Letters: Mar. 7, 1983

(4 of 5)

Actual wars, in Lebanon and the Falkland Islands, made correspondents out of many more readers. Five covers recounting the fighting in Lebanon brought 2,461 letters. It soon became clear that events had triggered a sharp shift away from the support TIME readers have traditionally given Israel. More than 700 wrote after the Oct. 4 cover story on the Beirut massacre, "Israel, a Shaken Nation." Sentiment was 3 to 1 against the Israelis. "My sympathy for Israel's struggles is wearing thin. I am revulsed beyond sympathy," said one. Another agreed: "The underdogs have become the dogs of war, and we have unleashed them."

Israel's supporters were equally vehement, if less numerous. Said one: "It is always Israel and the Jewish people whom you blame, and whom you hold to a double standard." Concurred another: "As a chronicler of the 20th century, TIME has betrayed Israel with its innuendoes and half-truths."

The conflict in the Falklands also aroused heated emotions. Many South Americans objected to Britain's claim to the distant islands. "Argentina's only crime is taking its own territory after 149 years of unfair occupation," said one correspondent from south of the border. On the other side, supporters of Britain waved the Union Jack: "Attagirl, Maggie! You bashed 'em!"

One aspect of war that hit particularly hard was the effect conflicts have on children. A special report, "Children of War," elicited 636 letters, most of them praising the story. Wrote one reader: "Seldom have I seen such compelling and articulate work."

At home, Interior Secretary James Watt was the man readers loved to hate. An Aug. 23 cover story on Watt and his policies, "Land Sale of the Century," set 268 mostly hostile pens to work. "Watt an obnoxious character behind that repulsive face on the cover!" said one punster. The rest of the Reagan Administration, including the President, was also attacked, and a majority of those who expressed themselves rejected dense pack, Reaganomics, the New Federalism and support for Central American dictatorships. Said one observer: "The Emperor has no clothes, and the Empress has too many."

On U.S. newsstands, the bestselling cover of the year was about herpes, "Today's Scarlet Letter," and drew 480 letters. A majority accused the magazine of fanning the flames of Victorian fears. Said one victim of the disease: "All I saw was example after example reinforcing the so-called leper mentality toward herpes." From the minority, however, there was little sympathy for the afflicted. Many quoted the Bible, particularly Galatians 6: 7: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

There were other stories that inspired heavy mail: 251 correspondents lamented the decline of quality rock music, 399 had opinions on mid-life pregnancies, and 357 commented on the Aug. 30 cover on fitness for women, "Coming On Strong: The New Ideal of Beauty." Said one lady jock: "Thanks for expressing so well what athletic women like me have known for a long time: exercise is the best makeup." But another reader was not convinced: "Can it be true that a pretty girl is like geometry?"