Letters

QUOTE/UNQUOTE "Your goldfish has no means of comprehending your intellect, physical strength, culture or finances. Yet you exist." DAVID G. MULLER JR. '70

Plugged In

IAM PLEASED THAT YOUR MAY/JUNE issue had the guts to approach two topics alumni magazines generally avoid: religion and sex. I do have some comments on the articles. "Can You Believe It?" did not address what is perhaps the major attraction of religion: It ties in to many of our most powerful psychological needs. Religion offers the comforting ideas that good people will be rewarded, evildoers will be punished, we are not alone, there is a purpose to our existence, etc. The interview with pornography entrepreneur Bill Asher had no serious ideas, except for his comment on the vagueness of "community standards" in a criminal case. Perhaps this is why there are so few prosecutions under these laws.

Miami, Florida

I WAS DELIGHTED TO LEARN OF THE new campus-wide wireless network, but am equally delighted to share an institutional connection with the likes of Mark Hurlbert '9l, Rand Beers '64, Bill Asher '84 John Scott '81, Walter Sinnott- Armstrong, Paul Gross '74 and Julie Sleison '03 and the many brave and accomplished female grads whose sisters and mothers I regret were not part of campus life when I was there. Would that my mailbox offered such provocative and stimulating fare more often.

Sacramento, California

WOW! YOUR MAY ISSUE IS TOPS FOR timely news and solid comment.

Dartmouth leads the world to a wireless network. Rand Beers '64 has finally had it with Condoleezza Rice and the White House. Professor Sinnott-Armstrong highlights serious questions about religion just when the president says he doesn't consult his father because he takes his directions from a "Higher Father." James Zug '91 writes a definitive piece on the Class Notes. And Bill Asher '84 connects us with the real world—of adult video. (The average product is primitive. Let's hope Bill can improve it.)

Vero Beach, Florida

The Kemeny Legacy

YOUR COVER STORY ("THE GREAT Disconnect," May/June) brought back many memories. I am a math major who is honored to have been taught by both Dr. Kemeny and Professor Kurtz.

One of my earliest memories at the old computer center was using the e-mail beginning back in 1966. We had no screen, of course, but a teletype-like machine. Our "Internet" consisted of links among several New England colleges. We were experimenting scientifically, but our earliest e-mails consisted of exchanges of ribald verse with women at Mount Holyoke College. As I recall, the women were more ribald than we were.

We also learned to use BASIC by writing programs—mostly quiz games—and playing them electronically with the women and with other Dartmouth users. Later I was in California at Lexitron Corp. with Steve Kurtin and others who developed some of the first commercially viable screen word processors.

I began at Dartmouth using a slide rule and an abacus, and ended up exploring the frontiers of cyberspace!

Chicago, Illinois

Change of Heart

WHY ARE YOU HOLDING UP RANDY Beers '64 ("The Defector," May/June) as an exemplary Dartmouth alum? He sounds like a disgruntled employee who resented a boss who took the advice of advisors with whom he disagreed. Then, in a pique, he resigned and joined the organization of a man whom he had never met. This tells me a lot about his judgment and motives.

In the interest of balanced journalism I hope DAM will soon feature an alum who has an opposite political view.

Dallas, Texas

CONGRATULATIONS TO RAND BEERS on being that nearly extinct creature in Washington, a man of honor! He has my greatest admiration.

Medfield, Massachusetts

THANK YOU so MUCH FOR THE Article about Rand Beers. After a steady diet of mayhem, lies and greed, Beers offers hope—and deserves admiration—for daring to part with the feckless leader of our sad nation.

Palatine Bridge, New York

Believe It or Not

ALTHOUGH I APPRECIATE PROFESSOR Sinnott-Armstrong's critique of theism ("Can You Believe It?" May/June), I was struck by how much it seems to imitate the very fundamentalist mindset he protests. He asserts his own conclusion as the only conceivably acceptable one, peremptorily dismisses other perspectives after only the briefest of investigations, unduly vilifies his dissenters by focusing exclusively on the atrocities of the worst subgroup among them and, finally, calls for the eradication of any belief apart from his own.

To avoid perpetuating a climate of intolerance, Sinnott-Armstrongs argument would benefit from a drawing of distinctions. Perhaps it would be more useful to take stock of the broad range of effects religious faiths may have upon the attitudes and actions of their adherents, recognizing the great potential for good as well as for bad. Then one might more productively inquire into issues such as how the logic of religious extremism is negotiated.

Finally, the simple recognition that no human can offer an absolute, complete and final answer to the God question is essential for an open-minded and constructive approach to diversities of belief.

Yakima, Washington

I DISAGREE WITH PROFESSOR Sinnott-Armstrong that religion will inevitably hamper human intelligence as it seeks to address the reality of suffering or the meaning of life in light of that suffering. There is an abundance of evidence in support of this disagreement, but for starters I point to the lives of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., neither of whom could be accused of the sort of naivete or escapism that Sinnott-Armstrong and I both condemn. On the con- trary, both men witnessed to a faith that supports intelligent and courageous action in the face of intense injustice—and on behalf of those who suffer. As to Sinnott-Armstrong's notions of what constitutes legitimate epistemic evidence, I suggest as a possible response the writings of philosopher Bernard Lonergan.

Newton, Massachusetts

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE ARTICLE on atheism. I think the problem is that when children are brought up in a family that at least goes through the motions of being religious, it is very difficult to shake later on. People seem to need to be dependent on something other than themselves. A friend of mine who is a minister in the Unity Church cannot understand why I appear to be upright and moral without believing in God.

Evidence, not faith, should be the test. But it's a tough sell.

Clearwater, Florida

OUR CENTURY ALONE HAS WITNESSED several political expressions of what the world can become when a society, following Nietzsche's lead, declares that "God is dead." Consider the atrocities of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. Sinnott-Armstrongs denial of objective moral values is self-refuting, since his very denial involves his belief that his denial holds some value. Because he also clearly values abortion rights, stem-cell research and sexual freedom—and his freedom to be an atheist—he can't escape affirming value implicitly, even when he denies it explicitly.

Golden, Colorado

I THINK THE PROFESSOR SPOKE FOR a lot of the "closet atheists" out there, including myself. However, he did not mention one of the most serious problems faced by our planet: the population explosion. Many of the major religions still strongly oppose any kind of birth control and encourage large families.

Many future wars will be fought (and have been fought) by expanding populations competing for land, water, fuel and food, with the contestants often dividing along religious and ethnic lines.

At one time it served religions well to encourage large families. This was the most direct way to "increase the faithful." Today this only serves to guarantee that there will be too many people competing for too few resources, which will inevitably result in deadly conflict.

Elkins, New Hampshire

MANY ATHEISTS OFTEN WONDER why they are on the fringes of society, even of the cultural dialogue. Professor SinnottArmstrongs article illustrates why.

To say that religious beliefs are inde- fensible is not only naive, it is also acad- emically unrespectable.

La Mirada, California

PROFESSOR SINNOTT-ARMSTRONG'S reasoning is almost exactly the same as my own. Unfortunately, religious frameworks are the primary vehicle for conveyance of admirable social tenets. How do we teach social values divorced from the trappings of formal religion? I believe we should agree on basic social values and aggressively promulgate these in some sort of framework which might include schools as well as the family, and perhaps some kind of communal celebration of the spirit but without the belief in a conventional god. I see little progress or even thinking along these lines.

Manitoba, Canada

IUNDERSTAND PROFESSOR SINNOTT Armstrong's atheistic view. I also admire and appreciate his willingness to confront these issues. However, I'm not sure he has a very good grasp of what faith is.

I was 30 years old when I began to understand the concept of God in a sophisticated way. I'm still learning at 37. As many people who make intellectual and spiritual leaps will do, I tended to talk a lot about what I was discovering at the time. A friend, who already had a developed understanding of faith, interrupted one of my discourses on the importance of prayer by saying simply, "You're just talking about reaffirming your humility."

It's more than that, of course, but humility and perspective are the essence of faith. I don't see how embracing them is "irresponsible."

Jersey City, New Jersey

A FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM WITH Professor Sinnott-Armstrong's case is this: If we think of God only in terms of human comprehension, human expectations or human behaviors, such a god will necessarily be merely a human construct. Think of Baal or Zeus. Any god that we could fully comprehend would be no real god at all. Your goldfish has no means of comprehending your intellect, physical strength, culture or finances. Yet you exist.

Fairfax Station, Virginia

TO ASSERT THAT NO REAL EVIDENCE supports the existence of God is as ludicrous as to assert that God's existence can be unequivocally proved. Carl Jung sought to understand the shared or received unconscious as a manifestation of the Deity. His effort had some scientific trappings. But studying the psyche by talking with bushmen about their dreams through an interpreter is a disorderly business. That said, many thoughtful people accord legitimacy to Jungs insights. When Jung was old, an interviewer asked him whether, in the end, he believed in God. "No," he said, "I know Him."

Golden, Colorado

WALTER SINNOTT-ARMSTRONG'S article fails when it claims that educated and intelligent people are being intellectually dishonest if they do not agree with the author. Perhaps he does not understand that his highly rational world view is as firmly based on assumptions and beliefs as any religion.

He is making faith-based decisions on what kind of evidence is real and how reality can be known. Other intelligent and educated people should make these decisions for themselves, and possibly arrive at different results.

Sanbornton, New Hampshire

PROFESSOR SINNOTT-ARMSTRONG says, "Every educated modern adult should agree that there is no good reason to believe in God." If he truly believes this, then he also believes that Dartmouth has failed to properly educate graduates over the years. He would see me as one of the failures, because I

came to embrace faith in God at Dartmouth while pursuing studies in research chemistry.

Faith and reason are not in conflict. Even the scientific method is based on faith that cause/effect phenomena can be measured with certain predictability. Many of the best and brightest minds in science today are persons with deep faith in God.

Winter Springs, Florida

THANK YOU FOR PUBLISHING WALTER Sinnott-Armstrong's essay on atheism. It inspired me to be more forthright with my friends and acquaintances about my own long-held atheistic views, and provided me with many useful arguments and analogies for communicating my ideas effectively.

At a time when religious differences remain at the heart of most large-scale human conflicts, and religious beliefs are being used to limit scientific research, scientific education and personal liberties while also being used to justify lethal foreign policies—l can't help thinking that there is a pressing need for a large cadre of zealous atheists to counter the fervor of those who believe in a god. If we follow Sinnott-Armstrong's example and do not shy away from opportunities to explain why it does not make sense to believe in a god, perhaps we can slowly loosen the grip that theism has on politics, intellectual development and social policy in many parts of the world.

Athens, Georgia

Calming Influence

THE HOSTILITY AND ALIENATION that festered in 1974 over coeds cohabiting in Russell Sage ("Mixed Company," May/June) brought back memories of hazing and other activities that rivaled the discord over coeducation.

While matriculating in 1951, incoming freshmen were forced to wear green beanies and move furniture and carry baggage of incoming sophomores.

For sophomores pledging fraternities, being blindfolded, driven out of town and left to find one's way back to campus at night was one of many pranks tolerated as a rite of passage. Running the gauntlet on the Green while being paddled by upperclassmen was another.

Dartmouth campus life before coeducation was far less civilized. Just recall the familiar chants of the song, "Dartmouth's In Town Again, Run Girls Run."

Los Angeles, California

Those Who Teach

AS A FIRST-YEAR NINTH GRADE English teacher in the Bronx, I appreciated "Learning By Doing" (May/June) for confronting the misconception that Dartmouth students who choose to become teachers somehow fall short of their potential. This is absurdly ignorant, not to mention insulting to anyone who has ever taught. Especially when dealing with "at risk" students, whether in the Bronx or the Upper Valley, teachers often end up providing their students with more than the academic basics.

I help my students improve reading and writing (along with analysis, communication, leadership and responsibility), but I also act in many cases as guidance counselor, advocate, mentor, tutor, entertainer, babysitter, physical shield, parent, safety and security officer, and health practitioner. Adjusting to not going out on weeknights wasn't easy, but it was the least of my concerns once I realized how fundamentally challenging it is to be a good teacher. At least I now understand that only a job this difficult could be so rewarding.

New York City

X-Rated

REGARDING YOUR INTERVIEW WITH Bill Asher '84 ("Continuing Ed," May/fune), I despise not only those who hide behind the First Amendment in order to make a profit but also those who affirm and facilitate them. You may claim that featuring Asher in your magazine implies no endorsement of his behavior, but I'll bet that I'm not alone in thinking otherwise.

It's interesting how he insulates himself from the products he purveys: an M.B.A. in a suit doing boring things in an office, no naked women in sight. When he says, 'Anyone wanting to prosecute someone for pornography would have to go through a lot of people before they'd get to me," it reminds one of the Mafia dons who ran "respectable" businesses, and who were so wily that they could only be prosecuted for tax evasion.

Your article reflects poorly on Dartmouth, a respected institution that has nothing to gain and everything to lose from coverage of a maverick graduate whose success has made him smug.

Ocala, Florida

THERE ARE TWO LESSONS TO BE learned from the interview with the self-professed pornographer: (1) If you are a success in an unworthy endeavor, you should take no pride in it; (2) an advanced education certainly improves one's prospects for material success. But the wisdom of how well a person chooses his life work is not necessarily conferred along with his diploma.

Mr. Asher is right to tell people he is a pornographer when they ask what he does. He evidently likes doing so for the shock value, but it is at least honest.

He says, "I'm waiting for Dartmouth to ask me not to mention Dartmouth." Let's not keep him waiting any longer. Let's just keep him our dirty little secret.

Naples, Florida

I MAYBE A CARD-CARRYING MEMBER of the ACLU, but when I thumb to the last page of the Alumni Magazine in search of an insightful interview, I neither want nor expect to be met with [illustrations] of scantily clad pom stars fawning over a self-identified pornographer. Get some class, people (or at least some editorial discretion).

Seattle, Washington

Buy the Book

REGARDING YOUR ARTICLE ON class gifts ("You Can't Always Give What You Want," May/June), I would like to point out that the Dartmouth College Library has an alumni memorial books program that has served as many as 60 classes during the past 50 years. This was the idea of the class of 1914, to commemorate each class member with a beautifully illustrated book plated in his name. This investment by the class results in a remembrance of each alumnus that is not only permanent, but also will be enjoyed by Dartmouth students well into the future.

Class representatives who would like more information on this program may contact me through the acquisitions services department at the Baker-Berry Library: patricia.frazer@dartmouth.edu or (603) 646-1354.

Hanover

Write to Us We welcome letters. The editor reserves the right to determine the suitability of letters for publication and to edit them for accuracy and length. We regret that all letters cannot be published, nor can they be returned. Letters should run no more than 200 words in length, refer to material published in the magazine and include the writer's full name, address and telephone number. Write: Letters, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, 7 Allen Street, Suite 201, Hanover, NH 03755 E-mail: DAMletters@dartmouth.edu Fax: (603) 646-1209