The Truth About Teens I just read your May 8 Special Report on American teenagers today (“What Teens Believe: God, Sex, Race & the Future”), and I must say that I was more than impressed. I’m a 15-year-old high-school freshman and am so thrilled that someone actually got it right. There were no assumptions made and no telling us we were violent or overly alienated. We weren’t portrayed as the typical angst-ridden, “oh he’s so hot and I hate my family” stereotypes that the media usually cast us in, despite statistical evidence to the contrary (which surprised even me). When it comes right down to it, we’re people. We dream, we feel, we laugh and we cry—sometimes all at once. We’ll go through our teenage years, our bodies and brains will reconstruct and remodel and we’ll grow up. But I hope the generation before us that seems to have so little faith in our general ability will come to see that we are special, and the only thing we ask of them is a little compassion, support and a helping hand from time to time. The future is coming fast, and we embrace it wholly. I can’t wait to see what we do with it. Erin Fair Littleton, Colo.

It did not help me very much when my 16-year-old son saw the cover of your May 8 issue on teens. Since all the members of my household read each issue of NEWSWEEK as soon as they can get their hands on it, my son decided that the cover was some sort of vindication for the style of dressing with his pants falling off his bottom. His response: “See, Mom? I’m not the only kid who wears his pants like this! It’s even on the cover of NEWSWEEK!” I try to choose my battles, and I realize that fashions are fleeting. However, I despise seeing my handsome son walking around with the crotch of his pants between his knees and his underwear shining for the world to critique. We had an argument over this “look” just this morning, and I knew I was losing ground when he pulled the NEWSWEEK photo out of his arsenal. Ellie Titus Thomasville, Ga.

In reading your Special Report on teens, or “the millennial generation,” I found much cause for optimism. Let’s see. More professional ambition, meaning more emphasis on academic achievement. Less pressure to abuse alcohol. Less sexual activity. More religious faith. More cultural diversity. And, best of all, more tolerance. Yes, aside from the fact that more teens are taking up smoking, I’d say the future of America seems to be in pretty good hands, all things considered. Darryl Brock Sylvania, Ohio

I was struck by a line in your report on teens about the strong pressure on young people to have sex. I thought back to the 1930s, when I was a teenager. The only pressure I felt was to get a base hit to help my team win in a sandlot baseball game. In the movies, four-letter profanity and simulated intercourse were unthinkable. We were surely curious about sex, but nobody in our crowd experienced “going all the way.” “Making out” was getting a kiss, and the girl next door was not promiscuous. I suspect any survey taken of my buddies would have been dull, but I don’t remember feeling deprived. At the time, girls were just not all that important in our lives. Oh! I did have a crush on Merle Oberon. I was devastated when she died in the arms of Laurence Olivier in the classic 1939 movie “Wuthering Heights.” Joe Wlody Delray Beach, Fla.

God and Gayness The story of gay Mormon Stuart Matis and his tragic suicide would seem to put to rest any notion of homosexuality as a “chosen lifestyle” (“To Be Gay - And Mormon,” National Affairs, May 8). Homosexuality is not a choice or an “abominable” sin, just a natural variation, similar to being left-handed, which was also once demonized. This is why Matis’s prayers to become heterosexual were never “answered.” It is distressing to know that for Stuart Matis, homosexuality was punishable by death. May he, and his friend Clay Whitmer, rest in peace. William Butte Deerfield Beach, Fla.

I was a part of Stuart Matis’s intimate group of friends that you referred to in your article. We grew up together in the same congregation, went to Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and graduated from high school together. He was my roommate at Brigham Young University for two years before becoming best man at my wedding. Stuart’s death has been very hard for me to deal with. My dear friend struggled between two forces that are obviously terribly strong and opposing in nature. Why did Stuart take his life? I believe he killed himself because his homosexual feelings could never overcome his underlying knowledge and understanding of God’s commandment regarding the act of homosexuality, as Biblically interpreted by many religions. All he had to do was renounce God and his faith and live as a homosexual, but he could not bring himself to do so. In the end, you tell me which of these two forces was stronger. Greg Neher Kansas City, Mo.

I was deeply saddened to read of Stuart Matis’s depression and self-loathing. Nevertheless, the Mormon church’s stand on extramarital sexual relations is firm: unmarried members must remain celibate. The fact that Matis had homosexual tendencies did not in any way jeopardize his standing in the church, nor did it make his eternal fate a foregone conclusion. Many homo- and heterosexual men and women lead a happy, fulfilling and successful celibate life in church and in their respective communities. Furthermore, any member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who ridiculed, shunned or otherwise belittled Matis for any reason is him- or herself not living up to the principles of the church. N. Simone Pratt Buhl, Idaho

Thank you for taking a look at the problems being gay and Mormon can create. A number of gay Mormons have killed themselves, but even more have accepted their homosexuality and lead happy lives, some as Mormons, some in other religions and some outside religion. A group called Affirmation has served gay Mormons for more than 20 years and helps them think out their connections to both gayness and Mormonism. A fathers’ group (Gamofites) helps gay Mormons with wives and children, and a family group (Family Fellowship) helps Mormon families understand their gay children. There are other support groups for spirituality within the Mormon community that accept gayness as a natural thing. All these groups operate outside the official church structure, and some are accessible on the Internet to give worldwide support, with links located at affirmation.org. Loren Fay Albany, N.Y.

Sing a Song of Tuesday “There are no songs about Tuesday,” Anna Quindlen writes (“The Delirium of Democracy,” May 8, The Last Word). How could she have forgotten the Moody Blues’ “Tuesday Afternoon”? Theophilus Bos San Jose, Calif.

Broken Arrows

Rudy - Donna + Hillary + Park Svc. - Ford = Philippines =