Over the years, writing letters to the editor has seemed to be a more or less futile exercise. But I respond to three items in the Feb. 18 opinion section.

Ms. Tessie Carpenter asked how to become an American. In a letter, she suggested that a black man or woman who dares to break the barrier of the mentally enslaved mold is picked apart as a lion does its prey.

It is not indicated what Ms Carpenter does, or her circumstances, but she is not living in the same world I am. There are so many instances of black men and women being lauded for their accomplishments: Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, Halle Berry, and Denzel Washington, to name a few -- plus all the black men and women with whom I have been delighted to be associated in both business and social circles.

If she wants to be an American, let her open her eyes and ears and quit acting as if she is a victim.

The second item was the Dusty Rhoades column, in which he brought forth the fact that MSNBC and others in the media and elsewhere had attempted to perpetuate a lie about Nancy Pelosi and "her airplane." His column did reinforce a fairly widespread opinion out among the people: You cannot trust the media -- liberal, conservative, independent, or other.

The third item was Allan Jefferys' column about obscenity on our airwaves. My hat is off to him. The level of vulgarity on our television sets and in the theater was so ugly many years ago that I decided not to attend almost any movie.

With television, at least we can turn it off, so most of my viewing now runs to sports activities and the occasional John Wayne classic.

John Harrop

Sanford