Letters: Nov. 20, 2006

The Measure of a Nation

Our statistical guide to America--who we are, how we live, what we earn and what we believe--revealed the U.S. as a patchwork nation of 300 million and counting. Readers expressed surprise and dismay at many of the numbers and questioned the political and cultural priorities they revealed

Your cover story "America By The Numbers" [Oct. 30] was an interesting and thought-provoking way to commemorate the U.S. population's reaching 300 million. But I was struck by the comparison of the map illustrating the Electoral College votes in the 2004 presidential election and the "purple" map showing how people actually voted by county. When I look at both maps, there's little wonder why voter turnout in U.S. elections is embarrassingly low. Why would you bother voting when a simple majority is all that is needed for an entire state's Electoral College votes to go to one candidate? The U.S. is busy spreading democracy overseas yet has one of the least democratic electoral systems in the developed world.

Jeremy Greenbrook-Held

Wellington, New Zealand

Your special report cited research describing "What We Believe." While it is bound to be difficult to construct a questionnaire that neatly pigeonholes people's religious faiths, the viewpoints representing "How We See God"--which included an "Authoritarian God" and a "Benevolent God"--were simplistic and incomplete. Is God authoritarian or benevolent? According to the Bible, he is both. The way people view God may be an interesting sociological study, but those views do not define who God is.

Hollie Harmon

Montgomery, Ala.

"America By The Numbers" was quite interesting and quite disturbing. We are drifting toward a Balkanization of the U.S. Our leaders cannot secure our borders, and in failing to make English our official language, they have discarded the "melting pot," which used to unite us.

Guy R. Dobson

Barnwell, S.C.

TIME's claim that america is "still uncrowded" was disheartening. The statement "Hispanics are the only group having more than enough children to replace themselves in the population" could imply that our continued population growth is a good thing. There will be an additional 100 million Americans in 37 years. In a time of diminishing resources, such growth is not an admirable goal.

Roaney Giles

Austin, Texas

I was astounded to learn that Howard Stern earns $1,000 in 24 sec., while the same amount is earned by police officers and high school teachers for 43 hr. of work. The disparity of earnings between celebrities and average Americans clearly shows how far our culture's values have fallen. A radio personality's value to our society is totally insignificant compared with that of hardworking police officers and teachers.

Forrest F. Leigh

Boulder, Colo.

I am troubled by the great number of citizens who choose to forgo voting, or even registering to vote, in favor of watching television. Time reported that 19% of unregistered voters claim they do not have time to register, yet Americans on average watch more than 21/2 hr. of TV on weekends. Unregistered voters ought to spend a fraction of their TV viewing time filling out a voter registration card. People have time to do the activities for which they choose to make time.