Letters

Our

article about the origins of the will to succeed sparked a lively debate between readers who admired the people we profiled and those who believe there's more to life than fame and fortune

You provided a fascinating analysis of why and how some of us have that inner fire of ambition while others do not [Jan. 9]. Your article might drive some readers to ask, "Am I or can I be successful in my career?" Sometimes we need a push to leave what we are doing and find something that we can be more successful at. However, a focus on individual ambition and financial success is not healthy. If we ignore civility and empathy, we only exacerbate social decay. Our role models should be those whose ambition and success brought about betterment for the whole of society, not just themselves.
Robert Pitts Jr.
San Ramon, California, U.S.

Sometimes what we call ambition is simply talent so great that it cannot contain itself. Mozart, Einstein, Paul McCartney and Bill Gates come to mind. But in other cases, ambition is just greed. Many of the famous folk in your story fit the latter category.
Ken Taub
St. James, New York, U.S.

Your cover line on "What Separates Life's Go-Getters from its Also-Rans" was insulting to most of humanity. Look at any troubled company or organization, and you'll find an excess of bumbling go-getters, who only make it harder for the selfless also-rans who really keep things going. Just remember the people who have quietly encouraged and aided your growth (teachers, volunteers, relatives), and ask yourself which camp each resides in.
Ernie Henninger
Harrodsburg, Kentucky, U.S.

Secret Snooping
TIME reported on the controversy over President George W. Bush's secret directive to allow the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on phone conversations in the U.S. without a court-ordered warrant [Jan. 9]. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Those who are up in arms about the secret spying on people with known links to al-Qaeda would be the first to blame the President for not preventing another attack. I am not an apologist for Bush, but he did get this one right. Terrorists need to know they can't use our eavesdropping laws against us. The President took an oath to protect the American people, and I am glad he is doing it.
Gabe Grote
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.

Bush has bypassed and ignored the laws set forth by Congress requiring warrants for wiretaps. You could even say he has decided to make his own laws. Although Bush's intentions may be good, it is the precedent being set that we should be worried about. Twenty years from now, we may have a President whose intentions are not so creditable. It is obvious that Americans need to fight terrorism, but to do so, we are eroding the basic fabric our democracy is built on. History is filled with tyrants and dictators. Let's not leave room for one to come to power in the U.S.
Ryan Fortman
Denver

I have no problem with the authorities rooting out terrorists by legal means, but Americans should remember the kind of information collected by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover and how he used it to threaten his personal enemies. One of Hoover's targets was Martin Luther King Jr. I would like to think that Canadian jurists would make quick work of any official who wiretapped without the approval of the court.
Maurice A. Rhodes
Nelson, Canada