Mission Lebanon

To the Editors:

A peace can exist in Lebanon [Oct. 3] only if the country is partitioned. People who harbor such deep hatred for one another and who are in perpetual conflict can never live as one nation. I am ready to sacrifice a united Lebanon for a divided but peaceful Lebanon.

Bassam Nassar Waltham, Mass.

Considering the factional nature of Lebanese politics, the nation should have a bicameral legislature, with a house of representatives elected on a majority basis and a senate elected, or appointed, on a religious basis. Such a system would allow the power to be shared and give everyone equal representation.

Daniel Ivanick New City, N. Y.

The Soviets are doing the same thing in Lebanon that they did in Viet Nam. By supplying the Syrians and the Druze with weapons, the U.S.S.R. is fostering internal feuds and abetting the downfall of Lebanon. In the end, the Soviets will not have lost one soldier, but they will have a stranglehold on the area.

Robert Christison Aberdeen, Scotland 60th Anniversary

For some of us, your special anniversary issue covering the past 60 years could be called "This Is Your Life." The magazine will become a grand textbook of contemporary history.

Professor J. Calvin Koonts Erskine College Due West, S.C.

I missed TIME during my World War II years. Your special issue filled in the gaps. I am two years older than TIME but many times wiser because of it.

Peter L. Caparell Boston

Your anniversary magazine is an amazing record of the past, but I was melancholy after reading it. Where are those glittering names that radiated from your pages and fed our curiosity? They are now dust and ashes.

Calvin Hoffman Sarasota, Fla.

The most amazing 60 years in history? You flatter yourself. Merely consider the first 60 years A.D. Their effect has been felt for nearly 2,000 years.

Brian K. Davis Columbus

After reading the Letters to the Editor page, I noted with humor that people were then as now concerned with their Government, with themselves and how others perceived them. Nothing has changed in human nature. How delightful.

Barbara C. Kuehm Houston

Considering Animals

Lance Morrow's Essay "Thinking Animal Thoughts" [Oct. 3] left much room for humane reflection. Those of us who are concerned with the plight of animals used for research purposes are a far cry from the fanatics described in your article. The offense committed against these creatures is not, as Morrow suggests, the taking of their lives. Rather, it is the pain that is inflicted upon them. Scientific advancement and humaneness toward animals are compatible. Ethical guidelines have even been established for the use of laboratory animals. Live animals should be used only when there is no adequate alternative available. Even under those circumstances, every effort should be made to eliminate suffering.

John F. Kullberg, Executive Director A.S.P.C.A. New York City

People abuse animals because the animals, for the most part, cannot fight back. The same individuals would be just as cruel to humans if they thought they could get away with it.

Mary Bray Las Vegas

By possessing a higher intelligence, man not only ascends over animals but has an undeniable responsibility for them. Underlying the animal rights movement is the belief that we must treat fairly those creatures placed in our care by nature. By not fulfilling this obligation, we have sunk very low.

Kathryn McCullough Ithaca, N. Y.

There is another criterion by which we decide which life forms are worthy of reverence and which are not: bigness. The same people who would march to Washington on behalf of tigers would have their scalps treated at the first sign of head lice. It is when our heads start itching or the raisins in the cookies start moving that we are confronted with the genuineness of our reverence. The truth is that we can be very selective about which species we are willing to let live and which we want to die.

Joyce Higman Ottawa, Kans.

When my two cats climb on my lap and purr, when the mother raccoon brings her three babies to my window and peers in, I know God gave us something very special. I am quickly learning to become a vegetarian.

Bob Whempner Daytona Beach, Fla.

Goodbye, U.N.

Three cheers for Charles Lichenstem, the U.S. delegate to the U.N. who suggested that members unhappy with a U.S.-based United Nations should consider moving the organization's headquarters elsewhere [Oct. 3].

Kenneth N. Karol Tucson

President Reagan is wrong when he says that Americans would welcome the U.N.'s leaving the U.S. While some people may have become disillusioned with the world organization, most Americans want the group to have more power. This opinion has been consistent over the years, as proved by the major polling organizations. We live in an increasingly interdependent world. All men and women must learn to live as brothers and sisters or we will die as fools. To prevent the latter, the President should work to reform and restructure the U.N. rather than give stridently nationalistic responses to international events.

Eric Cox, Legislative Director

Campaign for U.N. Reform

Arlington, Va.

Wattspeak

In his off-the-cuff remark about appointing a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple to his commission to review coal leasing on public lands, Secretary of the Interior James Watt [Oct. 3] proved that he cannot win. If he had not appointed that mix, he would have been criticized by minority groups and both political parties. The next thing he will be denounced for is not including a gay.

Lawrence Forrest St. Croix, Virgin Islands

What has happened to plain speaking in America? To censure Watt for calling a black a black, a woman a woman, a Jew a Jew and a cripple a cripple is ridiculous. Unfortunately, there are not enough honest, outspoken politicians like Watt in the U.S. today.

Ricardo I. De Moya Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.

Watt's tongue should be tarred and feathered.

Marion Coulston Jackson, Mich.

Higher Sales

Your article on computer firms that are in trouble [Sept. 5] reported that "around California's Silicon Valley, the talk is that North Star and Cromemco, both suppliers of office systems, are hurting." Cromemco, a leading manufacturer of high-performance microcomputer systems, recently ended its first fiscal half-year with a 42% revenue increase over the same period last year.

Harry Garland, President

Cromemco Inc.

Mountain View, Calif.

Miss America

Jesse Jackson's claim that Vanessa Williams did for the Miss America Pageant what Jackie Robinson did for the Brooklyn Dodgers is absurd [Oct. 3]. Williams lives in a society that has legally abolished racial segregation. That was not the case when Robinson broke baseball's "color barrier" in 1947. Also, Williams did not endure the racial insults or physical intimidation that Robinson did. The two achievements are not comparable.

Thomas N. Longstreth Brooklahdville, Md.

Vanessa Williams' light skin, auburn hair and green eyes are beautiful but disturbing. Are the most beautiful black women really those who most closely resemble white women?

Alexander F. Obbard Philadelphia

Bad Times in Morenci

Your article "Pitting Brother Against Brother," about the strike at the Phelps Dodge copper mine in Morenci, Ariz. [Oct. 3], makes me sad. It is pathetic to think that someone earning $26,000 a year would go on strike against a company that has been generous but is now in financial difficulties.

(The Rev.) Jeff Morton Pensacola, Fla.

When President Reagan fired the air-traffic controllers for striking, he broke the controllers' union. Corporations are now following the President's example of union busting. The citizens of Morenci can blame the President for their troubles. Rosemary L. Chang Baltimore This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.