Letters: Nov. 24, 1967

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A "great society" does not spring forth from the earth as a mushroom after a rain. It must struggle as an oak against wintry winds and dry spells. The Roman poet Lucretius, contemplating death depleting nature for the food of the living, in a verse full of melancholy says: "nature does not allow anything to be brought forth, if not helped by the death of another thing," and this is the same in the social and economic life of mankind.

STANISLAO CATTANEO Rome, Italy

Sir: When I read the statement of William Griffith, professor of political science at M.I.T., "The current leaders have no moral authority. They are regarded by intellectuals as a combination of bureaucratic idiots and criminals. There is a terrible alienation from the government." I made a quick check on what country you were rambling on about. Save that little quote; it could serve as an appropriate filler under "The Nation" any week.

GERALD V. LITTIG Kalamazoo, Mich.

Viewed From the Outside

Sir: You label as "atrociously tasteless" antiwar slogans such as RUSK KILLS CHILDREN FOR PROFIT and RUSK—L.B.J.'S SECRETARY OF HATE [Nov. 3]. Well, of course. What did you expect? How could any incantations regarding the U.S.'s slaughter and crippling of the Vietnamese people and nation be anything but atrociously tasteless?

JORGE E. TRISTANI JR.

San Juan, P.R.

Sir: I view the anti-Viet Nam and antidraft protests with mounting apprehension. Do these people really know what they protest against? I wish they were with us in Czechoslovakia in 1945 when the people of that and other Eastern areas fled in utter panic before the occupying Russian troops. These people left behind all that had ever been their lives and their heritage to enter areas to be occupied by the Americans. Could we be such fearsome conquerors?

Why is it that today people forsake all, and risk their lives to leave East Germany? Do the protesters feel that the people of Asia and the Pacific Islands could find peaceful cohabitation with a Communist government? If they can, why could not these others?

MRS. E. E. SPACKMAN Riverside, Calif.

Sir: This "quiet American" has long been searching for a voice. How do I associate myself with the Citizens Committee for Peace with Freedom?

As the hippie pothead protesters cast off their panties and bras, I'd like to start rolling up my sleeves. Yours in LSD—Let's Save Democracy.

ROBERT J. HOCHSTATTER Asunción, Paraguay

Sir: We Asians can only conclude that the American opposition to the war in Viet Nam is about as ridiculous as some Americans' sense of loyalty. Since when does a person have to fight fair in a war? And since when does a person go free when he is disloyal? You Americans! You have had freedom so long you have forgotten what that privilege really means. Come live with us in Asia and find out.

K. SATAK Naha, Okinawa