Letters

WHEN SEX IS KID STUFF

"If youngsters are as promiscuous as you indicate, then we are in for some serious problems associated with divorce and broken homes." JESS BROWN Sugar City, Idaho

Your report on teen sex and what kids know was prizewinning material [SOCIETY, June 15]. I live in the buckle of the Bible Belt. The subject of sex is taboo, yet that doesn't keep my hometown from having its fair share of teen pregnancies. Many of the people here with sexually transmitted diseases are teenagers. I know a guy who got a girl pregnant and hasn't yet told his parents, even though the child is already born. He broke up with the girl and continues to have unprotected sex with others. This guy isn't learning from his mistakes. Something needs to be done. SCOTTY COPPAGE, age 17 Wichita Falls, Texas

I think your article was very biased and unfair to the majority of teens. While I acknowledge that some teens are making poor choices, most of us are making wise ones. You point the finger at the standard evils of TV and music. These are not to blame. When I was at a young age, my mom gave me "the talk" and wasn't embarrassed or hush-hush about the topic. The result is, I plan to abstain from sex until I'm married. JULIA SWEET, age 16 Mercer Island, Wash.

Your report was very concise and accurate. It depicted teen life the way it is and not the way parents wish it was. You proved the need for sex education and why it shouldn't be shunned by our educational system. People do not want to believe this is what's happening, but believe me, it is! ROBERT MAEYAERT, age 16 Dickinson, N.D.

One day last year I came home an hour earlier than expected. I found my son and his girlfriend (both had just turned 15) having sex in our backyard hot tub, music blasting, drinking wine, not using birth control, in broad daylight! After the initial shock, I immediately phoned the girl's mother (a single parent with a live-in boyfriend) and asked her to come right over. I phoned her two more times during the hour it took her to get to my home (she lives five minutes away). With parents like that, it's no wonder that so many kids are out of control. The next day I bought my son condoms. NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST Plano, Texas

As the mother of an 18-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, I applaud your frank and realistic article. Parents need to confront and accept the prevalence of "casual sex" in today's society. However, this does not excuse us from cautioning our youngsters about the physical and emotional repercussions of engaging in sex without commitment. We parents can only provide guidelines, but open communication with our children will help them make wise decisions about their sexual behavior and their future. ADRIENNE COCCAGNA Cheltenham, Pa.

I am 79, but during my teenage years, we did exactly the same things that kids do today. However, we had a much harder time learning the language and methods with no TV, only music radio. ROBERT N. RADER Moore Haven, Fla.

I am troubled by today's current cultural phenomenon that has parents passively stepping back and allowing their children to be force-fed images of sex and violence. To handle these powerful ideas, they need a larger reality than childhood affords. Are we so naive as to think our children will not suffer the consequences of these messages? MAURA C. WALSH Sierra Madre, Calif.

THE PRICE OF TRUE RELIGIOSITY

Bravo to Charles Krauthammer for his commentary on the disdain that the culturemakers have for the deeply religious person [ESSAY, June 15]! He elegantly and succinctly expressed the deep concerns of the faithful and defended our right to believe. KARIN F. DONALDSON La Jolla, Calif.

Krauthammer's views are nonsense. No matter whether you are a religious believer or not, somebody somewhere will criticize your position. Citing a few examples of those who attack people who have deep religious convictions doesn't prove Krauthammer's point. Overall, there appears to be a heavy bias in favor of religion in the U.S. Most politicians claim to be Christian. In sermons and on television, ministers blast the nonreligious. Why shouldn't the nonreligious blast back? Are atheists required to debate with one hand tied behind their back? MICHAEL ALEXANDER Seattle

Someday Krauthammer may find that religious bigotry continues to poison politics and endanger personal freedom in America and that conservative Christians are the most onerous exponents of that bigotry. The greatest danger we face in the U.S. today is from the unrepentant Christian who allows "his Christian faith to corrupt his working life." CHARLES DELUCA Mandeville, La.

CLASS WARFARE IN VERMONT

Vermont's new education funding law, Act 60 [NATION, June 15], is in keeping with our motto "Freedom and Unity." The law aims to correct disparities in school spending between wealthy towns and those less fortunate and to allow all schools equal access to funding. As to author John Irving's comment that this is Marxism, Act 60 is no more Marxism than income tax is. JEB SPAULDING, Chair Senate Appropriations Committee Vermont State Senate Montpelier, Vt.

Destroying good public schools to achieve equity has failed in other states. Vermont has serious school-funding issues that must be resolved to provide a quality education for all children--but not this way. I hope all anger engendered by Act 60 will be channeled into constructive efforts. Vermonters must focus on a solution that benefits all Vermont children. MARY BARROSSE, President Vermont Parents for Quality Education East Dorset, Vt.

Vermonters don't begrudge Irving his wealth. If he has the resources to build a private school for his son, there is no reason he shouldn't do so. But we are addressing problems of the vast majority, who do not have the luxury of such an option. Irving insults these Vermonters with his reference to not wanting to make his child "a target of trailer-park envy." Act 60 is a bipartisan response to a crisis in Vermont's educational-financing system. The old system was broke, so we fixed it. DAVID W. CURTIS, State Chair Vermont Democratic Party Burlington, Vt.

MORE ARTISTS AND ENTERTAINERS

Re your choice of the top 20 artists and entertainers of the century [TIME 100, June 8]: your selection of five buildings designed for the ages should have included the Transamerica Pyramid Building in San Francisco, designed by my father, William L. Pereira. It is easily one of the most recognizable buildings in the U.S. It is classy and innovative in design and outstanding in structure. I'm surprised you didn't honor it. MONICA I. PEREIRA Scottsdale, Ariz.

It was disappointing that you did not include the greatest culinarian ever, Auguste Escoffier. A true chef is the perfect blend of artist and entertainer. Escoffier wrote the book, literally, on which modern cookery is based. Dining out is as entertaining as the theater, movies or a concert. I hope the elite in the culinary field get the appreciation they deserve someday. Maybe in the next century. JAMES F. MEIERS Mexico City

Your treatment of Elvis Presley was shabby in the extreme. He was and is more popular than the majority of the 20 people featured in your selection. The Beatles had no problem in opening the world's door to rock 'n' roll because it had already been kicked in by Elvis. He was the first, and he did it the hard way. Elvis is one of the few people recognized the world over by their first name. He left an enormous legacy, not only in rock 'n' roll but also in gospel, pop, country, soul and the blues. Surely you would not cover the history of flight without giving full credit to the Wright brothers. Why not give Elvis his due? TONY GALVIN Limerick, Ireland

AN IMMORAL IMAGE

I just have to respond to Jennifer Campbell's statement [LETTERS, June 8] that "morals have nothing at all to do with Clinton's position as a representative of our government." President Clinton represents me and every other citizen of the U.S., and he is showing the world that we have no morals. I want the person representing me to stand up for truth, morality, fairness and justice, and to listen to what I have to say. Imagine what the world is thinking of Americans. They believe we are immoral. Is that the image we want? Not me! LORETTA SIMMONS McCrory, Ark.

A WOMAN'S PLACE

If American wives were to observe closely the clause that Southern Baptists have included in their statement of faith [NOTEBOOK, June 15], that a wife should submit "graciously to the servant leadership of her husband," just think how many married women would have to give up their careers and end up mopping floors at McDonald's. BETTY E. WHITEHEAD Melbourne, Fla.

The Baptists' statement is a relic from a bygone era. I anticipate the day when Baptist women stage an uprising. A woman's place is where she wants to be. PHILIP J. SCHACCA West Hempstead, N.Y.