A CURE FOR IMPOTENCE

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 11] 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 BY 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 may well be a huge demand for Viagra, but is there a sufficient supply of willing sex partners to satisfy the resulting appetite for intercourse? Pity the working women, the mothers and partners who are content with the status quo. The true winners with Viagra are the drug companies and, of course, the sex workers. Thanks to all those unsatisfied Viagra junkies, they will now experience a boom in trade.
KRISTINA WANG
New Farm, Australia

Although brand recognition in the 20th century has been led by Mickey Mouse and Coca-Cola, perhaps the 21st century will belong to Viagra. Hurrah for the new millennium! Viagra, drugs and rock 'n' roll.
ABID HUSSAIN SHAH
Lahore, Pakistan

Aren't you media people the ones who gave us all the hype about the diet drugs fen/phen and Redux, which turned out to have a dark side? I see no apology for that coverage and little caution in the current frenzy over Viagra.
RICHARD WILLIAM SPENCER
Warwick, Australia

The Vatican refuses to condone the use of birth control pills yet unofficially endorses Viagra, prostituting itself to some warped code of priorities. So men are allowed to bang away while women remain sinners. No wonder thinking Catholic women have become religiously stateless, bound by years of indoctrination but alienated by rampant discrimination in the church.
JENNIFER TAIT
Waverley, Australia

When Viagra is available around the world, especially in Asia, there will be hope for those poor endangered animals whose body parts are thought to have an aphrodisiac quality. What a salvation for rhinos, tigers, bears and seals. And for two-legged animals as well.
NAMIE PATTERSON
Brewarrina, Australia

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 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.

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 of Pfizer."
JEANNETTE COOK
Austin, Texas

RELIGIOUS UNREST IN ISRAEL

Although there certainly may be areas of friction in Israel between some ardently observant Jews and some equally ardent secular Jews, as described in your article "The Religious Wars" [May 11], most Jewish Israelis feel and act as a single people, a family united by its religious heritage, whether its members choose to observe its rules to a greater or lesser degree. The populace in Israel is not polarized or on the brink of a religious civil war.
RABBI AVI SHAFRAN
New York City

There have always been conflicts and hatreds between brothers--Cain and Abel, for example. There will always be a Jewish nation, divided or not. Leave the Jews to settle their differences by themselves. The press has helped destroy a princess, and is working to bring down the American President. Is the state of Israel next?
LARA SAUER, age 16
Johannesburg

During World War II, all Jews were targeted for extermination by the Nazis. Whether one was Orthodox Jewish or not was irrelevant. From the ashes of the crematoriums a Jewish homeland was founded, a place where all Jews could feel safe and welcome. Today the destruction of Israel could come from within by those who feel more entitled to exist in the homeland because they feel more Jewish. How ironic!
TONI MCCAULEY
Middleburg, Fla.

Religious Jews in Israel don't understand that they are living in a secular country like the U.S. In America there are no fights between religious and non-religious Jews. It is understood that religious Jews do not govern. But in Israel the religious Jews think they own the land, despite the fact that it belongs to a secular government. Israel's Jews should live in peace with one another.
RABBI SHIAH T. DIRECTOR
New York City

EXPANDING NATO

Bruce Nelan thinks enlarging NATO membership to include the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland is a "popular bad idea" [May 11]. I vehemently disagree. Nelan postulates that if Poland were to get into a scrape with Ukraine, the U.S. would be reluctant to send American forces to defend the new NATO allies. But every Pole knows that an independent Ukraine is a guarantee of Poland's independence. And though it is true today that the new members face no immediate military threat, what's wrong with insurance? Finally, Nelan claims that a fresh conventional arms race will result as the three new members modernize their armies. He says the three don't need new military hardware. Would he prefer a neutral and vulnerable buffer zone? Whether or not these three countries join NATO, updating their armed forces is necessary.
PIOTR REDO
Colchester, England

VICTOR HUGO: SO WHAT?

Oh, come on! Your critic Robert Hughes [May 11] 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.

CLINTON AND TORQUEMADA

Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr's investigations go on and on [May 11]. There are few things more frightening than a self-righteous, self-important "guardian" of public morals and minds like Starr, that tin-pot Torquemada and spiritual heir to Heinrich Himmler. We should all be very, very afraid. Even if the salacious and still unproven charges against President Clinton are true, these private and personal matters are far less a threat to the Republic than is the continued trampling of the Constitution.
JENNIFER JOHNSTON SMITH
Houston

We sense that our President has a libido problem, a sickness almost like an addiction to drugs or alcohol. We believe that he is in denial, as are most people with extreme personal problems. Now we have independent counsel Starr. He is spending more than $40 million, destroying multiple lives and wasting valuable time trying to prove what we already know. How in the name of common sense can we allow this to continue?
PHILIP G. SCHWARTZ
Fort Myers, Fla.

UNFAIR PORTRAYAL

We are writing on behalf of Mr. Wan Kuok-koi. We were shocked to read "Tales from the Dragonhead" [April 20], which falsely accused our client of being in association with and the head of the 14K, the Triad society in Macau. It is our instruction that at no time in the course of the interview with your reporter did our client ever admit or represent himself to be in such an awful position or of any Triad membership. Our client is a personality of repute whose integrity and fame should not be casually tainted. Your "Tales" are tales which are explicitly and implicitly untrue.
IP KWAN & CO.
Legal representatives for Wan Kuok-koi
Hong Kong

The article did not quote Wan Kuok-koi as saying he was a Triad member, nor did he admit that to our correspondent. We regret any inconvenience caused to Wan Kuok-koi. --ED.