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In his interview with TIME, Vietnamese Premier Pham Van Dong [WORLD, Nov. 11] blames the U.S. for all the problems created by the Communists. Ten years after the North conquered South Viet Nam, its economy is bankrupt, and its people are deprived of human rights. South Viet Nam did need the U.S. to help in its fight against the Communists, and Viet Nam still needs the U.S. As a condition for normalizing relations, which Pham Van Dong seeks, the U.S. should insist that the Communists return human rights to the Vietnamese people. Nuong Van Trinh Martinez, Ga.
Flag WavingIn A Letter from the Publisher, you state that President Daniel Ortega Saavedra declined to hold the Nicaraguan flag for your story on the U.N.'s "Global Family Album" [NATION, Nov. 4]. He refused, you say, because "his Sandinistas prefer their own red-and-black banner." Nothing could be further from the truth. President Ortega felt awkward holding a small flag in his hands and preferred to have it in his pocket. Visit our embassy and see how the blue-and-white national flag is prominently displayed. Carlos Tunnermann, Ambassador Embassy of Nicaragua Washington
Blacks Criticizing BlacksThe relentless criticism of civil rights leaders by neoconservative blacks [NATION, Nov. 11] suggests that the likes of Benjamin Hooks and the Urban League have done nothing for the advancement of black Americans. If this is the case, then we should be able to subtract their contributions from American history without harming the social and economic development of blacks. Hypothetically, we could start by erasing Brown vs. Board of Education. Then we could resegregate higher education, sports and the workplace. We could also reintroduce law officers like Alabama's Bull Connor, who used dogs and fire hoses to break up civil rights demonstrations. David L. Evans Cambridge, Mass.
Harvard Political Economist Glenn Loury should be commended for his attitude that blacks should pick themselves up by their bootstraps. The post-civil rights thinkers ought not to be labeled neoconservatives; they are "neorealists." It is about time we blacks realize that heaven helps those who help themselves. Prosper Emeka New York City
When affirmative action is buried, the eulogy will be performed by a black scholar. And as the mourners depart, a black intellectual will be heard to ask, "What's next?" A chorus of voices will answer, "The Emancipation Proclamation!" (SCPO) Elwyne D. McFalls U.S.N. (ret.) Tulsa
Your article "Redefining the American Dilemma" is on point. Blacks have always been pluralistic, and there has always been debate about how best to solve our problems. In recent years, however, publications like yours have ignored all opinions expressed by blacks except those deemed to be some sort of official "black view." Such individuals as Tom Sowell were forced into confrontational defenses of their well-researched and articulate conclusions, which differed from the media's general notion of the black view. If nothing more, you may be waking up to the reality that thinking by black individuals is no more dominated by pigmentation than is thinking by white individuals. Clarence Thomas, Chairman Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Washington