Los Angeles Cosell's Confessions

Your review of Howard Cosell's I Never Played the Game [BOOKS, Oct. 28] was ironic. Throughout the book Cosell attacks his critics for taking myopic swipes at his personality, when the value of his work lies in his examinations of the sociology of sport. Your review proves him accurate. Whether Cosell is self-aggrandizing or not is immaterial. The point is that he is singularly capable of engaging a mass audience and forcing them to think about sports in sophisticated terms. Thomas M. Petersen Lafayette, Calif.