Soviet Nyet

To the Editors:

Ideological as they are and political as they have become [OLYMPICS, May 21], the Games must go on. They are good medicine for politically tense times.

Brian Boru O'Brien Brighton, Mass.

Here we go again! The Olympics have been turned into an international farce. Politics has taken control of the Games at the expense of the athletes. The Soviets are giving us a taste of our own medicine, but at least the Olympics should now be a contest of dedicated amateurs.

Robert Loigman North Caldwell, N.J.

The Soviets withdrew from the Olympic Games not because they feared their athletes would not be safe, nor to "get even" for President Carter's removal of American athletes from the Games in Moscow in 1980. The real reason: they fear defection by their own athletes.

William J. Turner Northport, N. Y.

The agony of default may lie in the perception of what the Olympics were meant to be and not in what they have become. It seems questionable to criticize the U.S.S.R. for exercising a freedom of choice we have already used. Politics has been a part of the Games for decades; perhaps the best we can do is recognize this and learn to deal with it.

Letitia Abbott-Steele Shreveport, La.

Although the Soviets and their allies will not be attending the Olympic Games, I will not consider as second rate the achievements of those who win this summer. I am proud of this country's athletes and recognize their hard work and extraordinary ability. While I am sympathetic toward those who will not be competing, I feel we should refuse to let the Soviets ruin our fun simply because they will not come out to play.

Bettie-Ann Likens Ocean City, N.J.

The U.S.S.R. is still killing and maiming innocent people in Afghanistan. To beg the Soviets to participate in the Games is one more example of America's inability to face up to the world as it is.

Martin Davis Knoxville, Tenn.

By forbidding its splendid team of athletes to participate in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the Soviet Union is damaging the only appealing aspect of its image as perceived by a majority of people on this side of the Iron Curtain. It is a vengeful and unsporting act. On the other hand, nobody is indispensable. I am ready to bet that there are plenty of athletes who are secretly rubbing their hands at the prospect of reaping a medal where before they had no chance.

Eva Scheidecker Balschwiller, France

Insufficient security? The Soviets cannot be serious. If the excuse had not been that, it would have been something else like pollution, weather, the food or too soft beds. Let them stay home. Have a nice summer, guys. We will not miss you.

Jonathan Bloom Miami

This latest refusal to participate in the Olympics shows the desperate need for the Games to be depoliticized. Greece is the only place for the Games to be permanently seated. To have the Olympics reduced to a convenient political tool of the superpowers is a crime that all athletes should condemn.

Dimitris N. Katsinis Salonika, Greece

Soviet Union to U.S.: You spoiled our party. We will spoil yours.

Daniel W. Shenk Cedar Falls, Iowa

I personally get great satisfaction from the fact that the Soviets are finally withdrawing from some place.

Red Shrader Gary, Ind.

One solution to the Olympic boycott would be for the Western and East bloc countries to hold separate Olympics. The winners would then meet on neutral territory and hold a "Super Bowl" Olympics.

Louis Argyres Camino, Calif.

You mention that the Games were suspended for 1,503 years and that the world survived. I am willing to try for another 1,503 years. About the only interesting competition I have seen in recent Olympics is the contest over who can buy the TV rights and what firm is designated as supplier of the official Olympic Games toothpicks or whatever. Let us give the whole program a rest for a while.

Donald O. Van Gilder Aurora, Colo.

The Soviet Union's concern for the safety of its youth at the Olympics is a good example of its hypocrisy. Surely the streets of Afghanistan are more dangerous than those of Los Angeles.

Richard Filippi Santa Clara, Calif.

El Salvador Vote

President Reagan is properly supporting the forces of democracy in El Salvador [WORLD, May 21], and is correctly trying to exact a price from the Sandinista regime for its aid to the Salvadoran rebels. If El Salvador is allowed to fall to leftist rebels armed with Soviet weaponry supplied through Nicaragua, it will be only a matter of time before Central America is allied with the Soviet Union. Disputes over the level of democracy of El Salvador, or questions over Nicaraguan mining, must not cloud this central truth.

Robert M. Lipshutz Philadelphia

Despite the recent "free" election in El Salvador, there is no rule of law in that country today. There is no budding democracy in a land where a pair of painted, dripping, white hands, the death-squad signature, is "branded forever in the psyche of the nation."

Laurent A. Beauregard Portland, Ore.

Reagan and the Teflon Factor

If Mr. Sidey considers the firing of the air-traffic controllers, the deployment of American missiles in Europe and the invasion of Grenada to be among Ronald Reagan's "achievements" [NATION, May 21], more power to him. But please keep him away from my neighborhood.

Michael Buescher Oberlin, Ohio

By failing to mention Ronald Reagan's responsibility for the collapse of arms control, Hugh Sidey has convinced me that this is indeed a "Teflon President."

Richard L. Swenson St. Paul

Hugh Sidey, in his column examining how the President seems to avoid being tarred by his own actions, writes: "The specific gravity of Reagan's achievements still is greater than that of his failures." The column says that Reagan's blunders "so far simply do not outweigh" what Mr. Sidey considers to be the President's achievements. Oh yeah? My scales show the blunders of the President to be much heavier than any of the so-called achievements.

Claude C. Bowman Merion Station, Pa.

Aftereffects of Agent Orange

The settlement in the Agent Orange lawsuit is proper, but it is not enough [NATION, May 21]. There is neither an admission nor a judicial finding of liability on the part of the chemical companies. Also, the U.S. Government's responsibility has yet to be tested in court. Veterans know they did their duty, and as payment they have been the focus of blame for both the conduct and the failure of the war. Veterans faced their responsibility then and are doing so now by examining their service in the harsh light of hindsight. They ask no less from their Government and from the makers of Agent Orange.

Don Stepich West Lafayette, Ind.

A Homecoming at Brent School

My husband and I were two of the American alumni who returned to Brent School in the Philippines [AMERICAN SCENE, May 21]. I disagree with one statement in Ralph Graves' report. The school did not cease to exist during World War II after the Japanese army invaded. Among the people the Japanese interned were both faculty and students of Brent School. My father-in-law (headmaster 1939-40) was instrumental in continuing the education of the youngsters, and I am proud to say my husband Michael Shaffer was one of his students. He holds a high school diploma inscribed "Imperial Japanese Prisoner of War, Camp #3."

Renee Shaffer Boca Raton, Fla.

Matching MacLaine's High Kick

Having just turned 50 and having just seen Shirley MacLaine's [SHOW BUSINESS, May 14] Oscar-winning performance, I decided to try that awesome kick in my living room. Unfortunately, I caught my toes on the TV. This resulted in a painful, demoralizing limp. I therefore yield to MacLaine's outstanding achievement.

Elizabeth Martin Huntington, Ind.

I have danced most of my life, but I cannot do that Shirley MacLaine kick. I tried it 47 times. You do not know what an accomplishment it is until you try it.

Joy R. Kluess Ridgefield, Conn.