DRUG HYPOCRISY

To the editor: I was pleased to see professor Machan's emotional plea for
an end to the government's unconscionable "war" on so many of our most
tragically miserable citizens (column, "U.S. war on drugs is insane, unjust
and immoral," Daily News, May 27).

I suspect, however, that Tibor the Hungarian's words won't resonate with
half-baked libertarians, social conservatives and others who are adamantly
against government curtailing their ability to intrude on other people's
lives, and who see no problem with that same government passing laws
sticking it to those whose only "crime" is to mess up their own lives.

Another reason there is no uproar over the drug war, of course, is that in
this most self-righteously moralizing of industrial nations, one needs to
be a respected university professor - or a recognized maverick such as Bill
Buckley - to be comfortable actively promoting viewpoints that may offend
bosses, colleagues, customers, hair dressers, acquaintances, neighbors, family.

Well, hypocrisy by omission is hypocrisy nonetheless, and who among us is
not guilty? It's not too late to change.

CARL DE VILLAR Destin