International Mail Call.(Letter to the Editor)

Sex, Drugs and Euthanasia

Our June 4 report on Dutch liberalism inspired numerous readers to share their admiration of those values with us. "What a rare jewel Holland is!" gushed one. Another soberly pointed out that in the Netherlands, "there are fewer drug problems, teenage pregnancies, fewer HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, better health services." But a nay-sayer countered, "Legalized prostitution, abortion, gay marriages, euthanasia and drugs... are not 'social and legal innovations'."

Liberal Holland

In "Playing By Dutch Rules" (EUROPE, June 4), Nora Storm says, "Accept what people are doing, then you can work with them." That's Dutch liberalism in a nutshell. A true liberal isn't one who does outrageous things, but one who embraces the freedom to tolerate what he dislikes personally. If we compare results of Dutch social reform with those of less liberal neighbors like Britain, we see in Holland fewer drug problems among youths, fewer teenage pregnancies, less HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and far better public services. Dutch social liberalism works better than our conservative methods.

Roger Zinar--London, England

Holland's a rare jewel! It's time other nations realize that integrity, intelligence and tolerance are the way to solve some of the problems they have been aggressively, yet unsuccessfully, fighting. Holland is playing a lonely game while countries like Hungary jail single-time marijuana users for two years, keep gay issues hushed and deny and condemn euthanasia. If the Netherlands can't change the world, at least it will be able to hang on to what it's got.

Monika Ford--Budapest, Hungary