RAVES ARE 'WONDERFUL'

As a non-drug-taking, middle-age raver who became enchanted with the rave
scene in l995, I appreciate the comprehensive, fair coverage by USA TODAY
("Cities crack down on raves," Cover Story, News, Wednesday). Raves are a
wonderful entertainment art form with a simple formula: DJ's play music,
and people dance. Ravers have inherited the spirit of people who have
danced around bonfires to drumbeats since ancient times. By boosting my
serotonin levels naturally through dancing, raving has relieved my chronic
clinical depression. There are drugs at raves, just as there are drugs at
rock, hip-hop and other music events -- and at sports events, in public
schools, on college campuses and even on military bases. But I think it's
unfair for legislators and law enforcement officers to attack the rave
scene as if it is the only place where the drug problem exists. Besides,
the rave culture already has permeated the mainstream. culture. It is
ludicrous to try to make us believe there is something inherently bad about
it when our music is used to sell popular merchandise and is heard in video
games, in movies, on TV, on radio and at cheerleading competitions. I
believe it is my constitutional right to join fellow ravers to dance
together in a safe environment. I urge Congress not to pass the blatantly
unconstitutional Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy (RAVE) Act,
which ultimately seeks to shut down raves.

Mary Ishimoto Morris

Laurel, Md.