Einstein's Year

To the Editors:

Einstein's prophetic genius [Feb. 19], his comprehensive intellect, were more than a legacy -- they were a promise for the future.

Frank Neutzling

San Jose, Calif.

He was not merely an intellectual ge nius, but an incredibly humble and dedicated man.

Robert M. Freedman

Toronto

On one hand, I hold Eistein in awe and respect. On the other, I have a sense of pity for this humanist and pacifist, who through his quest for understanding the natural universe has locked into place a chain of events that perhaps will dehumanize or destroy man.

Words of his come to my mind--"With the discovery of the atom, everything changed, except for man's thinking. Because of this we drift toward unparalled catastrophe."

Matthew Flamm

Albany, N.Y.

I was dismayed that as the basis of your cover portrait you used, without authorization, my well-known photograph of the moving face of Albert Einstein.

Philippe Halsman

New York City

The rediscovering of Einstein reminds one of a quotable quote attributed to him: "Imagination is more important than knowledge."

P.Y. Su

New York City

Rewriting the Constitution

To allow today's politicians to call a second constitutional convention [Feb. 19] would be like doing a remake of Gone With the Wind with Woody Allen as Rhett and Phyllis Diller as Scarlett. Not only is the casting inappropriate, but it would ruin a masterpiece.

Steve Smalling

Waterloo, Iowa

A constitutional convention is an excellect idea politically, economically and spiritually. It might force action from an unresponsive Congress, stop the Government from printing so much money, and let Americans know that their system of Government still allows them to be heard.

Mitchell T. Moore

Daytona Beach, Fla.

The Cults and Christianity

The interesting thing about TIME's article "Cult Wars on Capitol Hill" [Feb. 19] was not the hearing on cults by Senator Dole, but the fact that Cynthia Slaughter reconverted to the Moonies. If a person is deprogrammed from a cult, is there anything that the Christian community can offer? Apparently Slaughter didn't think so.

Charles Warne

Oxford, Ohio

I question your characterization of me as a "highly suggestible sort" because I was deprogrammed and then reconverted to the Unification Church. After long soul-searching I realized that the divine principle, the revelation of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, was true. There is a spiritual revolution taking place, and all the deprogrammers in the world can't stop it.

Cynthia Slaughter

New York City

Remove the profit motive from Religion & Co. by abolishing its tax-exempt status. This will help balance the budget, and remove most of the hypocrites, kooks and crooks from the ranks. Filling out an IRS form is powerful therapy!

Peter F. Erb

Bermuda

Rules for Premarital Sex

With regard to Reader Newell's comments on the suit against Actor Lee Marvin by his ex-roommate [Feb. 19], what every girl learns at a very young age is that a double standard governs premarital intercourse and its entanglements. In this country the male emerges from these situations morally untainted and financially untapped. It may not be within our immediate grasp to change social mores, but it is possible to end some of the financial discrimination.

Barbara Ann Petersen

Madison, Wis.

Slogan Power

I would like to take issue with Frank Trippett's Essay "Slogan Power! Slogan Power!" [Feb. 12]. He states that the problem has never been to get people to think about doing something, but to get them to act. Not so. The problem has always been to get them to think clearly and rationally before they act.

Richard A. Luhrs

Fairborn, Ohio

It becomes obvious that the Carter Administration's slogan should be THE NEW ORDEAL.

Ruth Clausing

Rochester

The Pioneers of P.R.

It hardly detracts from the flair or achievement of the late Ben Sonnenberg [Feb. 12] to point out that he was not, as Robert Hughes declares, the last surviving "pioneer" of public relations. Surely that distinction belongs to Edward L. Bernays, Sonnenberg's senior by more than a decade, who is still going strong at 87.

Draper Hill

Detroit

No Romance on the Road

Your shallow article on truck drivers [Feb. 19] is an injustice to those of us who are successful. I own one truck. I drive it. I succeed because it's not a game, it's a business. It's not the last frontier; it's not a macho response to the world.

Romance is great but it doesn't cut it at -30DEG.

Peter L. Keys

Salt Lake City

Truckers used to be the best drivers on the road. Over the past ten years, however, they have come to think they own the highways. They tailgate, switch lanes and constantly exceed the speed limit. I know that I depend on the goods they deliver, but Lord, deliver me from them when they're on the freeway!

Barbara J. Struthers

St. Louis

Public vs. Private Broadcasting

In your summary of the Carnegie Commission Report on Public Broadcasting [Feb. 12], I am quoted as saying with respect to public radio, "It's hard to get an audience for fund raising, let alone raise the funds." I wish it had been clear that I was speaking in the context of a competition with public television for public dollars. Where the public television station is one of three or four channels, and the public radio station is one out of 40 or 50, the contest is not likely to be equal. Whenever it is, we do quite well.

Frank Mankiewicz, President National Public Radio Washington, D.C.

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