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THE AGE OF:
Pseudo-Events
By Couettata Presi Service
We live in the age of the pseudo-event.
It no longer matters whether anyone heard the tree
fall in tha forest. What matters is whether or not the fall
of the tree was documented on television.
The vast majority of Americans are no longer capable
of believing something on their own authority. Indoctrinated
since childhood by boxtop offers of a "guaranteed genuine
official" world, they seek desperately for Authority and
find it everywhere but in themselves.
A commonplace example. Find me, if you will, a can
of baked beans that does not carry the instruction, "Heat
and Serve." Why do the American consumers require this
Instruction? Because a good many of them do not have the
nerve to heat and serve those baked beans without official
approval. Common sense is no longer a guide.
Thus it is that things no longer happen of themselves.
They happen only after a sufficient portion of the public
has been told they happened. And then only if the public
senses that it was "officially" all right that they happened.
I would suggest, for example, that the Goldwaler
"boom" of today is not a particle stronger than the same
boom a year ago. What is significant is that people have
now been told that it exists. Likewise, the civil rights
revolution did not exist for middle class white Americans
until they had been told about it. Never mind that they
conld see It all about them, everywhere, every day. They
had to be told. And I believe that, in the minds of these
same people, the same revolution could again cease to
exist if the establishment were to tell them so. The facts
seen by the self are nothing compared to the facts reported
in Time magazine, a notable spokesman for officialdom.
Another example. The use of news photographs, long a
means to document a fact, has been discontinued on the
Huntley-Brinkley program. An artist, has been employed,
instead, to do sketches of events. By almost the same token,
the news itself on this program has been replaced by the
employment of Huntley and Brinkley, who appear to bring
the news into being, full-blown from their brows, simply by
deigning to acknowledge it.
Despite the public's willingness to believe what is "of
ficially" stated, it still has some hesitation on the really
important things. Millions of Americans are not willing to
wake up in the morning and be told who is the new Presi
dent. They must sit up all night in front of their television
watching the electric lights flash behind Walter Cronkite.
Apparently they do not realize that the electric lights, and
Cronkite, are present only to make the event "official."
Neither has anything to do with reporting the news.
Yon don't believe me? Look around you at the next
Illinois home game and see how many people who are
sitting in Memorial Stadium are, nevertheless, holding
transistor radios to their ears so that Larry Stewart can
tell them what is going on before their very eyes. Or
remember, if yon will, how many Americans watched the
solar eclipse on television when the real thing was going
on in the heavens right outside their doors.
Or take another example. Is it morally correct to sell
wheat to Russia? Three months ago, public opinion said
no. Today, public opinion says yes. And yet I would bet
that no one has changed his mind on this question if,
indeed, anyone could really say on his own authority wheth-
(Con't. on page 2)
Former
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Mowing tes
timony was received by the Dailr
Nebraskan from John Else and Gary
Torrent who were recently In Missis
sippi for Neero freedom voie drive
sponsored by student at Yale Col
lege which emphasized the denial of
Negro voting rights.
The Mississippi NAACP
opened Its state convention
with a banquet for minis
ters, held Thursday night,
October 31, 1963, in the edu
cational building of the
Back Bay Mission in Biloxi.
Invitations were sent to
many ministers along the
coast to both white and
Negro. The Citizens Coun
cil in Biloxi secured one of
these invitations from some
one and made a tape re
cording that was used in a
"dial-a-message" telephone
message. This message in
clude the text of the invi
tation, plus the following:
"Is your minister planning
to attend this integrated
meeting?" The message
closed by giving a phone
number to call in the event
that anyone had any "in
formation or questions"
about the meeting.
We drove to Biloxi that
evening with "Porter" Dav
is, Carl Arnold, and Law
rence Gnyot, all full-t i m e
Student Non-violent Coordi
nating Committee workers.
The Daily Nebraskan
JOHN MORRIS, manarinr editor; SUE HOVTK. new editor; SUSAN SMTTH
BERG1E, GRANT PETERSON. FRANK PRTSCH, senior staff writers; LARRY
AS MAN, MARV McNEFF, JERRI O'NEILL, JERRY HOFFERBKR, Junior
staff writers; PATTY KNAPP. ARN1E CARSON. CAY LEITSCHUCK, copy
editors; HAL POSTER, photoarapher; HOOD. sports editor; MIKE
JEFFREY, circulation manaaer; JIM DICK , subsrrlption manager; BILL
CUNUCKS, BOB CUNNINGHAM. PETE LAGE, business assistants.
Subscription rates S3 per semester or 5 per year.
Entered as second class matter at the post office in Lincoln, Nebraska,
under the act oi August 4, 1912.
The Daily Nehrsskan published at room 51, Student Union, on Monday.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday by I'nivereity of Nebrawka students under the
jurisdiction of the Faculty Subcommittee on Student Publications. Publications
shall be free from censorship by the Subcommittee or any person outside the
University. Members of the Nebraskan are responsible for what they cause
to be printed
torn teg
Nov. "14, 1963
Nebraska Students Tell
acial Strife
We arrived at Back Bay
Mission about 7:45 p.m.
(the banquet was to begin
at 8 p.m.) There was a
crowd gathered on the side
walk actoss the street in
front of the building, and
there were several police
men in front of the build
ing. We parked in a lot
beside the building and
walked toward the entrance.
As we walked toward the
door, the people across the
streeet yelled at us; they
called us "dirty commu
nists" and several other
things that are unquotable.
The banquet and program
began shortly after 8 p.m.
The shouting from outside
seemed to build up slowly
until finally something,
smashed through one of the
windows in the front hall,
and a ery of approval went
up from the crowd. From
that point the violence of
the crowd rapidly increased
so that within half an hour,
all but five of the windows
had been smashed. Finally,
two large pieces of lead pipe
came through the windows
and glided the full length
of the building on the floor.
The emcee decided that it
was best to dismiss the
gathering before the mob
It's time someone took a
stand against freedom.
I would, therefore, like to
go on record as opposing:
academic freedom,
economic freedom,
political freedom,
social freedom,
religious freedom,
freedom of association,
freedom of the press, and
any and all student free
doms . . .
so long as they are not
restrained "by responsibili
ty. It is for this reason that
THEY-fcE
Dear Editor:
Here is a copy of our
statement (below) that we
in Mississippi
got completely out of hand.
The mayor and the police
were called, and the police
assured additional person
nel within five minutes in
order to help get everyone
safely to their cars and
away from the area.
In five minutes the exo
dus began. Our car-load was
one of the last to depart.
As we went to the car, there
was much yelling from the
mob, and they continued to
throw a few rocks in our
direction. We were directed
out the back of the parking
lot and down a street hw&y
from the mob. We immedi
ately saw that a police car
was following us. We had
gone about four blocks when
he flashed the car's red
light: we pulled over and
stopped. The policeman
asked the driver, "Porter"
Tavis, to see his license and
then asked him to get out
and come to the back of
the car. They stood beside
the police car for a short
time and then Davis re
turned to the car. He re
ported to us that he w a s
being arested for not hav
ing a "tag light" and that
the policeman had told him
to follow him to the police
station. The police car
started out ahead of as and
proceeded to lead us back
toward the mob. As we
reached the corner just half
a block from the building
that we had just left, the
policeman stopped at the
traffic light.
The mob had increased
so that it was gathered
around this corner as well
as in front of Back Bay Mis
onusA'
my ideas of students' free
doms from administrative
control differ radically
from those expressed by the
author of the "Our Sacred
Cows" column, whose main
ax to grind is that students
are being denied their free
dom due to arbitrary ad
ministrative policy in order
that the Administration
may exercise the power for
power's sake.
Nothing could be further
from reality. It might be
further argued that Mr.
Moore, by the use of such
HOWsUESSLY
m
A Letter From Yale Students
sent to the NAACP lawyers
in New York, who are plan
ning legal suits against sev-
sion. The policeman stepped
out of his car and called
out, "Turn right here and
follow me down to the sta
tion," therby calling the
mob's attention to us. Since
he had already told Davis
to follow him to the station
and since his flashing di
rectional light indicated his
intention to turn right, it
was quite obvious that his
calling out to us was a de
liberate attempt to call the
mob's attention to our car,
and to help identify us as
part of the group that bad
been in the church building.
When the light turned
green, the group of boys on
the corner armed them
selves and let fire. We all
covered our faces in case
the glass should splinter and
heard loud thuds and
smashes as we turned the
corner. When we looked up,
the shatter-proof windows
on the right side of the car
had all been smashed. (La
ter we discovered that the
side of the car had been
severely damaged; it w a s
covered with large and
small dents.) We proceeded,
to the police station, no
ticing that a car was fol
lowing us. We parked beside
the police station, and the
carload of boys passed by.
The policeman called for
Davis to come into the sta
tion with' him; he did. The
other four of us felt that it
was not safe for us, being
an integrated group to be
in the parked Tar; so we
left the car two by two,
and sought out our own
places of refuge.
John Else,
Garg Torrens
Yale College
Stud
oltd
descriptive terms as "pres
ence," "On High" and other
phrases, has merely over
stated his case, but really
he has no case to state.
Today it seems, more
than at any time than I can
recall, the emphasis every
where is on freedom book
titles contain it, columnists
write abuut it, newspapers
advocate it; the government
extends it, the right, wing
denies it, the people want it.
But very seldom is respon
sibility, the essential corol-
t.v.tei."
eral Mississippi cities.
I will try soon to get you
more comments bn our trip
including insights we
gained and problems we
saw.
There are (below onlv
two main highlights in
cluded here. Much of the
value of the trip was in the
people we met and the
friendships we made. ,
We stopped in Washington
on the way back and talked
with Senators Curtis and
Hruska and Representative
Glen Cunningham.
Please urge as many stu
dents and their parents and
pastors to write these men,
especially fte Senators. Cur
tis is informed and could be
pushed by hundreds of Ne
braska letters to support
strong civil rights bill.
Hurska is against open
occupancy, equal employ
ment and any federal legis
lation that would prevent a
state from doing what it
wishes.
I believe intelligent, in
formed letters can make a
difference.
Sincerely,
Gary Torrens
'The Right Wing'
Dear Editor:
The Daily Nebraskan
contains its share of typo
graphical errors. These are
usually not serious. There
is, however, one error which
I feel sure is typographical
in nature, which has been
repeated consistently in a
number of issues. The title
of Mr. Stastny's article is
"The Right Way." It is
quite obvious that the cor
rect title is "The Right
Wing." It would be much
appreciated 'if you would
correct this grevious error
in future issues.
D. E. Kenton
Editor's Note: The title
"The Right Way; is cor
rect, although you do have
a point.
Freedlom
lary, mentioned or dis
cussed. This de-emphasis
of responsibility and exag
gerated stress on freedom
has dangerous implications
because freedom unre
strained by responsibility
becomes mere license, and
yet, this is just the type of
freedom many students
such as Mr. Moore have in
mind when the topic comes
up for discussion.
Everyone seems to want
liberty, but few want to be
burdened with the responsi
bility that must accompany
it.
Intimately related with
freedom and responsibility
is this matter of self-restraint,
self discipline, and
an awareness of the rights
of other individuals, In fact,
the French Declaration of
the Rights of Man states,
"Liberty is the power to do
whatever does not injure
others." And as the late
Carl L. Becker, noted Pro
fessor of History at Cornell
University, writes. "One
man's liberty may easily be
another man's bondage."
"Responsibility thus in
included responsive
ness," says Robert 0. Jo
hann. "The responsible per
son is one whose actions are
shaped in response to ob
jective requirements and
not simply by his own
whims. Because he takes all
the factors in his complex
environment into account
when he acts, seeking to re
spond to them and not
merely assert himself, he
has no difficulty later in ac
counting for what he has
done."
Along the lines of freedom
and responsibility it is in
teresting to note in the en
cyclical "Pacem In Terris"
of Pope John XXIII that in
almost every case where he
speaks of individuals' rights
he also speaks of their
duties, eg., "For, if a man
becomes conscious of his
rights, he must become
equally aware of his duties.
Thus, he who posseses cer
tain rights has likewise the
duty to claim those rights
as marks of his dignity,
while all others have the
obligation to acknowledge
those rights and respect
them." Also:
"The relations between
the government and the
governed are then set forth
in terms of rights and
duties. And it is clearly laid
down that the paramount
task of government officials
is that of recognizing, re
specting, reconciling, pro
tecting and promoting the
nn
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rights and duties of citi
zens." Just substitute "Adminis
tration" for "governments"
and "students" for "gov
erned" and "citizen" and
you have a statement equal
ly applicable to the relation
ship between the Adminis
tration and students on
campus.
Thus what the Adminis
tration is attempting to do
is not to save students frorr
themselves, but to save th
responsible students fron
the irresponsible ones.
Mr. M o o r e in his three
articles has hammered at
the idea that the Adminis
tration exercises a control
over the student equivalent
to that of a totalitarian
dictatorshp, expecially in
the area of drinking. He
holds that because students
are denied freedom to
drink, their maturing pro
cess is stagnated. Actually
it is because they have
demonstrated their imma
turity and irresponsibility
that restrictions are placed
upon them.
As a proof of this belief
I cite the fact that to date
there has been no indica
tion or response from a
majority of the student
body showing agreement
with Mr. M o o r e' s stand.
This is, no doibt, in part
due to the fact that most
students have achieved the
maturity that Mr. Moore
said has been denied him
(and those he speaks for)
via restrictions upon him
from the Administration.
It would seem that those
who rebel in the first place
are those who have not
acted responsible prior to
the action taken by the Ad
ministration and that those
who have always practiced
self-restraint are not af
fected bv the new ruling.
It is a fact of life that if
you don't exercise self-restraint,
y o u are auto
matically inviting others to
do it for you.
All this does not mean to
say that I agree with all
the policies of the Adminis
tration. Often times the Ad
ministration due to social
economic, and political at
titudes of the state, is left
no other alternatives, and
therefore is left as the
scapegoat.
At any rate, it is hoped
Mr. Moore will explore
more fully the intent, pur
pose, alternatives, and con
ditions to a student-administrative
policy before
putting the entire blame on
the Administration.
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