Is there a lesson here about the folly of the self-esteem movement? Warped notions of freedom and tolerance have produced a generation who, in effect, terrorize their elders.

Schools now resort to having students write their own rules, and even then administrators wail that standards are hard, even impossible, to enforce. Kids laugh off authority. "You can't sag, but they don't enforce it," says one; another admits she has been "talked to" for violation of rules, but she sees no need to comply. Parents don't support tightening of rules because they know they will not be able to persuade their students to comply.

The clothes issue is just one symptom of a general discipline crisis. With punishment out and "positive reinforcement" in, children realize at an early age the worse they behave the more rewards/bribes they can earn. How ironic—this brave new world of liberation has had the opposite of the desired effect. These pampered, outardly confident youngsters lack, of all things, self-esteem, the result of a misguided suppression of the basic knowledge that was drummed into their forebears at an early age, namely that self-esteem (then known as self-respect) results from integrity and self-discipline. Discipline consistently enforced from an early age will lead to a self-disciplined adult—there are no shortcuts.

Could it be God knows something after all? Now where did I toss that old Bible?

Fay Knight

Glasgow Drive

What part does fashion
play in women's rights?

Your article "Risqué Business" was interesting but did not put girls fashions into the broader context of the evolutionary forces that have morphed humans into our modern form.

One of those forces has been male and female sex roles, with males traditionally dominant in most social and economic arenas. The emergence of women as partners in humanity rather than submissive to men is very recent and evolutionarily earthshaking.

I believe the women's rights movement is good for both sexes in the short view of human history. In the much longer view of human evolution, the jury is still out. What is interesting, though, is the dichotomy that has developed regarding the view of women by both sexes.

On one hand, they are seen as equal to men and able to compete on every social plane by use of their wits, not just their bodies. On the other hand, they continue to use sexual allure in ostensibly nonsexual situations (like education) to attract and influence males. Girls learn this strategy at early ages, and it is quite advanced by high school.

This strategy appears contrary to the movement toward equality of the sexes. When females accentuate their breasts and hips in every conceivable social and economic interaction, it hardly seems inspired by Susan B. Anthony. Female anatomy has little relevance to education, business, banking, engineering, politics, etc. Entertainment—there is where it shines. Could entertainment be the real business of America?

But maybe sex is nothing more than one of the tools used to achieve economic and social dominance. Maybe males have simply been suckered by the women's rights movement and the appeal to fairness so that females can use sex to dominate males in this evolutionary role reversal.

Paul Dueweke

Los Gatos

League indicates Top Five
Risks to Eligible Voters

The League of Women Voters of the United States and leaders of the civil rights community announced the Top Five Risks to Eligible Voters in 2004.

The first risk: voter registration problems. Too often the voter registration applications are not promptly or properly forwarded to election officials from driver's license agencies and other agencies that provide voter registration.

Number two: In too many instances individuals who are still eligible to vote are erroneously and improperly taken off the voter rolls.

Number three: There are problems with the new ID requirement of the Help America Vote Act. This provision was meant to prevent fraud, not confuse or discourage voters from participating.

Number four: We are just 160 days away from the next presidential election and voters still do not know what the rules are for self-identification.

Number five: We have an underlying crisis in the way our country conducts elections. With antiquated equipment, when an election is close, it's anyone's guess who wins.

League of Women Voters

Southwest Santa Clara Valley

Opinion column was
offensive to LG girls

As one of those former Los Gatos girls of the class of 1961, I am offended by Dale Bryant's inference in the June 2 opinion column that Los Gatos girls were less than modest as compared to "Saratoga girls."

In 1961, Los Gatos High School was the school of choice for Saratoga residents who decided to complete their high school education in Los Gatos instead of transferring to the newly opened Saratoga High School. Most of the young women at that time intermingled, learned from each other, expanded their perspective of various lifestyles and were accepted by each others' families. Consequently, most of them in 2004 have enjoyed lifelong friendships with former students from each of the three geographical areas: Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga. Were there economic differences amongst the neighborhoods? Yes. Was that difference parlayed into a lower standard of proper behavior, as implied by Dale? No.

As president of the Girls League at Los Gatos Union High School, Dale had a responsibility to represent all female students. If she had spent less time insulating herself in 1961, perhaps she would have developed a less provincial viewpoint in 2004.

Marge (Fisher) Howell

Class of '61, Los Gatos Union High School

Editor's Note: Dale Bryant says her comments were an attempt at humor. She made many lifelong friends at Los Gatos High School, including the free-spirited Los Gatan Sue, who adored spaghetti straps. And Saratoga High School was not an option for students in the class of '61.