PREACHINGS

Allred don’t preach!

Gloria Allred’s knee-jerk response that Madonna has the responsibility of making another record that gives the pro-choice point of view is a ludicrous attempt to curb free speech (“Everyone Has a Sermon on ‘Papa Don’t Preach’,” (Popeye, by Patrick Goldstein, Aug. 31).

Allred, although differing ideologically, methodically falls into the same camp as the reactionaries at Parents Music Resource Center, Accuracy in Media and the Moral Majority.

These censors assume that all politically motivated artists, even the ambiguous Brian Elliot of “Papa Don’t Preach,” must also be the spokesmen for their particular biases. This means that:

Little Steven and his fellow rockers and rappers should reunite to record an album that promotes President Reagan’s constructive-engagement policy vis a vis South Africa. . . .

Ken Kragen will be coerced to produce another benefit extravaganza called “Too Many Hands Across America,” which will raise public consciousness of the Malthusian point of view.

The only genuine responsibility that artists have to American society is to freely and sincerely express themselves as much as possible without the constraints of government and pressure-group censorship--a task that Ms. Penn accomplished remarkably well.

MARK NAKATA

Los Angeles