Letters, Feb. 27, 1995

Seeds of Doubt

The O.J. Simpson affair shows what can happen when our legal system allows justice to be blindfolded, gagged and bound by the strongest player in contemporary American jurisprudence: money [Cover Stories, Feb. 6]. And what are high-priced, celebrity defense attorneys paid to do? Establish that the charges against their clients are false? No. They are paid to lead juries to molehills of doubt and technicality and absurd objection, and to make them into mountains. “Beyond a reasonable doubt” becomes “beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

John Sloan Grand Rapids, Minnesota

Your cover line “Seeds of Doubt” is right on the money. If O.J. is guilty, where are the blood-soaked clothes he would have been wearing? Where is the blood-soaked weapon? What are the contents of that mysterious brown envelope that very few know anything about? As a retired police officer, I think this whole thing smells of a well-conceived cover-up. O.J. is starting to appear less guilty day by day.

Charles A. Wells Mundelein, Illinois

Innocent people, especially those as well known as O.J. Simpson, do not run from the police. Nobody can ever forget O.J.’s attempt to escape with his passport and a bundle of money during the famous Night of the White Bronco. However, with so many African Americans on the jury, the worst that can happen to O.J. is a hung jury.

Domenico Bellizzi North Brunswick, New Jersey

The tragedy of the case is that the news media are presenting cheap entertainment as though it were hard news. If other news events received as much coverage, Americans might get educated enough to have serious discussions concerning issues. But as long as the Simpson case sells more newspapers than an issue like poverty in America, the media will continue to focus on O.J. For that crime, we are all guilty.

Rebecca Beno Alexandria, New Hampshire

Americans don’t think about issues anymore. All I hear people discussing is O.J. and Ricki Lake. No one discusses the fact that our children are not ready for the 21st century, because no one cares.

Avery Harper Lithonia, Georgia AOL: CORAYH

The Simpson trial has reduced the humanistic principles and complex philosophy of American justice to blood sport. Television does its part, contributing instant replay, analysis and gladiatorial theme music. The print media join in, all of them reduced to tabloids in their feeding frenzy. This trial should be taking place in the Los Angeles Coliseum, where the resemblance to a Roman circus would be unmistakable and the masses could seal O.J.’s fate with a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

Rick Chatenever Kihei, Hawaii

The trial should be moved to the Pantages Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, with $25 daily admission charged. The money accrued from the sold-out performances of Shapiro, Cochran, Clark & Bailey would defray the high costs of the trial, and the move would place the proceedings in a proper venue for the spectacle the trial has become.

Christopher R. Morris Kingsport, Tennessee

Picking Up the Pieces

What a pity that we have a Prime Minister who does not know how to react in an emergency [Disasters, Feb. 6]. What a pity that we have industries that arrogantly and foolishly boasted of their seismological technology. What a pity that because of Japan’s bureaucracy the foreign doctors and Swiss and French rescue dogs were delayed long enough to have prevented them from saving tens or possibly hundreds of people.

Wataru Yabuki Tokyo

In addition to leaving an unending trail of devastation, the earthquake has left a message for all those who are living in the world of illusion. Tragedy becomes unbearable when it is measured in terms of material loss, and therefore wisdom demands that we balance our material considerations with the power of moral and spiritual resilience. No scientific or technological miracle can make us invulnerable to the invincible force of nature.

H.C. Shukul Baroda, India

Mission Not Adversely Affected

I take exception to your assertion that I deliberately misled Congress regarding the readiness of our forces during last year’s crisis with Iraq [Inside Washington, Feb. 6]. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your item said I failed to inform Congress that “four of 12 cargo ships rushing tanks and ammo to the Middle East broke down en route,” thus jeopardizing our ability to respond effectively. There were some minor problems, as there can be with any operation. However, the vessels arrived on time, there was no delay in the discharge of their cargo, and the mission was never adversely affected. In fact, the ships’ performance represents significant improvement over Operation Desert Shield and is a direct result of the investment of significant resources since that time.

John M. Shalikashvili, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Washington

Judaism Resurgent

As the world is remembering the Auschwitz death camp, Jews throughout Europe are gaining a new self-confidence [Europe, Feb. 6]. From my point of view as a German, this is a very positive development, important for the Jews themselves and for the vast opportunities it offers this country’s current generation to normalize relations. Nevertheless, many Jews share a certain pessimism: they don’t believe in man’s ability to learn from history. Of course, human rights are still violated in Europe as well as outside this continent, but since the atrocities of Auschwitz, a lot has been done to achieve equality of races and religions, especially in the Western world. Remembrance was part of this process, and so is forgiveness.

Christian Hartenberger, age 17 Gunzburg, Germany

Your seemingly upbeat article about the Jewish renaissance in Eastern Europe is a pitiful reminder of just how long lasting the victim-hostage syndrome can be. These Jews are giddy with excitement because they have been thrown a few crumbs of tolerance. They live in a place where embedded anti-Semitism manifests itself in the crudest forms every day. Yet I don’t blame these poor victims for their delusions. I blame the Jewish philanthropic organizations that build schools when they should be using all their resources to get Jews to Israel–or at least to a place with some sort of track record of human rights.

Wilfred M. Weinstein Sherman Oaks, California

The 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz commemorates the most heinous crimes ever perpetrated against human beings. Sadly, Time has chosen to feature on its cover yet another story about O.J. Simpson. What a pity that the memory of the slaughtered millions should be overshadowed by the media circus in Los Angeles. Clearly, this shows the motivating factors behind modern-day journalism: exploitation, ratings and money. What a glorious lesson to teach our youth.

Lorne Stepak Don Mills, Canada

Leave the Driving to the Car

After reading your article on “smart cars” [Business, Feb. 6], I am furious! Engineers are trying to make cars idiot-proof no-brainers to drive. What is needed, instead, is to get the idiots off the road and onto public transportation, where they cannot injure anyone. Most “accidents” occur because people do not pay full attention to their driving. People drive while reading, shaving and using car phones. People change lanes without looking or signaling. Hazards can appear in seconds, and full attention is essential to avoiding tragedy. Many so-called accidents are really criminal negligence. People need to have their brains in gear while their cars are.

James Yanik Casselberry, Florida

I wish I still had my 1937 “stupid” car, a six-cylinder Dodge with no gadgets. For air conditioning, I would crank open the windshield, and I got a consistent 18 m.p.g. Pity the poor smart-car buyer who has a breakdown in the boonies!

Gilbert A. Robertson Gretna, Nebraska

Dance with Death

Bill T. Jones is not crossing the lines of reality and theater in Still/Here, as New Yorker dance reviewer Arlene Croce complained in her criticism of the piece, unseen by her [Culture, Feb. 6]. The theater is usually a reflection of reality. Maybe this reflection is too close to the surface for Croce. By including in his work people who are suffering from AIDS, Jones is being honest about his themes. Isn’t it often said, “Write about what you know”? People should, by that logic, dance and talk about what they know. The people involved in the piece are sharing the collective experience of living with an illness. They are making a positive experience of their coping with AIDS, in contrast to Croce’s negative response of refusing even to see the piece. Everyone is a victim of something or other. If you can take a tragic situation, turn it into a positive experience for yourself and educate others at the same time, are you a victim or a victor?

Garvin Burke Hoboken, New Jersey

Convinced as I am that the true aesthetic event is always human anguish transfigured (resolved) into an aesthetic act or object, I see the Bill T. Jones work as a possible incarnation of this belief. Is it? Does Jones’ use of videotaped portraiture of anguish and suffering find aesthetic transfiguration in the dancers’ action? Or is the work “just” a morality play?

Paolo Soleri, President Cosanti Foundation Mayer, Arizona

Arlene Croce’s honest and courageous stance comes at an opportune time. Many artists today tend to capitalize on and exploit human tragedy. The practice has achieved its ultimate misuse in Benetton ads with images of misery, war, sickness and death–ads that have caused a justifiable uproar among German customers. Too often I find myself considering the possibility that as a spectator I might be the victim not only of a performing artist’s cynical insincerity but also of a critic afraid to criticize a work because its content is intended to evoke empathy.

Patricia Collier Rahway, New Jersey