Letters

Has TV Gone Too Far--or Have Its Critics?

Impassioned TV viewers responded to the cover story on efforts to clean up sleazy programming. Some called for more oversight to reduce the level of sex, violence and profanity, but most objected to government involvement. Many felt the values activists should let grownups make their own decisions

Thanks but no thanks to L. Brent Bozell's watchdog groups for presuming to judge what television content my child should be protected from [March 28]. I don't need them to make that judgment, and I certainly don't appreciate their prodding the Federal Communications Commission into action on my behalf. I like the personal responsibility that comes with having a child, and I take it very seriously.

CHRISTOPHER QUIGLEY -- Abington, Pa.

Your cover headline asked, "Has TV Gone Too Far?" The answer is yes. I'm a young man with no religious affiliation, not some prudish middle-aged church mouse, but I have to say I am perplexed about how we got to this point. I don't envy anyone raising a child in the current climate of cultural depravity.

JON GARDNER -- Rocklin, Calif.

My parents raised me with the idea that certain things were for adults only. For the government to interfere with my entertainment because parents can't handle their responsibilities is unconscionable. I've got a message for concerned parents: Do your job, and raise your kids. Don't let them sit in front of the TV, staying up until 11 p.m. Put books in their rooms instead of TVs and video games. Legislation is not the answer.

ALLEN HUJSAK -- San Diego

Though TV smut should have been cleaned up years ago, at least some decent standards may now be enforced. But when will someone do something about the shameless clothes our young teenagers are wearing?

SUSAN JONES -- Fort Wayne, Ind.

Your coverage of the garbage on TV depicted a nation in slow decline. The best thing that can be done is to break the TV habit. Then homework gets done, family relationships and friendships can be re-established, and there is time for great music and arts.

CLINT FREEMAN -- Ridgecrest, Calif.

Here's a policy that the folks at the Parents Television Council (PTC) should follow: if you don't like what you see on TV, just change the channel. The group seems to be a censorship committee, dreaming about the good old days when TV was bland and unreflective of the culture. The PTC may think it is protecting children, but that is just an illusion.

G. JAY KALMEK -- Vancouver, B.C.

What is truly obscene is the self-appointed thought police butting into people's lives. If they are genuinely concerned about families and children, they ought to use their time and money to address real problems like homelessness, the lack of health care and the poisoning of our environment.

JOHN CRENSHAW -- Yorktown Heights, N.Y.

Maybe the PTC should create its own TV network to compete with the ones it is trying to change. That way it could accomplish what it wants to do without trying to force puritanical standards down the throats of people who prefer to control their own lives. If the PTC's suspicions about indecency are justified, the group will find a lucrative niche market that will pressure other networks to emulate it to stay competitive.

KATHY BOHON -- St. Robert, Mo.

Stubborn or Sour?

Columnist Joe Klein's "The Creative Stubbornness of Harry Reid" [March 28], on the Senate minority leader's success in blocking Republican-sponsored legislation, should have been called "The Sour-Grapes Obstructionism of Harry Reid." Why glorify Reid's antics when there is so much that needs to be accomplished in Washington?

DONALD NAGY -- Chino Valley, Ariz.

When the G.O.P crushed former minority leader Tom Daschle's bid for re-election to the Senate, Republicans thought they had broken the back of the Democratic resistance. But as Klein pointed out, the creatively stubborn Reid has marshaled his troops much as Robert E. Lee did and is winning on the battlegrounds of his choosing. It remains to be seen whether, like Lee, Reid will eventually fall or Americans will realize that control of all three branches of government by a single party leads to extremism.

DEL HINDLE -- High Ridge, Mo.

Classy and Controversial

Your story on the success of secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in reshaping diplomacy was right on the mark [March 28]. When President Bush appointed her, he knew that she would represent him and the U.S. with class, style and brilliance. I have been following her career over the years, and I must say our President couldn't possibly have made a better choice.

MICKY A. GUTIER -- Phoenix, Ariz.

I disagree with your fawning portrayal of the "dazzling" job Rice is doing. The greatest weakness of her predecessor, Colin Powell, was that he was a good soldier rather than a good Secretary. Rice's weakness is that she is a good Secretary--but in the interests of Bush rather than the American people.

ALAN MOEN -- Entiat, Wash.

Although I am a registered Democrat, I have always been very impressed with the way Rice has conducted herself. She is professional, knowledgeable and focused. That was true when she was Bush's National Security Adviser, and now she is demonstrating those same qualities as our Secretary of State. I may not always agree with the President on the issues, but he knows how to put the right person in the right position.

VIRGIL LEE PFAUTCH -- Concord, Calif.

Shifting the Blame

"The Eternal Optimist" reported that Senator John Kerry has been "blaming his political strategists for many of the mistakes his campaign made last year" [March 28]. That shows Kerry is incapable of leadership. Who selected the strategists, and who decided what to implement and what to ignore? One has to wonder what Kerry was doing when he should have been providing leadership for his campaign.

DON MONEFELDT -- Webster, N.Y.

Kerry cannot solely blame his strategists for his narrow defeat. Nor can he hope to win next time. The Democratic Party is not likely to give him a second chance if Hillary Clinton decides to run for President in 2008. Let him be Clinton's running mate.

OM JULKA -- Moreland Hills, Ohio

Taking Back Iraq

Charles Krauthammer's "Three Cheers for the Bush Doctrine" [March 14] seems very proud of what U.S. foreign policy toward the Arab world has brought about. I am very doubtful, however, of Krauthammer's view that there is now a climate in the Middle East favorable to democracy. We readers know the U.S. invaded and deposed Saddam Hussein and has occupied Iraq, killing thousands of Iraqis. Why are Iraqis reveling in their recent elections? Because they want to end the violent occupation by the U.S. as soon as they possibly can. They want to show that Iraq can tackle the problems of self-governance.

KIYOSHI SUGIMOTO -- Hiroshima

A Light in the Darkness

Andrew Sullivan's column "When Grace Arrives Unannounced" was brilliant and thought provoking. His account of how Ashley Smith persuaded her captor, accused Atlanta courthouse killer Brian Nichols, to give himself up by telling him of her life and faith presented a compelling example of how God works through imperfect, even wounded, ordinary people. My heartfelt appreciation goes to Smith for bravely putting her faith in action.

DON WOMELDORFF -- Kettering, Ohio

In a day and age in which the loudest Christian voices focus on exclusion instead of preaching grace, it was good to read a story that pointed out that "Grace arrives, unannounced, in lives that least expect or deserve it." All of us--fundamentalist preachers, murderers, failed mothers, good housewives--are in the same boat. We all are cracked and need the light to come in. Thanks to Sullivan for reminding us.

(THE REV.) KERSTIN BARNES -- El Granada, Calif.

Sullivan's essay was so moving, I had to read it twice. One human reaching out to another in such tortured circumstances gave me something I have not experienced in a long, long time: hope.

JAYNE DEWELL -- Tustin, Calif.

Remaking Morocco

Re TIME's report on investigations of the bombings in Madrid last March 11 [March 21]: I was disappointed by the story's implication that Morocco's policies may exacerbate terrorism. Moroccans continue to be saddened by the March 11 tragedy and share the grief of their Spanish brothers and sisters. The Moroccan government has embarked on a bold social, political and economic reform program to enhance freedom and opportunity. Last year King Mohammed VI addressed a council of religious scholars and announced a plan to revamp the domain of religious affairs to shield Morocco from the perils of extremism and terrorism and retain Morocco's national identity and tradition as a country of moderation, tolerance and respect for other faiths. Terrorism is a global problem that requires a global commitment if peace and freedom are to prevail.

AZIZ MEKOUAR -- MOROCCAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S. -- Washington

Hope for the Poor

The excerpt from Jeffery D. Sachs' new book, The End of Poverty, and awareness of the need to help Africa [March 14] caused a mix of emotions in my mind, chief of which I identified as hope. I am encouraged that enlightened and progressive leaders in the developed world agree that the main obstacles to Africa's development are not solely or even fundamentally corruption and misrule. With a lot of commitment and doggedness, Africa will stand on its own feet, and posterity will have this generation to thank for it.

OLUMUYIWA E. ADEPITAN -- Gusau, Nigeria

Can poverty in Africa be ended? Of course it can. But first Africa has to be freed from the heavy burden of the past and allowed the liberty and unconditional means to set its own course for the future. Then it could preserve some of its spiritual strength and cultural beauty, much of which has already been lost. Africa's resources have contributed immeasurably to Western wealth, and the continent has been exploited, often brutally, for decades.

RENE VAN SLOOTEN -- Maarssen, the Netherlands

Sachs presented a course of action that social-development workers like me have been waiting for. On the global scale, his recommendations deserve swift implementation. But on the micro or country-by-country level, I would strongly recommend the inclusion of what I would term cultural economics: values education that would make adults discard the beliefs, customs and lifestyles that are obstructive to human development. Poor societies at some point must decide for themselves to foster and support responsible sexual behavior that leads to an AIDS-free lifestyle. Donors may build irrigation facilities, but beneficiaries must ensure their continuing operation. Schools may be established, but farmers must first appreciate the value of formal education for their children. In many impoverished villages, parents still bear dozens of children to be unpaid farmhands. Responsible and planned parenting is urgently needed.

LORIE TOLEDO

Paranaque City, the Philippines

Ignorance Is Rich

I detected a pattern in your story on the fall of WorldCom's former CEO Bernie Ebbers and other corporate fraudsters who may be facing hard time [March 28]. You reported that "Ebbers said he was too ignorant about accounting to detect the financial crimes of his underlings." John Rigas, CEO of Adelphia Communications, "claimed he was CEO in name only." And Richard Scrushy, CEO of HealthSouth Corp., "thought his financial officers, though aggressive, were operating within the confines of the law." It is stunning how men who claim to be so clueless came to run huge companies and earn salaries that would make Croesus blush. I would like any corporation looking for a new CEO to know that I am available and ignorant--just the qualifications, apparently, for a job at the top.

ALLEN J. SCHULER -- Louisville, Ky.

Home-Run Heroes

If baseball stars barry bonds and Mark McGwire used illegal steroids, they deserve to be in a Hall of Shame [March 28]. But perhaps one good thing will come from this scandal: a greater appreciation for home-run king Hank Aaron, a man of decency and dignity and a record holder worthy of a child's adulation. Thirty-one years after breaking Babe Ruth's record for most career homers, Aaron still remains in his shadow. How ironic that it might be Bonds' downfall that finally allows Aaron to emerge. It's about time.

TOM STANTON -- New Baltimore, Mich.

To cast McGwire as a lying cheat is grotesque. He has raised a lot of money for worthy causes, and his 1998 race with Sammy Sosa to break Roger Maris' single-season home-run record saved the sport of baseball. Whatever the outcome of the House committee hearings, McGwire will always be a hero.

STEVE WEICHSELBAUM -- Oceanside, Calif.