Letters

Reborn in the USA

"Bruce Springsteen is the voice of Everyman. He may live in a mansion up on the hill, but he knows exactly how I'm feeling." GEORGE ZAVERDAS Los Angeles

I am one of five children whose obsession with Springsteen has spread to our 70-year-old parents; they have even attended shows with us [MUSIC, Aug. 5]. My father has labeled Springsteen a "true American poet for our generation"--this from a man who attended Amherst College and spent afternoons immersed in the poetry of Robert Frost. Listening to the words of the songs on Bruce's new album, The Rising, brings me comfort as I try to digest all that has happened this past year. His commanding us to "rise up" from the events of Sept. 11 is like a preacher instructing his congregation. I pray that the congregation heeds his message. SHARON FENDRICK Washington

Knowing how much his audience wanted to see him with the E Street Band again, shrewd businessman Springsteen raised ticket prices from about $30 for his mid-'90s solo tour to $67.50 for the high-profile E Street reunion tour of 1999-2000. Now he has again raised ticket prices, this time to $75. There's irony in a "populist" performer squeezing his audience for larger and larger amounts of cash for the privilege of hearing him sing about how tough it is in a cruel world. KYLE MIZE Brownwood, Texas

Seeing Springsteen on TIME's cover was like running into an old friend. Even if you have never met him, he makes you feel you know him. His music has a way of bringing you home or taking you for a ride, wherever you want to go. I drove eight hours to Cleveland, Ohio, to see him play, since I couldn't get tickets here. But I didn't mind the trip. It was just another journey that Bruce has taken me on. CHRISTOPHER SOLDOVIERI Dover, N.J.

It's hard to imagine any other musician confronting the subject of Sept. 11 as well as the Boss has. For decades he has written music from a uniquely American perspective that can somehow haunt our souls and lift us up at the same time. If we knew Bruce for his words alone, he would be considered one of America's finest poets. But set to music, those words have the power to make generations of Americans think, hope and live better lives. The Rising is Springsteen's effort to try through his art to make us respect, remember and somehow overcome a tragic American event. TOM VILLANE Manasquan, N.J.

How can this Springsteen album be marketed as a remedy for the American people? If people want to like bad music, that's one thing. But to try to pawn off a new album as something that will heal the personal wounds of a national tragedy is despicable. Springsteen is not just a has-been, he's a boring one. BRIAN SPRENGER Philadelphia

My grown kids thought I was nuts, but I literally squealed with delight when I saw your cover. I then ran out to the store and bought The Rising. With the first heavy drumbeats and the sound of Bruce's gravelly voice, I felt like I was home again. MAUREEN NUGENT Gaylord, Mich.

For better or for worse, people like Springsteen have been supplanted by a new generation of musicians. If you must waste your readers' time by kowtowing to pop celebrities, at least choose ones who are relevant. ULYSSES LATEINER Somerville, Mass.

Some years ago, I came across a letter from a reader to TIME that appeared after you ran your Oct. 27, 1975, cover story on Bruce Springsteen. As a fan, I have always got a chuckle at the thought of that letter. It read simply, "A year from now we'll be wondering what ever happened to Bruce Springsteen." I hope the writer of that letter is now fully up to speed and has seen your latest story! JEREMY PARKINSON Auckland, New Zealand

--If a picture is worth a thousand words, do those words say more about the image or the viewer? Take, for instance, the detail-oriented Californian who found one letter on our cover to be literally off-color: "As I looked at your tricolored 'USA' in the cover headline, I wondered when the U.S. changed its colors to red, white and periwinkle blue." A plainspoken Maryland man thought the Boss could use a change: "This bum needs to get a haircut, a shave and a decent suit!" But it was the man behind the camera who was the focus of attention for a San Diego woman. "Gregory Heisler's cover portrait of Bruce Springsteen is amazing. Heisler's use of color and light are original, pure genius."

It's the Economy--Again

Thank you for your story "Inside the Mind of the CEO President" [NATION, Aug. 5]. I read it as a humor piece. You said President Bush "loves it when the elite are upstaged by the streetwise" because he thinks it reflects his life story. Bush is about as streetwise as Malcolm Forbes Sr. was on his Harley. But when the article went on to credit Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Bush's Council of Economic Advisers with deep thinking about the economy, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Perhaps George W.'s message on corporate fraud would be less garbled if he could get that silver spoon out of his mouth. STEVEN HAWLEY Issaquah, Wash.

What is Bush if not a member of the elite who made millions in business largely because of his name and connections, and who as President has promoted policies designed to further enrich the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us? It's sickening when Bush strikes that "plain folks" pose. He is plain folks neither by birth nor by virtue of demonstrating any sympathy for people in the middle- and lower-income brackets. TRUDY RING Burbank, Calif.

I vividly remember Bush's saying "politics as usual" was over and that he would do things differently. His followers said he was "a uniter, not a divider." I didn't have much faith in him then, and now I have even less. Bush has only one agenda, that of his devout conservative followers and Big Business. He doesn't care about uniting this country or including those of us who didn't vote for him. He doesn't care about true corporate reform. If he did, he would make ceos pay back the money they got by ripping off American taxpayers and investors. MARK PIERSON Daytona Beach, Fla.

Sizing Up the Saudis

In your article asking if the U.S. still needs the Saudis [WORLD, Aug. 5], you referred to the "moderate voices" in Saudi Arabia. Can you be serious? This is the homeland of the majority of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers and of countless "leaders" who can groom the next generation for future attacks on the U.S. This is a nation that undermines the global fight against terrorism by funding the murderous Palestinian groups intent on using terror to destroy Israel. We worry about who would replace the ruling al-Saud family if U.S. support were to be withdrawn, but would any other group be that much worse? HART PASSMAN Chicago

The Saudis want members of the U.N. to force the peace process for the Palestinians, who danced with glee when people were killed in the Twin Towers. The Saudis supplied money to the Palestinians but say it was for justifiable causes, for families who lost their loved ones when they committed murderous bombings. The Saudis lied and hid the lies. Isn't this enough? EDMUND JAMES Etobicoke, Ont.

As long as the Saudis could provide cheap oil, it did not matter much what the Saudi government did to its citizens or foreigners. The international media should have been more critical of the Western governments' relationship with the Saudis. Many in the media were not interested in reflecting the true image of Saudi society until the recent extremist acts in the U.S. While governments must bear most of the blame, the media too did not live up to their moral obligations. AMIR IFTIKHAR Stavanger, Norway

While Saudi Arabia holds 30% of the world's known oil reserves (260 billion bbl.), the tar sands in northern Canada hold as much as 2.5 trillion bbl. of oil. Though it is more expensive to refine oil from tar sands, would Americans mind paying a little more for oil if the money didn't enrich those who would fund terrorists around the world? ROB PHILLIPS Calgary, Alta.

Cross-Border Prescriptions

RE your article on Americans who are getting cut-rate prescriptions online from Canada [PERSONAL TIME: YOUR HEALTH, July 29]: As tens of thousands of satisfied American customers can attest, TheCanadianDrugstore.com only provides the finest brand-name and generic medications available from licensed Canadian pharmacies. If a customer isn't satisfied, recourse in the form of a timely refund is available. BILLY SHAWN, PRESIDENT THECANADIANDRUGSTORE.COM Toronto

Moonwalking Monarch

Re the item about Michael Jackson's charges of racism against Sony [PEOPLE, July 22]: Jackson remains one of the biggest-selling recording artists of all time. What does a famous person have to do to keep his title, die at his peak? Who else is as famous? Everyone knows who wore the black hat, rhinestone glove and white socks and who moonwalked all over the globe, dominating pop music. JAYSON CEERAZ London

So Jackson is convinced that his recent poor album sales are due to a racist recording industry that underpromotes black artists. Why then are the likes of P. Diddy, Missy Elliott, Destiny's Child and other black musicians among the richest and most successful artists in the world? Why then have the vocabulary, style and influence of black music been embraced in nearly every corner of the globe? Jackson needs to look a little closer to home to understand why fewer people are buying his recordings. Pen some decent tunes, and they will be bought. MARK KING London

Audience Participation

It was interesting to read about the new breed of Broadway musicals that are a compilation of recycled hit songs held together with a marginal story [THEATER, Aug. 5]. But I couldn't understand your critic's objection to the "dancing in the aisles" that occurs during the encore in Mamma Mia! What's so terrible about theatergoers of all ages standing, cheering, waving their arms, singing and dancing in the aisles after seeing a marvelous musical? This is what Broadway needs and why Mamma Mia! sells out in theaters around the world. Too bad its success wasn't marked by a Tony Award. CHARLES SHUBOW Owings Mills, Md.

A Whole Lotta Lovely

Former model Anna Nicole Smith is not the only overweight bodacious babe out there [TELEVISION, July 22]. Writer Joel Stein said, "Despite the fact that she weighs more than 200 lbs., Smith is still beautiful and sexy enough to make men do" what she wants. I too weigh more than 200 lbs. and, like Smith, I can make men do pretty much what I want. There are many women like us walking around. It's all about what a woman exudes, not what her scale says she weighs. Though stereotypes about fat women are alive and well, it's a shame that TIME plays a part in propagating them. JENNA SYKUCKI Montreal

Praise for a Corporate Scold

I appreciated your interview with activist Ralph Nader [10 QUESTIONS, Aug. 5]. Nader's powerful intelligence, grace and wit never cease to impress the open mind. His insights into the serious imbalances and blind spots of the American corporate structure are penetrating, yet he is surprisingly optimistic and even humorous at times. We desperately need leaders like Nader--truly in touch with the fundamental realities that are shaping our lives and our world--and courageous enough to speak up strongly. SCOTT HESS Petaluma, Calif.

Cash Crop

Tim Padgett reported on the political movement in Bolivia and elsewhere in South America to let the growth of coca leaves flourish, even though they are the raw material of cocaine [LETTER FROM BOLIVIA, Aug. 5]. Despite the fact that it is American citizens who abuse drugs, the U.S. government targets the farmers who grow coca rather than the users of cocaine. Other countries are told that they are responsible for restricting drugs supplied to the U.S., but it is clear that without a market here, the farmers, drug cartels and pushers would have no one to buy the products of their coca leaves. When will the U.S. understand that the government can't stop people from taking drugs? And when will the U.S. stop spending taxpayer dollars to force the rest of the world to accept our values? ELAINE HEROLD Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

On a recent trip to South America, I found coca leaves sold everywhere--in the market, at the store, on the streets. But they are sold as "an anesthetic and a salubrious chew." The porters I hired chewed these leaves to alleviate pain or sickness while hiking the steep trails. Chewing coca leaves is as much a part of South America's culture as drinking Coca-Cola is to ours. Eradicating coca-leaf farms would be stamping out part of another culture. Getting rid of coca leaves will not miraculously eliminate cocaine as a problem. AMY WONG Saratoga, Calif.