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Daily Nebraskan
Thursday, December 0, 1034
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Whv UtIBffi jfi MICHAEL
Dmrk Msls ckradl feelings
Mr. Rogers, the guru of wide-eyed innocence and
everything that is good and kind, always asks the
children in his TV neighborhood how they are
feeling. He does it before slipping into his cardigan
sweater; he does it before singing his familiar theme
song, "Won't you be my neighbor?" Feelings are impor
tant to Mr. Rogers.
James A.
Fussell
Too many times, as a columnist, I tell you what I'm
thinking. I gauge my relative success or failure by
whether I'm able to evoke a tear, a laugh or a thought.
Today, I'm trading in my ivory tower for a glass
bottomed boat. I don't care if I evoke anything. I want to
tell you how I'm feeling.
I am like you. I laugh, I'm happy that Christmas is
here. I have wonderful friends and people whom I love.
I am like you. I feel sad from time to time. I feel
confused. Confused about global problems that I didn't
create; problems that seem too enormous to fix and too
personal to ignore. The all-too-real possibility of a
nuclear war, complete with the ending of everything and
everyone IVe ever cared about, saddens me.
I have opinions that may differ from yours I'm afraid
of a system where you can't even make one mistake. But,
inside, I'm like you, and you, and you. I don't know what
to do about nuclear weapons, and I'm far from comfor
table with my own responses. I don't have any simple
answers. Just feelings.
I feel mad, but I don't know who to hate; I feel pro
voked, but I don't know who to fight. I feel a faceless,
nameless threat hanging there somewhere ready
to drop. I feel sad for us alL
Like Martin Luther King, I have a dream. This isn't it. I
feel so selfish. Why does this have to be my problem? I
don't want it anymore. It's uncomfortable and I want it
to go away.
I know that ignoring a problem won't make it go away.
But at the same time I grow tired of the barrage of
statistics, ballistics, gruesome scenarios, catastrophic
predictions and the holier-than-thou preachiness of
both sides. No one has a lock on truth, just as no one but
me can feel my feelings.
It's 10:15 am., now, Wednesday morning. The civil
defense warning sirens just sounded. I'm crying now. My
imagination is too good. I cry a slow, single tear for all
the people and things that I'd miss. For all the people I'd
never get to meet. It's not as frightening as it is pitifully
and overwhelmingly sad.
I'd miss my wife, Susan. I love her and couldn't bear to '
be without her. I wonder what it would be like without
her to talk to? Without her to love, after a nuclear war? I
wonder about such things.
My thoughts turn also to my parents and my sister,
and to Susan's parents. Will they know how much I love
them if I never get to see them again? Will I ever see them
again? I think about such things.
I think about my childhood playgrounds and spe
cial hiding places the path I used to take home from
grade school and the creek I learned to skip stones in.
Will it be taken from me? Maybe I should go back to
Pennsylvania and see it one more time?
I think about my dumb ole stuffed dog with one eye
that my mother still keeps in a cardboard box in her
basement. I love that dog. Ruff, that's his name. What
will happen to Ruff? I used to wipe my tears on his soft
fur and clutch him close to me when I was sad. He loved
me when nobody else would. He never had anybody but
me to love him. He never hurt anybody. What would
happen to Ruff would happen to me. I worry about
things like this. Silly things. Personal things.
Dsys will pais, and I will intellectualize again and
continue to propose solutions. But it won't change the
way I feel inside. It wont change the soft-sculptured
feelings and emotions that are mind alone, to feel in the
privacy of my own heart.
As Mr. Rogers might say, How are you feeling today?
Each of you, of course, have your own feelings, and I
leave you to them.
;f2& Letters
Policy
Reader mourns 'lessfamous 'kids
This is just a few lines to express my appreciation to
Judi Nygren's article "Star's dreams die" (Daily Nebras
kan, Nov. 28). You see, I grew up on those streets of
Chicago and I know what it is to lose friends to the
mighty handgun. Thank you for putting into words
something that I have felt and thought, but could not
Thank you on behalf of Gould, LeRoy, Eric, Elroy a
few of the less famous kids.
Chuck Trimin
Lincoln
Unsigned editorials represent official policy of the fall
1984 Daily Nebraskan. They are written by this semes
ter's editor in chief, Chris Welsch.
Other staff members will write editorials throughout
the semester. They will carry the author's name after the
final sentence.
Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the
university, its employees, the students or the NU Board
of Regents.
The Daily Nebraskan's publishers are the regents, who
established the UNL Publications Board to supervise the
daily production of the newspaper.
Public celebration
subjects minorities
to Christian culture
Christmas allows us to see the good in many people.
Some starving Ethiopians remain alive partly
because Americans have given generously to their
relief.
Local drives collecting canned food, toys and cash
flourish thb time of year. Most of those drives meet lofty
goals against stacked odds: A stagnant economy, a grow
ing lower class, families desires to shower their own
with gifts regardless of cost.
Granted, many people give only because they feel
guilty about having so much during the holidays when
many others have so little. But when some good comes
from guilt, it can't be entirely offensive.
It offends, though, that Christmas has become such a
public holiday.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that creches
could be displayed on public property.
Creches wouldn't be an endorsement of any particu
lar religion, the court said, but would be cultural sym
bols. "Best buys for Christmas," "Share Christmas with oth
ers," "For your Christmas giving," scream advertise
ments in almost every newspaper. Department store
salespersons wish you "A very merry Christmas." St.
Nicholas sails across your television screen on an elect
ric shaver. Lincoln Mayor Roland Luedtke is scheduled
to give a Christmas message at the County-City Building
later this month.
From this evidence, then, the United States is a Chris
tian culture, subject to having Christian ideals thrown
at its people.
In Lincoln, religions other than various Christian
sects aren't very visible. The only minority groups in
town are sequestered in selective neighborhoods and
the UNL campus.
Yet, they are there.
An article in the Daily Nebraskan Holiday Supplement
(Dec. 4) described how Christmas has infringed on the
Jewish holiday, Hannukah. Jewish parents feel obli
gated to buy lavish gifts for their children because of
Christmas hype.
Hannukah, a relatively minor holiday on the Jewish
religious calendar, has been forced to compete with
Christmas.
Other segments of that story were edited out for rea
sons of space. Those passages detailed how Jews feel put
upon by the public celebration of Christmas, how they
feel like a tiny group, ostracized by the majority because
of religious reasons.
Now, some of the country's lawmakers want to further
ostracize this tiny band of Jews by implementing laws
that have Christian groups as their backers: Anti
abortion laws, the practice of religion in public schools,
holy wars against "godless" communism in Central
America,
This ignorance of other points of view can easily lead
to intolerance as the country slowly builds to a xeno
phobic lather over evil empires, dirty immigrants and
ignorant South African tribesmen.
Jeff Browne
Daily Ne&rms&aa Senior Editor
JL
n Dailv n
EDITOR Chris Wtlrch, 472-1766
GENERAL MANAGER Daniel Shattll
PRODUCTION MANAGER Kitty Pollcky
ADVERTISING MANAGER Tom Byrns
ASSISTANT
NEWS EDITOR M!eh6la Thurnan
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITORS KavlnWifneka
Kma Sosrbni
Sisci Thomas
COPY DESK SUPERVISOR Vlcki Ruhga
SPORTS EDITOR Ward W. TripSttt HI
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
EDITOR Cftristeptw Burbcch
NIGHT NEWS EDITORS Leurl Hoppla
JuSls Jordan
Jutil Nycren
WIRE EDITORS Laurt Hopple
Teri Sparry
ART DIRECTORS Ciiiy Shsffer
Lou Anns Zacek
,tlST.llTKH0'0CHIEF Joi Sartor
ASSISTANT PHOTO CHIEF David Creamer
PUBLICATIONS BOARD
CHAIRPERSONS Nick Foley, 478-0275
nr,-. Angela Nittteki, 475-4331
PROFESSIONAL ADVISER Don Walton, 473-7331
The Daily Nebraskan USP3 144-080) is published by the
LNL Publications Board Monday through Friday in the fall
and spring semesters and Tuesdays and Fridays in the
summer sessions, except during vacations.
Headers are encouraged to submit story ideas and com
ments to the Daily Nebraskan by phoning 472-2588 between 9
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?eMi?1Eub,icatlons Boarl. For information, call Nick
Foley. 476-0275 or Angela Nietfield. 475-4931.
m 3t1mas,ter: SenJ address changes to the Daily Nebraskan.
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