Cowboys and Indians must vote

Melvin Maddocks's rib-tickling, tongue-in-cheek column ``Call me anything, but don't call me liberal,'' Oct. 12, calls for another perspective. Our Founding Fathers were the liberals of their day, yet they differed in the degree of their liberalism and ways to apply it. Too many Americans today see government only in black or white. Responding emotionally, they allow labels and combative rhetoric to form their impressions. Then, even with a cowboys-versus-Indians enticement, chances are about 50-50 they will get out and vote.

A true democracy needs both conservative and liberal contributions. It also requires the participation of the vast majority of its citizens if it is to survive. Russell Richmond, St. Joseph, Mich.

Let the women speak I was heartened by the Oct. 12 issue of the Monitor. It includes long articles about two remarkable women: Julia Morgan, the versatile architect, and Mira Nair, the daring film director from India.

The book review ``Tape-recording the crisis of the American soul,'' reviewing a new book about the American dream by Studs Terkel, takes the author to task for his underrepresentation of women.

By and large, I view the Monitor as male-oriented and -dominated. I have to turn many pages before I see articles that address the presence and contribution of women in our society and world.

While I remain a subscriber because of the well-written, in-depth coverage of events and human-interest stories by male, and sometimes female, writers, I often notice the underrepresentation referred to above.

Women are not a ``special interest'' group, and the Monitor must reflect these facts even more in its otherwise excellent publication. Patricia Wood, Santa Barbara, Calif.

A `kinder' nation? I am astounded to read the article ``EPA loosens rule on pesticides in food,'' Oct. 13. The new ruling states that the benefits of the pesticide, even though it may be known to cause cancer in lab animals, outweigh the danger of its use. That is an impersonal theory. Where is the ``kinder'' nation our leaders are espousing? Barbara Henke, Cornwall On Hudson, N.Y.