Letters

I cried when I read Tom Brokaw's book The Greatest Generation. I cried again when I read your compilation of last letters from soldiers [NATION, May 29]. I would not be here today were it not for the courageous and brave American G.I.s who liberated me from a prison in Manila on Feb. 4, 1945. I was a teenager and had been interned by the Japanese for three years. We owe eternal thanks to those cheerful, high-spirited and wonderful G.I.s who answered the call to arms. God bless them all! BETSY HEROLD HEIMKE Overland Park, Kans.

Riveting and compelling! I could have read an entire magazine of such letters. I was captivated--and disappointed when there were no more to read. SHERYL I. POWERS Baltimore, Md.

When I read what the soldiers wrote, World War II suddenly didn't seem so far away. It became personal in a way that history books cannot make it. SARAH J. THOMAS, age 14 Ramona, Calif.

Reading old wartime letters within the poetic framework of Douglas Brinkley's piece was a poignant reminder that a tale of separation has the power to draw us closer together. The bonds of sharing such human experience remain lasting memorials. STEVEN PLANK Oberlin, Ohio

Your article failed to include any letters from minorities. Many African Americans fought and died for this country, and they too sent letters home to loved ones. When those veterans, like my father, read your article, imagine how it makes them feel. Everyone who served deserves to be recognized. DEBRA KENDRICK Mount Vernon, Ill.

It was intriguing to see how the use of language has changed over the years and how soldiers' attitudes and response to the "glamour" of war have evolved. But the value of life, the deep love and longing for those back home, and the appreciation of nature in the midst of destruction remain. We must remember the sacrifice of these soldiers and how much we lost with each of them. DENA STORSLEE Sumner, Wash.

My brother T. Edward A. Cole was killed April 21, 1944, returning to England after a bombing raid over Germany. Three weeks ago, I read the letters my brother sent home, but even more heartbreaking were the seven unopened letters written by my parents and returned to them, stamped in red ink DECEASED. ELIZABETH COLE CLEMANS Monument, Colo.

The last letter I received from my husband, 1st Lieut. Dean B. Allen, who served in the Army infantry, was one of those you featured. Unfortunately, the caption with his photo gave the wrong hometown for Dean. It was I who was from Voorheesville, N.Y.; Dean grew up in Delmar, N.Y. I'm sure the people in Delmar would appreciate having it identified as the hometown of one of their own who paid the ultimate price in the service of his country. JOYCE A. HALLENBECK Columbia, S.C.

In Vietnam, I struggled with how much to say and how much to hold back. That was the hardest part of writing letters. It is 33 years since my tour of duty there, and I still find myself asking Why? The sadness I feel at the loss of the men I served with will never leave me. I revisit their faces regularly and hope we never experience such a war again. GLENN STOUT Bradenton, Fla.

While traveling in the U.S. as a photographer for Italian magazines, I read the touching pages of letters from wartime, and I could not stop my tears. Like so many Italians and other Europeans, I have to say a deeply felt thank you to that great generation of Americans who suffered and died during World War II. My mother told me many times about the liberation, when the young boys from the U.S. and Britain came to liberate Acireale (the Sicilian town where we live) by fighting back the Germans. The Italian people have never forgotten the sacrifices, injuries, deaths and all that we owe to those American boys and their families. FRANCO BARBAGALLO Acireale, Italy

Mucousy Old Men

Re your report on Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jesse Helms [WORLD, May 29]: Oh, that fickle justice should have prevailed, leaving us to wonder if the bewildered voters of those great secessionist states would have enthroned Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond to decide the fate of their children, homes and tobacco farms if they had known how long these mucousy old men would stay in office. What twisted fate decreed that the rest of us must abide these cantankerous old curmudgeons on Capitol Hill, thanks to the dullards who sent them there? And with those two entrenched Senators being favorite sons of their states, I can only shudder to think of what's to come. F. PATRICK BUTLER Innsbruck, Austria

Imagining the Impossible

Your exhaustive report on what may lie ahead this century in work and world affairs [VISIONS 21, May 22] seemed like the concepts of an imagination gone wild. But given today's fast-changing times, anything is possible. ANJOO SHARMA Hyderabad, India

Some vision of new political systems is missing from your report. Revolutionary changes in information and communication technology will convert our world into an e-world and propel political systems in the direction of democracy. In a cyberspace equipped with intelligent tools, legislation can be effected by electronic referendums. The right to participate can be granted to every citizen. The principle of "no law without the right to vote on it" could be a practical concept within reach. ANDRZEJ KACZMARCZYK Warsaw

Ten years ago, as an M.B.A. student, I was offered a course on Japanese management practices. At that time, Japan was the model for economic success and dominance. Well, that was then. Today I read TIME's predictions of what the future holds for our jobs, workplace and the economy. Will any of it come true, or are we looking at another example of the Japan of 10 years ago? I believe many of the visions in your report will not come true. And by the way, I was glad to see that the world's oldest profession will not disappear. STEVEN CUENCA Makati City, the Philippines

Icons at Work

In his report on the careers and jobs of the future [VISIONS 21, May 22], Tom Peters described his new role model for professional women: the "icon woman." He noted that she does work that is exciting, relevant and, yes, cool. I do that too. I am also an "in your face" adventurer, and I create scintillating projects on the Web. I have a fab personal website. Call me Icon Man.

Am I a time traveler from some future society? Nope. I'm an illustrator, a cartoonist and an occasional animator who operates from a tiny home office. Graphic-arts professionals have worked this way for decades, using courier services before the Internet came along. We're glad to see the rest of the world is finally starting to catch on. SCOTT CHANTLER Waterloo, Ont.

I hope this "Brave New World" of work arrives after 2040, since with a bit of luck (I'm 39), I'll be dead by then! MICHAEL F. BROOM SMITH Speen, England

China's Flawed System

People in the West tend to view China as a rising nation on its way to becoming a superpower within this century. In his article "Will China Be No. 1?" [VISIONS 21, May 22], Professor Paul Bracken wrote positively about its current economic growth and the dynamism of Chinese capitalism. I wish I could share Bracken's optimistic outlook. In China, however, corruption is a way of life.

Many people living outside the urban areas are poor and illiterate. People smugglers run a profitable business shipping emigrants to other countries. Are these the characteristics of a great nation? Obviously not. China does not have the economic or social foundation needed to build a First World power. JOANA TAM Burnaby, B.C.

No Teachers in the Future?

As an education student, I was saddened by your article "What Will Be the 10 Hottest jobs?...and What Jobs Will Disappear?" [VISIONS 21, May 22]. I was furious at the prediction that my profession won't be around! I disagree. Teachers are the essential part of the educational system. Without them, nothing can be accomplished.

Computers and other multimedia gadgets are here to help teachers be more effective. A teacher can never be replaced by a machine. OLIVER L. ALVAREZ Las Pioas City, the Philippines

The majority of today's classrooms contain some of the most dynamic individuals on this planet. We teachers who serve the world's children will never be replaced, for no machine can ever provide the spontaneity, the surprise that a teacher brings about by means of classroom discussion and activity. ROSEMARY KRUMMENOEHL Aghia Paraskevi, Greece

I have been employed as a teacher for the past four years, and I have to admit that I was bothered by the idea of my job disappearing. Although I doubt that teachers will ever completely vanish, the possibility of a drastic drop in the number of "human educators" should not be taken lightly. Why? It is because of people like us that we now have the Bill Gateses, the Jerry Yangs and the Steve Jobses of this world. No single electronic device will ever hold the title of teacher. MARK M. IMBONG Marikina City, the Philippines

Viking Social Order

The European view of the Vikings as barbaric, inhuman, greedy and ambitious beyond normal is far more accurate than what was suggested by the new scholarship covered in your report [ARCHAEOLOGY, May 8]. When I hear people proudly claiming Viking ancestry, it makes my blood boil. The Vikings had a hierarchy with slavers, hereditary Kings and chieftains. They managed to keep order through fear more than anything else.

If you want to find the roots of democracy, you should look to other people--the Greeks, the Iroquois of America and other societies in which all people were fully included, not just an elite. The social order of the Vikings led not to democracy but to imperialism. HANS RAGNAR MATHISEN Salasvaggi, Norway

Paying Homage to New Gods

Actor-director Edward Norton [CINEMA, April 17] said he thinks we have set up Hollywood entertainers as "a poor man's Olympus." I have often thought today's film stars are much like the Greek gods. However, instead of offering animal sacrifices to these gods, as in ancient Greece, people today give money to sit in a darkened shrine and pay homage to their newest deity. The tragedy is that these new gods may believe they are larger than life and can invent their own morality without facing the dire consequences of breaking the rules of God. TIMOTHY P. BENNETT St. Paul-Trois-Chateaux, France

Knight in Black Armor

Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton was right on target with his comments on controversial Indiana coach Bob Knight [ESSAY, May 29]. Back in the mid-1980s when I attended the five-star Invitational Basketball Camp, Knight gave a lecture that was so rude, loud and negative that the 200 campers there were literally scared to move in their seats, fearing a personal roast from Knight. I now coach in a local youth basketball league, and I do the exact opposite of what Knight would do: I make basketball fun. DAVID GREENE Palm Desert, Calif.

For Walton to criticize Knight's record is pretty brave. Walton should never have been voted into the Hall of Fame. Most regular college students have to work hard for a degree financed with loans they'll have to pay back. If a spoiled athletic-scholarship player isn't pulling his weight, then maybe a little reminder from a good hard-nosed coach doesn't hurt. JON BUHLIG Payson, Ill.

If Coach Knight's teaching method defines what students must endure for the sake of winning, then competitive university athletics nationwide are in need of a serious overhaul. A university employs people to instruct and inform. What punitive measures would Indiana University place upon a typical classroom teacher who utilized even a fraction of Knight's antics in achieving success while educating students? BRUCE MOSS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio

Wireless Summer

Your comprehensive article on the new generation of electronic gadgets and smart phones [TECHNOLOGY, May 29] gave a convincing picture of how they will invade our lives. But you failed to emphasize where this habit of being constantly in touch will lead. Remember, reliance on the automobile produced such physical lethargy that we were forced to reinvent exercise. Perhaps some future generation will be forced to reinvent the holiday and the vacation that lets you get away from it all. CHARLES BRAUNER Vancouver, B.C.

Though a lot of the devices featured in your wireless-world story were certainly nifty, the human stories that were tucked into the article were pretty awful. How horrifying to think one must always be connected to work, that getting that call or that e-mail is so important that you must immediately respond to it. How in the world can it be progress to give up all rights to a private life just because it's possible to do so? Are we turning into some sort of automaton consumers who live for commerce, or will we retain the spiritual and emotional qualities that make us something more than consuming machines? ROB GLASER Chicago

Civility of the Uncivilized

If Christopher Buckley's peek into the totally wired society of the future is to be believed [VIEWPOINT, May 29], as it should be, the only people who retain a sliver of civility will be those we now regard as uncivilized--the ones who will not have had the opportunity to choose a personal digital assistant as their master. Orwell had it right. ERNEST M. HALLE Pittsburgh, Pa.

A Swipe at Talent

In his report on the Cannes Film Festival [LETTER FROM CANNES, May 29], Richard Corliss referred to the film Dancer in the Dark. He said it "showcased the minimal talents of Icelandic pop star Bjork. She's a quadruple-threat artiste: can't act, can't dance, can't sing, can't compose." This movie went on to capture the prestigious Palme d'Or, and Bjork won the best-actress award. Exactly who is the incompetent one here, Bjork or your critic? ERLENDUR S. ORSTEINSSON Reykjavik

Hip-Hop's Pale Rapper

Christopher John Farley's article "A Whiter Shade of Pale" about white rapper Eminem greatly offended me [MUSIC, May 29]. Eminem, a.k.a. Slim Shady, belongs in a psychiatric ward. How can Americans wonder why tragedies such as Jonesboro and Columbine happen when music with offensive lyrics like Eminem's are out there for any and all to absorb? Don't listen to Eminem's degrading lyrics. If he doesn't have an audience, he has no career. There is much better music around. KENDAL DAVIS Hubertus, Wis.

Your critic Farley gave an unfavorable review to Eminem's new album The Marshall Mathers LP. Farley had no place saying this album "lacks great beats" and "gets old quickly." Although there is nothing wrong with having a viewpoint, it would have been nice if Farley had pointed out both the good and bad qualities of the album. Thanks to this article, a lot of people are going to miss out on a great CD. MATT MARTIN San Carlos, Calif.