The Polish Pope

To the Editors:

Pope John Paul II [Oct. 30] is going to be a sensational Pope. He seems to be sure of himself. The Cardinals made an excellent choice. He's just like the man next door, except he just happens to be a Pope.

Terri Freedman

Camarilla, Calif.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that a Polish Pope has been elected. In the Christian society, Poland has always represented the suffering Christ. To have been sold down the river many times (once by an American President) and not have lost faith is indeed miraculous. That the Vicar of Christ should come from these people is merely a reaffirmation of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Katherine Bieluck

New York City

As a Catholic whose faith has been eroded during the past couple of years by hypocrites in habits and materialists in collars, I can only hope Pope John Paul II will bring cohesiveness to the divided laity. I also hope he will be more open on the birth-control issue, particularly in countries where the production of life is the prevention of life.

Bernadette Zimmerman Spartanburg, S.C.

At this moment four of the most prominent men in the fields of religion (John Paul II), politics (Zbigniew Brzezinski and Menachem Begin) and literature (Isaac Bashevis Singer) are Polish-born. Hurray for Poland!

Barbara Schenkel Melbourne

Women and War

I loved your article about women in the military [Oct. 30]. Wow, if I were only 30 years younger. I served in the WASP during World War II. Guess what? I could pick up 100 lbs. even when six months pregnant. And I'm 5 ft. 6 in. and weigh 120 lbs. So don't tell me women can't do the labor. I hope all goes well with the lady military.

Lulie Robinette

Weston, Conn.

Instead of your article being called "Women May Yet Save the Army," it should be entitled "How Can the Army Be Saved from the Women?"

Matt Taylor

Eugene, Ore.

Nothing I saw the troops or their officers do during the time I served in Viet Nam could not have been done by a 100-lb. female. The bleeding is the only hard part, and it requires no special skill.

William D. Watson

Denver

The only objection I have to a military composed of 10% women by 1983 is that since women are unproved in combat, a potential enemy may view them as an American weakness. Foreign military officers I have spoken to tend to believe the U.S. is using its women in combat roles because without the draft it is unable to "man" its ranks.

Jim Bob Green

Plainview, Texas

When the real shooting starts, are the folks on the home front prepared to be told of gal grunts and female flyers coming home in pine boxes? Unless Americans can handle that, all the peacetime combat training in the world won't be worth a spent bullet, because the G.I. Janes are going to stay home too.

Hal Classman Miami Beach

Heart of Democracy

Contrary to what Frank Trippett says in his Essay [Oct. 23], the "very heart of American democracy" is not a "spirit of accommodation and mutual respect." Rather, it is the protection of the rights of the individual as guaranteed by the Constitution. It is precisely these rights that differentiate the democracy of the U.S. from the "democracy" practiced in Communist countries where the rights of society always come before those of the individual. Thank God for factionalism because, Mr. Trippett, it is democracy.

L. David Silver, M.D.

New York City

The National Rifle Association's position is based on Article II of the Constitution and has nothing whatsoever to do with popular support. The Bill of Rights was put there by the founding fathers specifically because they did not trust what you refer to as overwhelming popular support. The overwhelming-popular-support boys would deprive us of the protection of Article I, freedom of the press, just as they would deprive us of the other nine articles, provided the circumstances were right.

John Pascal Paddock

Oklahoma City

Single-interest groups are needed because particular dams, freeways and threats to civil liberties have particular victims who do better by organizing a particular response. Without the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club, the nonEstablishment majority would have no one to defend them against the single-issue groups in and around the Government.

Susanne Jerome

Phoenix

Plastic Bombeck

I am one of those who made Erma Bombeck's book a bestseller, and I can tell you I am no canned laugher [Oct. 30]. Carol Burnett's character was far easier to identify with than some cutesie bleached blond whose only problem in life is deciding on how little she wants to wear. And Frank Rich calls Bombeck plastic.

Nina Arant

Cucamonga, Calif.

Thank you, Frank Rich, for your indictment of Erma Bombeck. Her humor is trite, repetitious and chauvinistic. It is frightening that such a recipe can be mistaken for genuine satire.

William Hammett

New Orleans

To attack Erma Bombeck is not only un-American but antimotherhood and antifamily. Fie to the person who would deprive me of a good chuckle while I try to civilize my children.

Eva Logan

West Palm Beach, Fla.

Barbaric Massacres

With all this hullabaloo about defending the rights of the people of the small and nonaligned nations by the so-called superpowers and the U.N., no one has had enough conscience to do something effective about the devastating war that has been going on with its barbaric massacres for almost four years in a peaceful country like Lebanon [Oct. 23].

Kahloun Hamameh

Beirut

Considering the number of people they have killed and the damage they cause, how can you continually call them the Syrian peace-keeping force?

Hubert J. Kaliski

New York City

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