Letters

THE POTENCY PILL

"With the introduction of Viagra, modern medicine has gone beyond healing the sick. Now it's raising the dead!" DAVID L. EVANS Cambridge, Mass.

My husband and I have been married for almost nine years and for most of that time have dealt with impotence. For us, Viagra [MEDICINE, May 4] promises an opportunity to express our deeply felt passion and love for each other in a way that escapes us most of the time. For others, it seems to represent a chance to be better--"to build" on something they already have. Unfortunately, I have no expectation that our society will understand the difference between none and some and between some and more. You don't know what you've got till it's gone. NAME WITHHELD ON REQUEST Chicago

The latest bit of pharmaceutical foolishness to emerge is Pfizer's much publicized sex pill, Viagra, which combats impotence. Unfortunately, it is being sought after by masses of men who are feeling forlorn. But before taking the pill, they should read everything they can about the negative side effects. Then they can decide whether the risk is worth the pleasure of the moment. I hope common sense will prevail. If sexual performance is fading, so be it! It may be wiser to exchange machismo for maturity. That is the true measure of manliness. ROBERT BONNELL Long Beach, Calif.

There once was a druggist named Rizer, whose opinion was always the wiser: "For an evening sublime, Viagra works fine, but for great sex I buy shares of Pfizer." JEANNETTE COOK Austin, Texas

Now if only someone could create a pill for love. SUSAN F. FOX Birdsboro, Pa.

With the possible exception of Dr. Ruth, I doubt that the famous people you quoted on Viagra know anything about the anguish and frustration associated with impotence. Those who are positively affected by Viagra aren't thinking about a performance-oriented society, could not care less about the feminist agenda and don't look at the penis as a weapon. They are simply thrilled to have a sex life like everyone else. CHUCK LEEFERS Tucson, Ariz.

Which is more ridiculous: Bob Guccione talking about feminism or Camille Paglia talking about erections? ROD THOMAS Needham, Mass.

Did anybody bother to ask women their opinion before inventing Viagra? I'll bet 9 out of 10 of us who are over 60 would tell you that we do not want bad-tempered, horny old men on our hands. MARIA A. CASTILLO San Francisco

You missed one point: We old duffers now are downright dangerous! H. DAVID BRANNON, age 70 Winchester Bay, Ore.

As you noted, 1 out of 10 men who took Viagra in clinical trials experienced a blinding headache. I've already given it a name: Vigraine. DENNIS EISEN Rockville, Md.

VICTIMS OF THE AFFAIR

My grandparents got married when Grandma was 16 and Grandpa was 39 (after being in love for three years). Who am I to question their actions? And who am I to question whether the feelings of 37-year-old Mary K. Letourneau and 14-year-old Vili Fualaau [CRIME, May 4] are those of true love? But I suspect that my grandparents waited until their wedding night to consummate their relationship, the first marriage for both of them. Although I do not condone the adultery and premarital sex of the Letourneau-Fualaau pair, I disagree with the sensationalist labels of "rapist" and "child molester" that have been applied to Letourneau. I hope that someday she and Fualaau will be free to marry and rear their family together. AINSLEY JO PHILLIPS Anderson, Ind.

Letourneau is an adult who misused her position of authority to prey upon a vulnerable child both physically and emotionally. Claims that the young victim wanted to have sex and was very mature for his age deserve contempt. The molestation of young boys by adult women remains one of the least acknowledged crimes in our society and one of the most harmful. LAUREL E. FEDERBUSH Ann Arbor, Mich.

While most of us accept the fact that the law must make generalizations, such as the arbitrary designation of 16 or 18 as the age of consent, our society frequently permits exceptions to these rules. A marriage in which the bride is 13 or 14 is not unusual, and there is no talk of rape. This is appropriate. Judgments in affairs of the heart should be made on a case-by-case basis. RICHARD FEINBERG Boston

An adult teacher does not notice a student's talents in the second grade and have a love affair with him in the sixth grade. How can we talk rationally about such "reasons" for Letourneau's behavior as her husband's having a dead-end job or her father's dying of cancer or her having "bipolar disorder"? America is suffering from the Death of Common Sense. STEVEN M. WALK Great Neck, N.Y.

Lance Morrow wrote a distorted romantic fantasy about how love thrives "when it breaks all the rules" [VIEWPOINT, May 4]. But Letourneau is not a Victorian heroine who pitched away her bourgeois life for a star-crossed affair with the man of her dreams. She is a deeply troubled woman caught between the pressures of a failed marriage and financial bankruptcy. And her lover is no man, but a child. We should not romanticize adults who use children as outlets for frustrations and needs. Whether the perpetrator is an attractive woman or a menacing 300-lb. biker, whether the victim is male or female, statutory rape is a serious crime with devastating consequences for our children. ALLAN J. LICHTMAN Washington

Morrow's suggestion that the sexual assault of a young boy by his teacher is "an aberrance with something almost sweet about it" disgusted me. As a counselor working with abusive men, I know that if the genders in the Letourneau case were reversed, we would not be having this discussion. A man who did what Letourneau did would be long buried and forgotten. There would be no clemency by the judge and no five-page story in TIME. And rightly so. There is nothing remotely romantic about the rape and sexual assault of a child, and nothing can mitigate its horror, certainly not the "complicity" of the victim. Those of us who hear daily the unrelenting litany of trauma and agony that such assaults cause wonder if Jerry Springer is taking over the world. JON S. WHITE Men'sWork Counselling & Education Services Wasaga Beach, Ont.

FIGHTING BIG TOBACCO

As one who has been damaged by tobacco, I am outraged at the charade of the U.S. government and the courts vs. Big Tobacco [WASHINGTON DIARY, May 4]. Americans often act out in protest: we pile up the shoes of gunshot victims, bemoan drunk drivers, mad bombers and pornography. Why not bring to justice the monstrous, lying hypocrites who have, in the name of egregious profit and bloated salaries, poisoned the lives of millions? RICHARD GRAHAM Qingdao, China

NOT EVERYONE WANTS E-CASH

You noted the increased use of easily traced electronic-cash transactions and data-packed microchip cards [BUSINESS, April 27]. Both threaten individual privacy. Given the low priority that North American governments give to protecting personal privacy, it's doubtful that new laws will keep up with the increase in unauthorized data surveillance. We should at least insist that federal lawmakers preserve our right to continue to use hard cash or checks and that microchip identity cards not be forced on unwilling citizens. PAUL BOBIER Kitchener, Ont.

The proposed megabank mergers may be getting all the press, but there is also banking news in the startling success of microbanks around the world. More than 7,000 microcredit institutions offer tiny loans (averaging about $100) to destitute people to generate income through self-employment. The results are higher incomes, better health and better school attendance. Microbanking now functions on a large scale. For example, the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh has more than 2 million borrowers, most of them village women, in one of the world's poorest countries. Yet the on-time repayment rate is 98%. In the microbanks, the interests of the customers, not global strategy, come first. BLAISE SALMON Victoria, B.C.

ISRAEL AT 50

I have mixed feelings about Israel's celebration of its 50 years of statehood [WORLD, May 11]. The founding of the nation signified a birth to Jews but a burial to the Palestinians. Over time, Zionist terrorism was replaced by Palestinian terrorism, and war and grief were never far away. The perpetual threat of conflict forced increases in Israeli defense budgets and made enormous economic support by the U.S. necessary. Against all odds, foreign and internal, the Israelis have managed to build and uphold the most democratic country in the Middle East. However, Israeli society is more torn than ever before, and the historic chance to achieve peace is fading. I wish Israel the best and hope its people recognize that the glittering prize--peace--could be theirs for the anniversary. ULRIK MADS HANSEN Risskov, Denmark

GOD REVEALED, GOD CONCEALED

The Shroud of Turin has long been an important topic of discussion in Italy [RELIGION, April 20]. The carbon 14 dating analysis has not solved the question of its age, at least for those who will never cease to believe in the shroud's authenticity. In one of his Provincial Letters, Pascal wrote, "God does not manifest himself to men with all the evidence which he could show." Pascal also stated, "For it is not true that all reveals God and it is not true that all conceals God. But it is at the same time true that he hides himself from those who tempt him, and that he reveals himself to those who seek him."

Being an atheist, I really could not care less whether Jesus was ever wrapped in this cloth, but I feel Pascal's words offer a simple philosophy for those in doubt about the authenticity of an object that is considered sacred. CARY J. COLABRESE Perugia, Italy

WAVES OF THE FUTURE

Your special report on the most influential people of the 20th century summed up what lies ahead [TIME 100, April 13]. You noted that tribalism and ethnic conflict pose a great threat to peace. However, I differ with your stance. Tribalism (I would prefer the word patriotism) is the wave of the future. The fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in today's new world order. And there are other peaceful examples, such as Czechoslovakia, which separated quietly. In Africa colonial powers did not draw borders to accommodate different tribes, and perhaps that is the reason for the ever reappearing ethnic conflict between Hutu and Tutsi, who were bundled into one state (Rwanda). Isn't it time to realize that every nation or group of people with a common descent, language and history should have the right of self-government? JAN RIJN ZEEVAART Pretoria

KOSOVO VERGES ON CIVIL WAR

I read with interest your article on the crisis in the Serb region of Kosovo [WORLD, May 11]. The desire of Kosovar Albanians to seek independence is only the latest chapter in the dismemberment of the former Yugoslavia. Belgrade strongman Slobodan Milosevic has watched his country disintegrate: Croatia, Bosnia and now, apparently, Kosovo want to go it alone.

Similarly, in 1860-61 the U.S. was falling to pieces as one state after the other seceded from the union. During this time of crisis, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln said it is the duty of a President to execute the laws and maintain the existing government, and not entertain any proposition of dissolution or dismemberment. Lincoln's commitment to the union of all states was absolute.

Although Milosevic is no Lincoln, he has a keen interest in maintaining the integrity of the borders of his country. Indeed he should feel obligated to keep the nation intact. And the U.S. certainly has an interest in ensuring that the Kosovo situation does not explode into a wider Balkan conflict. JOHN DAVID JOHNSON Heidelberg, Germany

WITNESSES AGAINST POL POT

With his death, many people throughout the world may think that Pol Pot, the architect of Cambodian genocide [WORLD, April 27], has escaped justice, but has he? The blood of those who died will stand as witness against him. He may have escaped man's justice, but a greater judgment awaits him. ALEX JOHNSON Grangemouth, Scotland

VICTOR HUGO: SO WHAT?

Oh, come on! Your critic Robert Hughes [ART, April 27] wrote that author Victor Hugo's "drawings make up one of the most striking testimonies to the image-forming power of the unconscious in all Western art." That statement is unconscionable. And the fact that Hugo produced 3,000 known or extant drawings does not make him an artist; most of us working artists produce that in just one year. And what is so unusual about Hugo's exhibit of talent in another field of the arts? Most artists share the ability to expand into other realms because of the need to create. Few artists have not delved into another medium in order to relieve this curious restlessness. GINGER WHITE, artist Bradenton, Fla.

FORGET CHOCOLATE CAKE

I laughed when I read your article about the Pilates exercise regimen [HEALTH, April 27]. I have been doing Pilates faithfully for the past 12 years. But despite what exerciser Kym Bassett says, you can't eat chocolate cake and get thin. Wait till Bassett gets to be 25; she'll see. People who lose 10 lbs. and two dress sizes are losing the bulk they put on at the gym. Pilates will give you excellent posture and a midsection like a rock and will lift your butt. It won't make you look like a movie star or a model. RONA JAFFE New York City [BOX]

20TH CENTURY CULTURAL ICONS

Coming soon is the second installment of the TIME 100, our choice of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. On June 1, TIME will publish its report on the artists and entertainers who have shaped today's culture. Find out the editors' selections of the most important writers, actors, musicians, artists, television stars and other creative minds of our times. And don't miss the special TIME-CBS News television program on these fascinating personalities, which will air Thursday, June 4, at 10 p.m. E.T.