Letters: Dec. 14, 1998

HERBAL MEDICINE

As a second-generation naturopathic physician with more than two decades of experience, I object to calling Western medicine traditional [BUSINESS, Nov. 23]. Such medicine may be conventional in our society, but natural therapies are thousands of years old, invented by nature and honored in many cultures. These cultures rely on the ultimate test: the test of time, using wisdom passed down over many generations. To write off as a fad this movement toward common-sense health care is an error. The American public finds it empowering to work as part of a team with a holistic health-care provider. The result, through taking responsibility for our own health and using our own intelligence, is a better quality of life and freedom from fear about our bodies. DAVID G. OLARSCH Plymouth, N.H.

While it is true that herbs can hurt you, they are about 10,000 times less lethal than the pharmaceuticals with which they compete. The 60 million Americans who take gentle, time-proven herbs are trying to avoid the perils of allopathy and pharmaceuticals. As a botanical consultant, I believe preventive medicine keeps these people out of overstaphed hospitals, where 0.32% of Americans will be killed by the prescription medicine they receive. JAMES A. DUKE Fulton, Md.

Your article implies that the herbal industry may need FDA regulation in order to eliminate the risk to consumer safety. The fact is that FDA regulation does not necessarily eliminate safety risk at all. Take Viagra, for example: the deaths following the use of that drug in six months exceeded the harm caused by all herbal products in years. To have the FDA regulate herbal products as it does pharmaceutical products will only drive up the price for the consumer. RICHARD T. KOO Sunnyvale, Calif.

TIME’s attempt to shift the prestige and success of courageous pioneers, gutsy small companies and well-educated consumers and place them in the hands of huge pharmaceutical opportunists is ridiculous. That’s a claptrap, mystical concoction of a pill I just won’t swallow. STEFAN JANITSCHEK New York City

Is herbal medicine good business? You’re damn right it is–and it looks as if medical doctors have discovered it. When I saw our family doctor about a year ago and asked him about taking herbal supplements, he replied that he could not recommend them because he did not feel confident about their purity. I saw him again recently, and he gave me a full-color, 31-page drugstore-chain brochure pushing a variety of herbal supplements. He recommended that I purchase three, costing about $200. He gave me a toll-free number and his pin number to buy the supplements, admitting that his pin gets him a commission, but he did not reveal his take. RICHARD E. JESPERSEN La Palma, Calif.

I did not recommend gingko biloba to my client Theo Pappas, as was implied in your herbal-medicine story (and Pappas verifies to me that she is not using it on her own). Nor do I recommend it to any of my clients, despite the hype that it improves memory, for the simple reason that more often than not gingko tends to raise blood pressure. After nearly 38 years of experience as a nutritionist, it is my ongoing observation that serious food change improves memory significantly. This, of course, takes more effort on a person’s part than popping a capsule, but it is safer. LISA COSMAN New York City

TIME failed to mention the one herb thousands of Americans take for anxiety, fatigue, chronic depression, nausea, pain and other ailments: marijuana. In spite of the fact that laws make possession or use of marijuana a worse crime than assault in some states, thousands of people recognize the value of this natural herb. Strange how society can sanction the use of processed drugs and purely manufactured substances yet harbor such defiant hostility toward one of nature’s gifts. CHRIS L. LEGREID Honolulu

As usual, I opened my mailbox and grabbed TIME. A large flower and leaf caught my attention. Was this a psychological trick–opponents of U.S. military strikes? As for herbal medicine, sure it is interesting, but I would rather take an aspirin and read about the headaches of world peace. PETER BRANDT Austin, Texas

FLIRTING WITH DISASTER

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s comment–“Up to now, we’ve had diplomacy backed up by force; now we need to shift to force backed up by diplomacy”–badly misstates the proper role of the U.S. armed forces [WORLD, Nov. 23]. What should establish credibility in this democracy is the utterances and commitments of the President and his spokespeople in regard to national policy. The armed forces of the U.S. are obviously credible, but their credibility will inevitably erode if military deployment becomes the heavy-handed substitute for effective diplomacy. LLOYD R. LEAVITT LIEUTENANT GENERAL, U.S.A.F. (RET.) Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

Without a demonized Saddam, what other excuse is there for the Anglo-American military presence in the gulf? SANA A. CHOUDHARY Upper Darby, Pa.

SMALL-GOVERNMENT ADVOCATES

I trust your series on corporate welfare [SPECIAL REPORT, Nov. 23] has elicited a flood of letters from conservatives who are outraged by the socialistic blend of government and business you have documented. In the past 18 years, we’ve had a Republican President for 12 and a Republican-controlled Congress for four. Why haven’t these advocates of reducing the size of government done more to eliminate these programs? Or do these Republicans believe in small government only for others? ROBERT E. FORMAN Colville, Wash.

JEFFERSONIAN DESCENDANTS

In the article “Family Reunion,” on the descendants of Thomas Jefferson [HISTORY, Nov. 23], Tamala M. Edwards refers to my mother Julia Jefferson Westerinen as “disciplining me for using the word nigger.” This statement does not make clear that when I used the word, I was only about 6, and I am now 40 years old. I must have heard the word in school, and when I repeated it, I didn’t know its meaning.

My father told me sternly that I should never use that ugly word. He said it was not only rude but also cruel, and it might hurt someone’s feelings. I told this story to illustrate how careful my parents were to instill a sense of racial equality in me and my brothers. It could not have been easy for them to do so in a small Southern town during the 1960s, with their children surrounded by people who used such words casually. I hope your readers will understand that my family doesn’t use such pejorative terms and that we are very proud of our relationship to both Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. DOROTHY JEFFERSON WESTERINEN New York City

Your article about Jefferson and his white and black progeny was a reflection on the definition of race in America and how it has always been perceived. It is time to stop categorizing people by their skin color. We are not a homogeneous nation; we should accept the diversity of our ancestry. CAROLYN WOO BUSCH Glendora, Calif.

TIME FOR KIDS

Applause should definitely be given to Nadya Labi for her article on kids’ not having an ounce of extra time for themselves in their entirely too hectic schedules [LIVING, Nov. 23]. As a senior in high school, I don’t really fit into the age frame of the studies, but I definitely relate to this topic. Most parents don’t realize how much more raw time and effort students put into their schoolwork today than during the period when most parents were growing up. Nor do they realize how competitive kids have become as a result of their environment. Kids aren’t allowed to be kids anymore! It’s known as premature maturation! OONA ROKYTA, 17 San Diego

DOES YOUR DOG WATCH?

When our dogs stay home alone, we leave the TV on for them turned to one of the news channels [NATION, Nov. 23]. Other people I know also do this. Perhaps it may account for the media’s assumption that people are still interested in the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. (Incidentally, the dogs are bored!) JUDY BLUM Scottsdale, Ariz.

A KID’S VIEW: SHUT UP, FURBY!

I don’t see why everyone wants a Furby toy that talks in its own language [NOTEBOOK, Nov. 23]. I bet that almost every kid is going to get one for Christmas. If I get one, I may have to take out the batteries so it will shut up. I like Furby, but it would get annoying to have a toy keep talking to you without your knowing what it is saying. SAMANTHA LOUCKS, 10 Philomath, Ore.