The `Big Thaw'

I found the Opinion page column "For College Grads From the '60s, a Big Thaw," June 15, one of the most encouraging articles I've read in a while. Maybe it's not naive to hope JFK's statement "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," can still apply today.

We should welcome the return of the concept of working not just to increase our material assets or to pay the bills, but also to make a larger contribution to the community, the country, the world. What a difference this could make in solving some of the tough problems facing both the country and the planet.

I especially appreciate the idea that the idealism of the '60s wasn't just a fad indulged in by affluent kids from the suburbs, but rather was something that came from the hearts of many people who rebelled against living for themselves only.

It may have been lost sight of in recent decades, but I am looking forward to a renaissance of new, wiser activism in the '90s and beyond. Eileen A. Sorrels, San Ramon, Calif.

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