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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1975)
page 4 .Ron r bsj d!I .pn innocent busloads uman relations: U.S. tax system creates key police policy " " ;.dite eserve Whether the Lincoln Gty Council's appointment , .. . ... . i of George Hansen as police cruet will prove a mess ing or a bane for the city remains to be seen. ; The key to Hansen's success or failure will be whether he possesses the characteristics that have made Lincoln's Police Dept. one of the finest in the nation: sensitivity to, and awareness of, people as human beings. Those qualities mark the LPD as a whole as well as the individuals whom it comprises. That the department and its members are so marked is not accident; it is the result of careful screening and even more careful training. Because most police work involves not TV cop theatricals but one-on-one encounters with all kinds of private-and, for the most part, law-, abiding-citizens, a law enforcement agency's effectiveness depends more on its sensitivity than on its officers' expertise in reading fingerprints or finding the murder weapon. This citys Police Dept. is effective, and its police-community relations excellent.- The situa tion needs not be considered jeopardized now, simply because Lincoln's new police chief is a stranger to the force. Hansen said before his appointment that Lincoln's "strong community identification" with the police was one reason he wanted the job. We hope that statement indicates his willingness to maintain and improve the department's, skills in human relations. Rebecca Brite By4t! Bmyfinto the car. Hand me that picnic hamper Mother. You sure you remembered everything? There s no supermarkets in the wilderness, you know." "Yes, dear. But are you sure it's safe? I mean. . . "Safe? Why, you'll be safer there than you are at home. Ever since the government declared it a Wilderness Area the rangers patrol it all the time, watching for careless camp fires and things like that." "Can I take my .22, Dad?" " "No, Billy. It's a wildlife preserve. But youH see pigeons as big as your head and cats and dogs. They're pretty wild, but they won't hurt you any if you don't try to pet them. "What's the name of this place were going, DaM "Why, I thought you knew-Billy. It's called the City. "It sure sounds exciting, Dad. Who lives in the City?" "Oh, no one these days. But when your mother and I were young, hundreds of thousands of people lived there. It was even more crowded than out here in the suburbs. . "Why did they leave the City, Dad?" "Well, that's hard to say. I guess it was the last police strike that broke the camel's back. I remember the mayor flying in from his home in the country to declare an emergency and announce he was giving the police the $,1000-a-day pay increase they wanted." "Wow! That's a lot of money." "You can't blame the police, son. They had a real it X3 ink EETI tZZ "X, SI laV I J daneerous iob, what with the folks on welfare riotina and burning the garbage that was piling up in the streets." "Why were they rioting, Dad? "Oh, you can't blame them, son. They couldn't get their welfare checks on account of nobody was working in City Hall because the buses hadn't run for months. The mayor tried to get an injunction against the bus drivers, but the judges were all on strike. Not that you could blame them, seeing as how nobody had the courage to serve their court orders." "You mean people left the City because they were afraid, Dad?" "Well, it wasn't so much that as it was taxes. You see, once folks started moving out there were fewer left to pay the salary increases. Got so a man paid more taxes every year than his house was worth. You cant blame them for moving out." "But if everybody had stayed, Dad. . ." "Oh, everybody agreed that things would work out if everybody stated-everybody else, that Is." "Gee, Dad, the City kind of gives me the willies. Why do we want to go there for our picnic?" "Peace and quiet, son, peace and quiet. I tell you, there's nothing like going to the City these days to get away from it all." (Copyright Chronicl Publishing Co. 1975) ' " ' 1 1 11 1 n&r. viy NAM? IS mwiws, m x cm f B .'.'.V.',V.'.V. I'M. ( ) II iflWMMMnMMWHMHMM 4 I t98MaMHaMMaBBBHBBHMIM BaaaaaaaaaaaBB 63 r U.S. DEPARTMF.NT Of TRANSPORTATION NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION 1 The Daily Nebraskaa welcomes letters to the editor and guest opinions. Choices of material published will be based on timeliness tod originality. Letters must be accompanied by the writer s name, but may be published under i pen name if requested. Guest opinions should be typed, triple-spaced, on nonerasable paper, They should be accompanied by the author's name, class ttaadiag and major, or occupation. All material submitted to these pages is subject to editing end eoadsssation, mi cannot be returned to the writer. . V cm w ft)? mi JVST LBST week X Ffim our m&. BICYCLES MO A otimism pick-up MILE CROSSM lPSf oil, 6& m. Z . . . .a. Ffl&UUXJS R V.MF0M1 right Amy! josr m ME 6000 FOR Sfflf T ""v IB r"' ....... 1, I Long hard climb uritari work ethic an American myth 8y Marsha Jaric ' There is a basic myth that Is a major part of the American psychology: the Puritan Work Ethic. The myth had its greatest popularity during the later nineteenth century, but more recent figures also have espoused it, notably former President Richard Nixon. According to, the ethic, if s man works hard , success and wealth will be his rewards. - , The idea's influence is evident in such other myths as The Free Enterprise System, The American Heritage of tlard-working Immigrants and The Self-Made Man. Like these, U had its basis in fact-but the circumstances were temporary. The American ideal of rugged individualism is as phony as a three dollar bill. Richard Nixon tried to sell that ideal back to America at a reduced price, but was exposed as a flim-flam man. Apply Ms own words to himself, "That work ethk Is why Americans are considered an industrious, purposeful people, and why a poor nation of three million people, oyer a course of two centuries, lifted itself Into the position of the most powerful and respected leader of the free world today." His wort's are illuminating because Nixon seemed to be a modern example of the self-msde man. He went from being an obscure lawyer, to President of the United States. He fit the mold well: rich, powerful-and corrupt. What many people realized long ago was that noble motives ascribed to the free enterprise system were a smokescreen to hide the basic motivation of greed. . :vc,n n the nineteenth century, specific conditions were needed for a persons to amass great wealth in a short period of time. Statistically, a white male born in 183S had the best chance of becoming a millionaire. He could call himself a self-made man if he wished to ignore the factors of tha particularly favorable economic conditions, the easy exploitation of workers, and luck. Those most likely to succeed from tills generation were usually from the middle rather than the lower class Andrew Carnegie, the poor floor sweeper who became a success, was an exception rather than a rule. The J 800's was a time of rapid, but unstable economic growth, a time of many financial "panics." Banks failed and people lost their savings because of irresponsible Wall Street speculation and an unnaturally inflated economy The already-rich garnered most of the profits from the economic booms. Where does this leave America today? Some people think the cure to America's econosnle Sis is to go back to 8 system without controls, the free enierprise system. They idealize the golden past, not realizing we are ye past the beginnings . of . .tha Industrial Revolution. Economically that system didn't wk because success businessmen spent mora time holding lavish parties wan putting the profits back into the system. Their workers m not benefit from profitable years and their wages were c-i during unprofitable years. Ubcr was cheap, wrro people's lives. - The era of unrestrained economic growth Is over. in natural resources that are now available to be used are nui obrained cheaply or without damaga to the envUonrm It is time to rewrite tha Puritan Work Ethic to rea Competition can be good, but cooperation is People need to see that survival of thes fittest means aua only for a minority. , , u1sl. Seeing the truth about one of our cherished wesi" the first step in realizing why America doesn't come ou the good guy in the westerns. . $ If we want quality of life for everyone, some peopi receive what they have not earned. But Utat se miw better than people getting what they earn by taking n others.
