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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,
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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)
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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.