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Each installation under the close-out order should be considered on its own merits. Some, like air force bases, were in existence for some 20 to 30 years and were staffed mostly by transient military personnel. That's quite a different matter from an installation nearly 200 years old. employing 2,400 civilians-an integral part of the community, its economic life blood, its cultural heritage.
(MRS.) ALBERTA CUSHMAN Longmeadow, Mass.
Sir: I served in that forgotten war in Korea in 1951, and have been a member of the Army Reserve ever since. I have never had a two-week vacation with my family. I have forgone family picnics for weekend drills; I have forgone evenings at home for meetings at the armory. In my "spare" time I have taken correspondence courses to keep myself educationally qualified. My family and I foolishly thought that each citizen in our country had a continuing obligation to serve his country. I don't appreciate being referred to by you as a "sacred cow," but then I suppose that patriotism is a sacred cow that we won't need in our Great Society.
DAVID R. ANDERSON St. Louis
Sir: With apologies to Lizzie Borden: McNamara took an ax And gave the Navy forty whacks. When he saw what he had done, He gave the Army forty-one.
MICHAEL BRAND
Van Nuys, Calif.
Politics & Religion
Sir: Your cover story on Buddhism and politics [Dec. 11] is thoughtprovoking. In the process of growing up as a species, we have learned that it is best to keep one's hand out of the fire, keep poisons out of the reach of children, keep drunken drivers off the roads, keep the ailing warm and protected. Why haven't we learned to keep religion out of politics?
M. A. KHAN High Range, S. India
Sir: As a Buddhist, I offer my heartiest thanks for such an illuminating article at a time when the monks, leaving aside their spiritual concerns, meddle with politics and all that which Buddhism stands so little for.
T. K. BARUA Dacca, E. Pakistan
Sir: Many years of service in Thailand as one of our ambassadors there, and my study of Buddhism and its objectives both religious and secular, make me feel that your portrayal is not only not valid but do.es our own country's friendly relations and efforts in South Viet Nam and elsewhere a serious disservice. Buddhism, the Buddhist Sangha or church, and Buddhist believers have and continue to constitute a substantial segment of the population of South and Southeast Asia that is antipathetic to Communism. It is most regrettable to give the impression that Buddhists in general are political troublemakers, while to link them with the Viet Cong or other Communists will deeply offend many friendly Buddhists.
EDWIN F. STANTON Devon, Conn.
>TIME made no blanket indictment of Buddhism or Buddhists, pointed out that in some parts of Asia, including Thailand, they are a constructive force in society. It is, however, sadly apparent that this is not everywhere the case.
Helpers or Meddlers?
Sir: Why doesn't the West completely abandon all of Africa to the U.S.S.R. and Red China? They would fight for power between themselves, we would save billions, and all Africa would despise them instead of us for a change.
A. E. FAVATA Windsor Locks, Conn.
Good Doctor