monday, September 15, 1 975
page 4
daily nebraskan
non
After we saw Friday's Lincoln Star sports page,
on wnicn star sports tailor 000 uwens encour-
a 40 to 50 per cent commission.
Ourselves: Mr. Owens couldn't be expected to
aged loyal Nebraska football fans not to buy "First kpow that.
Down," we had a lengthy debate with ourselves
over whether to respond editorially to Owens
- column.
We decided, after much discussion, not to
respond. But. we thought you might be interested
in how the debate went.
(We erfO striding angrily, the Lincoln Star
clutched in our fist.) .
We: (somewhat incoherent, waving paper reck
lessly) Have you seen this. . . this ... 1
Ourselves; (calmly looking up from our chaotic
desks)Huh?
We: Bob Owens "Sports Signals" today .'.It's
misleading, it's inaccurate, it's scurrilous and
opprobrious and.
Ourselves: Now, now. What exactly seems to be
the problem?
We: (throwing the paper down and pointing a
shaking finger at the column's third paragraph)
Well, for one thing, he says our program is little
more than a list of numbers. What about our
photographs, our stories, our ...
' Ourselves: Let's not overreact. Perhaps Mr.
Owens hasn't seen our product.
We: Maybe not, but what about this? (Points to
another paragraph.) He says the Athletic Depart
ment's program sales, "as a result of this compe
tition "-get that-dropped to 10,286 last season,
then he says it was 29,950 less than in J 973. That's
impossible, that's a blatant inaccuracy, that's. . .
Ourselves: That's probably a typographical
error. I'm sure Mr. Owens mean to say 2,950 or
some such figure.
We: Well, even so, what's $3,000 to the Athletic
W- H rnnlH have called US HOW C3J1 you JUSt
sit there and not want to do anything about this?
So it went. Ourselves, of course, kept the matter
in perspective and maintained a cool outlook,
finally deciding the issue wasn't worth .throwing
ourselves into a tizzy and having to buy another
bottle of Maalox. , ' Rebecca Brite
.' jg .
'Not to decide is to decide
signifies denial of freedom
cornels sfeA
By Bruce Nelson
A chance meeting with an acquaintance recently ex
posed me to an arresting and perturbing idea. "
After the usual exchanges concerning the weather, I
found myself sitting in hi3 apartment. I was glancing
alternately at the moisture forming on my glass of cola and
at a poster bearing the words "Not to decide is to decide."
Unfortunately I asked what it meant, and my friend
excitedly explained to me that God had presented mankind
with a choice-either to accept His Son, Jesus Christ, or to
reject him.
Christ was God's gift to man and as with all gifts you
have only two alternatives, either accept or reject it. Not to
decide necessarily implies rejection. ......
Hearing this, my mind's eye began to perceive the after
noon dissolving into hours of futile discussion like the ice
melting in my empty glass. After two years of Bible college
and the curse of being a minister's son, one feels acutely the
futility of religious discussion.
Nevertheless, I filled my lungs with air and my glas3 with
cola, and crossing my legs I said, "Well, assuming that God
exists, which I don't, and assuming that he is not imagina
tive enoueh to save mankind except by the brutal murder
Dept.? It's like spitting into the Pacific Ocean. And wn Son 1 : have 00 other choice' but
how do they know their sales wouldn't have JrTZ t.i.
agnosticism, I quickly added that I would even agree that
indecision implied rejection under the circumstances,
although I found it to be a denial of man's freedom and
totally unjust.
It took a few minutes-at least one ot my legs had t alien
dropped anyway because of the economic
situation?
Ourselves: Please, you're overdramatizing the
situation. Surely the Athletic Dept. has the right
to be as concerned about money as anyone else.
We: But. . .but what about this paragraph, where asleep-before my friend's protests died down and he asked
... . 1 1 ...I I .L....1.1 U AunvAfin;nM ! AaiAa If tn AiriAan
he talks about the 12-cent commission received by
the department's salespeople, "who are working
their way through college"? Aren't our salespeople
working their way through school, too? And he
doesn't even mention the fact that our sellers get
why I thought the expression "Not to decide is to decide
was unjust...
I reflected a moment. Then I said, "Suppose you were
one of those caught up in Stalin's purgesSuppose further
that Old Joe called you into his office and said, 'Friend,
I am giving you a great and wonderful choice. You can
either totally and slavishly accept my ideology and policies
and serve me or you can reject me and spend eternity in
a concentration camp.' "
. Stalin pauses then says, "But of course, it's your free
choice. You're a man with free will, and I want you to
make this decision freely." .
Then, his voice turning colder, he continues, "But
remember two things. One: it's not me that's sending you
to the concentration camp, but your own free decision.
Two: not to decide, of course, is to decide."
The air seemed suddenly very heavy, and I decided it
was past time to leave. Avoiding my friend's stare as I
walked out, I noticed the water ring my glass had left on
the table.
It was still hot outside, but for some reason I felt a sense
of cool relief. Walking toward campus, I noticed the traffic
had thinned. Some guys were playing catch with a football,
and somewhere a stereo was playing. '
Stopping at a crosswalk, I mused to myself, "What a
poor analogy, Stalin and God, but then again. . . "
The light turned green. Stepping off the curb, I thought
that my friend wasn't the only one who wanted all things
boiled down to a simple yes or no.
Surely Hamlet was right when he told Horatio, "There
are more things in heaven and earth. . .Than are dreamt of
in your philosophy."
Why is it we all must have simple answers, simple solu
tions to complex problems? Must everything be eitheror?
Why can't we admit some questions are perhaps unanswer
able or answerable in several ways, or that solutions cannot
be totally satisfactory?
After a critical examination, why isn't "I don't know"
a satisfactory answer: But no, men must force solutions-
the simpler the better-so "Not to decide is to decide."
.
Cynic '1 Quote of the Week: "The man who says to me,
'Believe as i do or God will damn you,' will presently say to
me, 'Believe as I do or I will kill you. "-Voltaire.
1 11 mnMM1
innocent bystander
Israelis joyous; Sadat knuckles under
V vi
By Arthur Hoppe
The joy of the Israelis over the sighing of the Sinai pact
with Egypt knows no bounds. '
My friend Mordecai Shalom was dancing down
ri re c 1 T1 n.U,n m ran fata nM tvanft
"Great news, Isaac," cried Mordecai. "Henry Kissinger
has forced Sadat to knuckle under and accept a couple of
thousand square miles of the Sinai including a quarter of
our oil wells and the two unassailable passes we held."
"That's good?" said Isaac. .
"Good?! said Mordecai. "Do you realize that f& 27
yean Egypt has been in a state of war with us, threatening
t any nnmont to drive us into the tea?
"And now Egypt is at peace with us, Mordecai?"
"Well, ho, Egypt is still at war with us. But Sadat has
promised not to drive us into the . sea for at least 36
months." . ..' ,'.
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"What a bargain! But when we withdraw from those
unassailable passes, Mordecai, who w dsfsai us from the
vast Egyptian army?"
"Never fear, Isaac. Henry has seen to that. He is goinf
to send ui 15fl Amirirn HvUlana mM with nlstals. if the
American Congress approves this drastic' step.""
"The poor Egyptians must be shaMag la their boots.
Nothing between Cairo, and 150-f istol-packing Americans
but a couple of hundred thousand soldiers, tanks, missiles
and MIGs. Tell me, Mordecai, how did Henry force them
into this humiMaUag surrender?" .
. "Threats, Isaac. 'Sadat,' he said, 'Unless you accept the
entire Sinai and southern Israel, I will have to resume
selling the Israelis the Phantom jets I stopped selling them
so that I could threaten you with resuming selling them. '
"He is a hard man, that Henry "
"But Sadat proved a wily negotiator. In the end they
compromised, and the Egyptians only had to take back the
western Sinai." , -
"Well, even Henry is only human. But & man who can
outsmart the Arabs. . ."
"Not all of them, Isaac. He sUll has'to negotiate with the
Syrians and Jordanians, who are even tougher. But have
faith. In our behalf, hell force them to knuckle under,
too." ..
"Wonderful, Mordecai. Of course, IH mill Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem. Bit why does he do this for us?"
Didn t you know, Mordecai? He's Jewish."
...-
"Jewish! God forbid the Arabs should find out, 1 hey 11
tear up the pact!" a v
"Calm yourself, Isaac, After all, if we can't trust the
Arabs, whom can we trust?"
"Henry?"
. "Exactly. As our friend, Kishon, sayd, 'Deep down in hK
neart, we know that Henry has his fingers crossed for us.
(CopvflahtChronlcl.Publiihin8Co.1978)