GEORGE Cowley states that "the main difference between teenagers in the 1950s and today (Phillpott File, October 14) is that then we had a lot more respect for authority - police, teachers, parents - than kids seem to have today.

While I would agree that things have gone too much the other way, those who hold positions of authority have, largely, only themselves to blame.

Too often, people use their authority to inflate their own inadequate egos by belittling others and adopting condescending attitudes that are nothing short of disgusting.

It is the continued abuse of authority which, in my opinion, has led others, including myself, to be suspicious of the motives and contemptuous of any person who seeks to hold a position of power and control over others.

PHIL HINTON,

Florida, USA.