ANN LANDERS

Dear Readers:

In 1955, the year I began writing this column, I wrote an essay for
Christmas Day. Reader response was extremely rewarding, and I have
reprinted it each year, with topical modifications. This is my Christmas
message for 1998:

Dear Readers:

Today is Christmas. What has happened to peace on Earth, goodwill toward
men? In many parts of the world, there is no peace, and in the hearts of
many men, there is nothing that could pass for goodwill.

Our youth insist that we are poisoning the environment, and they are right.
They resent living in a world they didn't make, and who can blame them? But
what generation ever made the world it had to live in?

Although our universities are once again places of higher learning, racism
abounds on many campuses. Prejudice against minorities is on the increase,
and I fear it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Unfortunately, the "war on drugs" has turned out to be a colossal failure.
The increase in the number of homicides is staggering, and most of it is
drug-related. Guns and knives are standard equipment among teenagers. It is
not uncommon for a teenager to get shot or stabbed for his jacket or his
shoes. Metal detectors in schools help some, but not enough.

While alcohol is still the most abused drug of all, marijuana and stronger
substances like crack cocaine are commonplace in junior and senior high
schools. The dropout rate is appalling. Why should a kid stay in school
when he can get rich dealing drugs? This is the message too many young
people are getting.

Suicide is the second most frequent cause of death in this country among
teenagers ages 15 to 19. (The first is accidents.) Every 100 minutes, a
young person under 24 in America will kill himself. Over the past 35 years,
the youth suicide rate has tripled.

More bad news is that venereal disease is epidemic, not to mention AIDS,
for which there is no vaccine and no cure, although new drugs are providing
hope.

We are becoming increasingly desensitized to filthy language, garbage "art"
and rotten stuff on TV. Violence, bigotry and talking dirty must be
tolerated, we are told, because we dare not endanger "freedom of speech." I
am firmly against censorship, but where is the moral outrage against all
the filth? It's almost impossible to find a family movie these days. What
has happened to plain, everyday decency?

Because this is an advice column, I spend the greater part of every day
with grief and trouble. I am adored by some, despised by others, chastised,
castigated and dumped on. Does it depress me? No, it does not.

After 43 years, I still find writing this column immensely rewarding. I
realize that many people who write to me don't want advice. They just need
someone who will listen.

My column has provided me with an opportunity to shine a spotlight on
ignorance and fear, comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. I am
well aware that mine is an enormous responsibility, and I try hard, 365
days a year, never to let you down.

You, dear readers, are my friends. You invite me into your homes, and
often, we have breakfast together. I want to be there for you when you need
me.

So, if you feel the need to unburden yourself, blow your top, register a
gripe or tell me off, I'm as close as your mailbox.

God bless you all. Pray for good health and an open heart so you can love
your neighbor, even though he or she may not be lovable. I hope 1999 will
be your best year ever.

Ann Landers

Checked-by: Richard Lake