THE POTENCY PILL

"With the introduction of Viagra, modern medicine is going 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 [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. Unfortunately, it is being sought after by masses of men who are feeling forlorn. But before taking the pill, they should read 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. 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. How wonderful to finally have a recreational drug that doesn't burn a hole in your brain or accelerate the downfall of the country! Another positive side effect concerns the rhinoceros. Long prized and often killed for its horn, which supposedly conquers impotence, the rhinoceros has become an endangered species. Pfizer may have inadvertently done more to save this poor, misunderstood beast than legions of conservationists. Long live science!
DOUG MOREY
Nairobi Which is more ridiculous--Bob Guccione talking about feminism or Camille Paglia talking about erections?
ROD THOMAS
Needham, Mass. You missed one point: We old duffers now are downright dangerous!
H. DAVID BRANNON, age 70
Winchester Bay, Ore.

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

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. Now if only someone could create a pill for love.
SUSAN F. FOX
Birdsboro, Pa. 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 in Pfizer."
JEANNETTE COOK
Austin, Texas

ISRAEL AT 50

I have mixed feelings about Israel's celebration of its 50 years of statehood [May 4]. 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

LEARNING FROM THE HOLOCAUST

In your item on ceremonies commemorating those who died in the Holocaust [May 4], you quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying the only lesson of the Holocaust is that "the existence of the Jewish people is tied to Jewish sovereignty and a Jewish army that rests on the strength of Jewish faith." I found that statement extremely disturbing. If it is true, there is no reason for the non-Jewish world to maintain the memory of the Holocaust. I have always believed that the lessons of the Holocaust have to do with basic human decency, respect for human dignity, tolerance of minorities and their right to individuality--not "Do unto others before they do unto you."
KATHLEEN SCHROERS
Cologne, Germany

KOSOVO VERGES ON CIVIL WAR

I read with interest your article on the crisis in the Serb region of Kosovo [May 4]. 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 states seceded from the union. Then 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 an interest in maintaining the integrity of the borders of his country. And the U.S. has an interest in ensuring that the Kosovo situation does not explode into a wider Balkan conflict.
JOHN DAVID JOHNSON
Heidelberg, Germany

ALL IN THE SAME BOAT

Re Charles Krauthammer's essay on the maritime tradition of saving women and children first [April 27]: If women are biologically more precious than men, why did the human race not give birth to many more girls than boys, instead of the current ratio of roughly 1 to 1? The rule of women and children first just shows that most men have respect for women and want to take care of them. We are different, but we're all in the same boat.
A.E. JAKOBS
The Hague

VICTOR HUGO: WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

Oh, come on! Your art critic Robert Hughes [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 of art--visual, performing, literary, musical--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.

DON'T BEHAVE IRRESPONSIBLY

Your report "Spend Japan Spend," on that country's uncertain economic future [April 20], illustrated the ethical and ecological perversity of the economic order that is being imposed on the world. According to your report, Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto has proposed special tax cuts and is gambling that Japan's consumers can spend the economy back from the brink of recession. What can be crazier than telling the Japanese to consume (and thus pollute and waste) even more than they currently do? Any sane observer would welcome Japan's policy of encouraging savings, especially in view of the budget deficit and an aging population. If the present international economic system is threatened by such responsible behavior, then the world urgently needs a different one. We should learn from the Japanese instead of blaming them.
JAKOB VON UEXKULL
Stockholm

HERE SHE COMES AGAIN

Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr continues the probe into President Clinton's behavior: Clinton's troubles just won't go away [April 27]. And if it wasn't clear before that there is an ultra-conservative crusade out to get Clinton, now there is proof in the fact that Paula Jones is appealing the judge's decision to dismiss her case. Jones has always been a pawn of the right wing, which will spend any amount to bring down Clinton. The Clinton haters have promised to bankroll her legal expenses; they don't care about her vindication. Jones is a phony.
TOBY MACK
Roxas City, the Philippines If anybody has caused sustained damage to Jones in recent years, it is probably not the President but all those who have wrongfully persuaded her to continue a legally losing case simply to serve their own political goals.
NICOLAS ISSID
Cernavoda, Romania

AN ENLIGHTENED VIEW OF SEX

I have closely followed the charges and countercharges involving President Clinton and sex [April 20]. The whole episode is absurd and phony, a kind of weird way in which the people of America seek relief from the pressures of life. Please, let your President be! In Africa we may be uncivilized by your standards, but our respect for constituted authority does not allow us to make fun of our elders, chiefs and political leaders.
TONY O. OZOALOR
Enugu, Nigeria

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

Your special report on the most influential people of the 20th century summed up what lies ahead [April 13]. You noted that tribalism and ethnic conflict pose a threat to peace. I beg to differ. Tribalism (I prefer the word patriotism) is the wave of the future. The fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in today's new world order. Czechoslovakia separated peacefully. In Africa colonial powers did not draw borders to accommodate different tribes, and that may be the reason for the recurring 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 a right to self-government?
JAN RIJN ZEEVAART
Pretoria Congratulations on the excellent TIME 100 report and the essays on the future. But TIME still has to learn that Islam and terrorism are not synonymous. In the article on what religious fundamentalism might bring in the next century, Scott MacLeod wrote, "In an age when Islamic fundamentalism has become a cliche associated with gruesome acts of terrorism..." But he then turned around and described Egyptian writer and Muslim activist Mohammed Abdul Koddus as "reasonable-sounding." Why would Abdul Koddus not be reasonable? Because he is a Muslim?
TABASSUM SIDDIQUI
Scarborough, Canada

The lives of two pairs of individuals named as 20th century leaders coincided with remarkable results: Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. The latter pair have not yet received the recognition they deserve. Incumbents Bill Clinton and Tony Blair are mere shadows of their towering predecessors. Fortunately, today we are not caught up in events that are as desperately dangerous as the ones that involved the earlier two remarkable pairs.
GRAHAM LANGMEAD
Bognor Regis, England

Salman Rushdie's essay on Gandhi was very clever. Like a good lawyer, he played with words and took leaps from the past to the present to the future (not in that order) to prove his case. While he did not lie, he presented a distorted image of the truth. Rushdie is far removed from the pulse of the real India. The India he writes about exists in his fantasy, and his works are the ramblings of a man with no idea of today's reality.
VIKAS VARMA
Bombay

You quoted Franklin Roosevelt as saying, "The presidency is not merely an administrative office. That's the least of it... It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership." Perhaps Clinton, who is so apt at quoting his favorite Presidents and copying their communication style, should think about these words. If a majority of my fellow Americans find Clinton's life-style and lack of moral leadership acceptable as long as they have financial prosperity, then I am deeply saddened by my country's morality. Its integrity has already foundered, like the Titanic.
JAMES CAMINATA
Treviso, Italy

GOD REVEALED, GOD CONCEALED

The Shroud of Turin has long been an important topic of discussion in Italy [April 20]. The carbon 14 dating analysis has not resolved the question of its age, at least for those who 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." He also stated, "It is ... true that he hides himself from those who tempt him, and that he reveals himself to those who seek him." As an atheist, I really don't care 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 the shroud.
CARY J. COLABRESE
Perugia, Italy

AEGEAN ISLAND SANCTUARIES

Your article "A War of Birds and Flowers" about the Greek government's project to establish nature sanctuaries on islands in the Aegean Sea off Turkey's coast [April 27] attempted to relate a genuine environmental project of the Ministry of the Aegean to the baseless Turkish claims to these Greek islands. You treated history in an elementary and distorting manner. The claims of Turkey over the islands in the Aegean were first raised two years ago, whereas the relevant international treaties giving Greece title to them date from 1923. Your story ends saying that for "Turkey the message is clear--beware of Greeks bearing binoculars." Shouldn't the Greeks beware of Turkish military forces bearing weapons bound for the Aegean and its islands?
ELISSAVET PAPAZOI
Minister of the Aegean
Athens

NOT YOUR BIG BAD WOLF

After reading about the judge's ruling that would remove threatened gray wolves from a project in Yellowstone National Park [April 27], readers rallied to their cause. John L. Noyes of Kalispell, Mont., argued that "ranchers lose far more livestock to disease, weather and their neighbors' dogs than to wolves." From St. Louis, Mo., Carol Perkins, widow of naturalist Marlin Perkins, struck a sadder note: "We founded the Wild Canid Survival and Research Center to preserve the wolf gene pool. Just as things were improving, a federal judge brings the work to a halt. How can he understand so little about the delicate balance of life on earth?" Chad Atkins of Spokane, Wash., however, thought the rulingcould prove a blessing. "Perhaps it will force full protection under the Endangered Species Act for what is now only a partly protected 'experimental' wolf population."