Letters

The

"If the U.S. wishes to get out of this century alive, its leaders would do well to heed the lessons of Benjamin Franklin."
FRED WICKHAM
San Francisco

LATEST COVER STORY Mind & Body Happiness Jan. 17, 2004 Past Issues Tsunami Jan. 10, 2004 ----------------- Person of the Year Jan. 3, 2004 ----------------- Secrets of the Nativity Dec. 13, 2004 ----------------- The Stealth Killer Dec. 6, 2004 ----------------- Coolest Inventions Nov. 29, 2004 ----------------- Battle for Fallujah Nov. 22, 2004 ----------------- Four More Years Nov. 15, 2004 ----------------- The Joy Of Sox Nov. 8, 2004 ----------------- The Morning After Nov. 1, 2004 ----------------- The God Gene Oct. 25, 2004 ----------------- The Vote Battle Oct. 18, 2004 ----------------- Visions of Tomorrow Oct. 11, 2004 ----------------- The Tragedy of Sudan Oct. 4, 2004 ----------------- CBS Controversy Sept. 27, 2004 ----------------- America's Border Sept. 20, 2004 ----------------- Struggle Within Islam Sept. 13, 2004 ----------------- World of George Bush Sept. 6, 2004 -----------------   SPECIAL REPORTS  Coolest Video Games 2004  Coolest Inventions  Wireless Society  Cool Tech 2004 PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS  At The Epicenter  Paths to Pleasure  Quotes of the Week  This Week's Gadget  Cartoons of the Week More graphics >> More photos >> MORE STORIES Advisor: Rove Warrior The Bushes: Family Dynasty Klein: Benneton Ad Presidency More Stories >> CNN.com: Latest News

Your tribute to Ben Franklin was a useful summary of how much he contributed to our nation [COVER STORY, July 7]. It also served as a reminder of how rare his seven "great virtues"--aversion to tyranny, support for a free press, a sense of humor, humility, idealism in foreign policy, tolerance and respect for compromise — are in the leaders of today in their response to the challenges of the post-9/11 world. Franklin's fundamental scientific approach, in which conclusions are drawn after testing hypotheses, is an important additional virtue. This philosophy is quite different from that of the Bush Administration, which often selects the facts to fit its hypotheses.
DAVID GWYNNE
Beverly, Mass.

The Special Report on Franklin was perfect subject matter for today. I was thrilled to read about something positive — one of our country's great forefathers — instead of about the negative events happening around the world and especially here in the U.S. We Americans often lose sight of our incredibly rich past, and your report was a reminder of how this country was founded upon freedom and liberty, ideas that inspired the American people to be innovative and audacious in achieving their dream.
ALISON C. HAMILL
Portland, Conn.

In the excerpt from his book, Walter Isaacson envisions having a beer with Ben Franklin and discussing George Bush's foreign policy. I imagine that Franklin, an icon of democracy — and confirmed opponent of aristocracy and hereditary rule — would scathingly denounce the Administration's imperial ambitions and its upward redistribution of wealth and power. Franklin would also have a good word for France. And he would note the hypocrisy and error of trying to purchase temporary safety by curtailing essential liberties with the Bush Administration's "Patriot Act."
BYRON C. BANGERT
Bloomington, Ind.

Will someone please give a copy of the book on Benjamin Franklin to President Bush and pray that he reads it?
MURIEL MANUEL
Morgan City, La.

In his life and work, Franklin demonstrated a humane approach to individuals and ideas. Behind the facade of the powerful and worldly elder statesman lurked a streak of little-boy mischievousness, which accounted in part for Franklin's appeal to the ladies.
CAROLINE HAKIM
Palm Springs, Calif.

A Tricorner hats-off to TIME for your marvelous feature on Franklin. Think of how much less hawkish our country might be if, to keep us humble, we had selected the turkey for our national bird, as Franklin preferred, instead of the eagle. A champion of the right of all to be heard regardless of differing opinions, Franklin would have a lot to say about today's election process. He would demand that voters know the positions of all the presidential candidates, Democrats and Republicans, and insist they all get equal time in public debates.
LAURIE DOBSON
Rowayton, Conn.

If Franklin had not been in his 80s by the time presidential elections began, he almost certainly would have been one of the first U.S. Presidents and undoubtedly one of the best.
ELAINE PEPIN
Sterling Heights, Mich.

Operation Unfinished

The appalling image of a young Iraqi boy lying on the floor, being handcuffed by an American soldier [IRAQ OCCUPATION, July 7], only reiterated the horrors of this unjustified war. What right did the soldier have to be in that child's home or, for that matter, in his country? By engaging in the "liberation" of Iraq without caring about world opinion, the U.S. has become extremely vulnerable to all kinds of assaults by fundamentalists.
ARCHA DUTTA
Lyons, France

The war in Iraq began only in March, and already your headline calls it "The War That Never Ends." Amazing! What was World War II, then?
DAN VLOSSAK
Cambridge, Mass.

Bush & Co. clearly have fudged the truth about a number of things. The Administration's statements that the military occupation of Iraq would be short were wrong. American men and women are dying in a distant land, with no end to the carnage in sight. If the President and his staff deliberately misled the American public and Congress, they should suffer the consequences.
BRANDON BITTNER
Spring City, Pa.

The Elusive WMD

Why is everyone so quick to assume that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) do not exist [IRAQ WEAPONS, July 7] simply because we have not yet found them? We have not yet located Saddam Hussein, his sons or Osama bin Laden, but I don't think their existence is the result of manipulated intelligence.
MARY LYNN WATSON
St. Joseph, La.

In the minds of many Americans, the chief rationale for going to war in Iraq was that a vast stockpile of WMD was ready and waiting for bin Laden or Saddam to use on Americans. Should no evidence of such weapons be found, what we have is a poorly explained war started for political reasons known only to Washington insiders. Many of us baby boomers remember a similar scenario for the Vietnam War.
STEPHEN J. DOHL
Concord, N.C.