Letters

• Share

The Science of Happiness
At a time when there seem to be so many reasons for being miserable, I appreciated your special report on happiness [Feb. 7]. Some of the most stunning smiles and happy faces belong to the poorest kids in Africa, who are without parents and are often brutalized and hungry. Surely they are the ones with the most reasons to be unhappy. What can possibly make them smile? As your article pointed out, however, we cannot wait for enough friends or a lot of money to make us happy; we have an amazing capacity to set ourselves right.
Peter Fischer
Kloof, South Africa

You should have included the pleasure of having a pet. We have so much to learn from animals. A beloved cat or dog is a constant joy, not only to families but also to the elderly and lonely. Along with my family and friends, my cats rank way up on my personal happiness list.
Janet Parkhurst
Cape Town

Happiness is a gift, not a commodity. Even the poor have the ability to cultivate and share happiness. We can find pleasure in the small things we often take for granted: a smile, a helping hand, a kiss, a wave, a pat on the back, a glass of water, a promise kept. And when you find the source, you know it. Sometimes happiness overflows, but it never destroys.
Paul Aboh
Lagos

Thank you for the tips and techniques for finding happiness and peace of mind. In particular, "Eight Steps Toward a More Satisfying Life" was just what I needed to read. I believe in making my life a more satisfying one, and I am learning to forgive those who have hurt me. Forgiveness works. It lets us be pals again.
Anna Victoria Reich
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.

While reading your report on happiness, I felt a touch of sorrow that science seems to be nosing its way into every aspect of humanity. Can't we go back to the days when people lived passionately without wondering what chemicals in the brain made them happy? Since when has happiness been a technical thing?
Janet Ma
Rochester, Michigan, U.S.

Labeling the Insurgency
In "hunt for the bomb factories," about the massive weapons depots around Baghdad [Feb. 7], TIME referred to "nationalist fighters" who use the arms for their deadly operations. You should reserve the term nationalist for the millions of brave and determined Iraqis who risked their lives to demonstrate their commitment to a new, democratic Iraq by voting in the election. The choice of bullets over ballots is being made not by nationalists but by foreign and homegrown jihadists, Baathists and insurgent Sunnis with a vested interest in holding on to a disproportionate share of the power and resources of the nation they once tyrannized. They are terrorizing the population they falsely claim to represent. The true Iraqi nationalists are those who seek, peacefully and constructively, to build their new nation.
Jeff Farkas
Munich

Payment Due?
Your story "what does bush owe the Religious Right?" explored what Christian conservatives want in return for helping re-elect the President [Feb. 7]. I wish America saw Christians as something other than die-hard Bush supporters and Bible-toting fundamentalists condemning to hell gays and pregnant teens. Are all Christians to be known only by the anti–gay marriage and anti-abortion agendas of some? Jesus served the poor and loved the neglected. His message was about caring for the destitute and the outcast. If Christianity in America is to be defined solely by what it stands against, then God help us all.
Evelyn Hsieh
San Diego

Bush owes the evangelicals nothing. To pay off religious groups, whether on the left or right, for electoral support is to put this country on an ugly road to theocracy.
Dick Marti
Tifton, Georgia, U.S.

The continued focus of the mainstream media on the Evangelicals and conservatives who align themselves with the Republican Party perpetuates the myth that most, if not all, Evangelicals conform to the conservative Republican social agenda. Many Evangelicals, however, care deeply about poverty, health care, the economy and the effects of globalization on the poor. Thousands of young Evangelicals are not content with a faith that fails to address the relevant social issues of our day and are quietly working to alleviate human suffering in impoverished communities across the country. They will be what saves evangelical Christianity from its demise as a significant religious movement.
(The Rev.) Jeff Carr
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.

Reality in Iraq
Columnist Joe Klein's "The End Of Rose-Petal Fantasies" suggested that hawkish neoconservatives may be losing their influence on the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq and elsewhere [Feb. 7]. Klein says Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who were "complicit in rose-petal scenarios" for Iraq, may now be less susceptible to fantasies. The only fantasy I can see is Klein's in thinking that what has happened in Iraq has been a failure. Iraq is far from a lost cause, as was proved when Iraqis in all walks of life braved the threats of insurgents and headed to the polls to take part in their first real free election.
Owen T. Mathews
Suffield, Connecticut, U.S.

So Long, Johnny
The passing of late-night television entertainer Johnny Carson [Feb. 7] brought back memories of a simpler, more comforting time. During his nearly 30-year tenure at the Tonight Show, Carson delivered a special brand of wit and class, particularly during his sharp opening monologues. He interacted with a fascinating array of guests, accentuating his intriguing and often hilarious interviews with his deadpan expression. Heeere's to a legendary master of late-night talk TV who had an unforgettable impact on people's lives.
David Kaliner
Las Vegas