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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1975)
thursday, december 1 1, 1975 page 4 daily nebraskan wmKmmmmmilmm long hard climb Bells should ring, ThQ seljjng of TM.t00 high not cash registers It used to be that shopping district Christmas decorations went up right after Thanksgiving. This year, we noticed, the ersatz trees, plastic Santas and celluloid bells made their appearance as early as the second week of November. Parade magazine advertises a "Patty Prayer" doll-just pull her string and she says "Now I lay me down to sleep. ..." At least one Lincoln department store is selling Jesus Jeans. And one enterprising group of Southern entrepreneurs are getting ready to make a bundle off the soon-to-be-completed "Bible World," a sort of religious Disneyland. Exploiting the spiritual for material gain is by no means an exclusively American or a strictly modern syndrome. Medieval European peddlers did a booming business in saints' toe-bones and fingernail clippings, and enough splinters have been sold of the "true" Cross to comprise a national forest. But the modern American spirit of capitalism, equalled in no other place or time on earth, has taken the process to such extremes that we are moved, not for the first time, to protest. This season is an especially appropriate one in which to cry out against this country's prostitution of religion, for the exploitation of Christmas is becoming more blatant and tasteless each year. Whether we like it or not, whether we believe in Jesus or not, Christmas celebrates the birth of a religious leader and the holiday symbolizes, for many non-Christians as well, observance of the good humans can do-whether they do it or not. Christmas should be a time of peace, not chaos; a time of pine, not plastic. If we must have trees, let them be the real thing. If we must have bells, let them be of metal, not paper. They, not cash registers, should be ringing. Let us stop trying to buy and sell peace and good cheer. They cannot be purchased, nor do plastic Santas help them to happen. Rebecca Brite By Marsha Jark , . . . Transcendental Meditation (TM), which now has more than 575,000 active practitioners, may be the fastest growing form of conscious relaxation in the United States. It's not surprising that TM has caught on so well. After all, it is well-organized (with 370 centers across the nation) and enough people practicing it and like it enough to communicate its benefits word-of-mouth. Two books concerning TM on the best seller lists are The TM Book by Denniston and McWilliams and TM: Discovering Inner Energy and Overcoming Stress by Bloomfield, Cain and Jaffe. They explain everything about TM except how to do it. Initiates are cautioned not to reveal their mantras (the Sanskrit words practitioners meditate with), chosen from 17 possibilities to fit their personalities. Apparently a free mantra will not work as well as one which costs $125 (the fee for adults-college students pay $65). TM people make a number of both physiological and psychological claims; some have been tested. The meditator The Daily Nebraskan. welcomes letters to the editor and guest opinions.. Choices of material Eublished will be based on timeliness and originality, etters must be accompanied by the writer s name, but may be published under a pen name if requested. Guest opinions should be typed, triple-spaced, on. nonerasable paper. They should be accompanied by the author's name, class standing and major, or occupation. Alt material submitted to these pages is subject to editing and condensation, and cannot be returned to the writer. may expect to experience relaxation that is quicker and better than sleep. Stress should diminish since two 20 minute periods a day are reserved for meditation. Although TM people claim that you will get along better with coworkers if you meditate, you may not experience a personality change. You may stay as nasty, surly and sarcastic as you usually are-but you should be more relaxed. What is disputed, sometimes vociferously, is TM's exclusive right to grant such benefits and its claims of psychological well-being. Adam Smith, in his book Powers of Mind, reports that Herbert Benson, an early investigator of TM's claims, found that some secular and religious techniques work as well as TM. These techniques create what he calls "the Relaxation Response." Benson says four elements are necessary to initiate the response: a mental device-a repeated sound, work or phrase; a passive attitude the harder one tries the less successful he will be-decreased muscle tonus, sit com fortably, and a quiet environment. Benson suggests that a prospective meditator relax from his feet up and think "one" to himself after every breath. Smith conducted an informal poll to find people's reactions to Benson's method versus TM. He found people would rather pay for their mantras than receive them free as long as doctors like Benson would vouch for the benefits. Some people are not convinced that worth and price are unrelated and are unaffected by the kind of reasoning offer ed by Edith Ann (comedienne Lily Tomlin) on lipstick: "Lipstick. You know what you can do? You can take 1 red jelly bean and you can wet it just a teeny, tiny bit and you can make lipstick. . .and it don't cost a dollar. . .and you can eat it besides." mi doiut rum suoe id m tuo OF WE 1EM, 1 7 1 1 v v t a -t I'M AT M EM Of Mf ME. THE PRESSURE IS TOO 6EhTi ONE MOKE setback m fM 601US DOES THAT MEM ITS V0T A GOOD TIME TO TELL YOU i mt erne m CAUUlAM sfcB I GUESS , Ift If he5) Dear editor, This letter is in regard to the fund to raise money to send the band to the Fiesta Bowl. I have been a student here for about a year and a half. In this time I have followed both the football team and band with great interest. I do not think many students are aware of the hard work the band goes to, to be perhaps as good in their particular field as the football team is in theirs. 1 have walked past the stadium many cuiu inOiiuiigi ru ths triu practices regard less of the weather. I also know the band has been practic ing since the middle of August. The fact that the band raises morale and spirit not only at the games, but also in the community and state, is un contested. They are one group the whole state can be proud of. I hope everyone will send in anything they can contribute to help the band, after they have done so much for us. Band Booster Nebraska Union class struggle Dear editor, There is much to be learned from Carl Oglesby's inspir ing analysis (Daily Nebraskan Nov. 21) of the developing power struggle between the two capitalist elites: that of the idustrial Northeast, grounded as it is in the old money of the robber barons era at the turn of the century (significantly West Virginia, stocked with the coal that is basic to the northeast, sided with the North in the Civil War), and the new money of the South and West, manifest ed in oil interests, Las Vegas gambling and head shops spawned in California (significantly, a lot of our dope comes through Mexico into Texas). We can see similar alignments in the powerful rock industry, where the Western-based rock producers are now shamelessly promoting the musicians of the South, going so far as to arrange the marriage of Greg Aliman and Cher Bono. There is a struggle within the struggle in the CIA, a long time tool for the terrorist operations of the capitalist class, now turning its guns against both sides of itself. On the one hand, the conspiratorial usurpers of the South and West have turned against the leading figures of the old northeast-both the Kennedy brothers and Doors leader Jim Morrison. On the other hand, opposing Northeastern interests within the organization have tried to undermine this threat to the oppressive status quo, by engineering the assassina tion attempts against Wallace, Ford (Manson is after all Californian), Castro and other Caribbean leaders who, though not American, are undeniably Southern. Perhaps it is indicative of the shift of power that all these attempts have failed. The Southern new establishment also represents the interests of continued racism, a device the capitalist elite exploits to divert the working class from the class struggle ... ... w ... -..,, . wifaauai ,trh VullipilvdV til the mysterious deaths of "uppity blacks" like Martin Luther King and Jimi Hendrix. It is no accident that the Watergate burglary was carried out under the administration of Californian Nixon-making use of Cuban emigrants! Nor is it coincidental that Ford feels most threatened by Reagan in the primaries of Florida and New Hampshire. " But are we, safely lodged in the breast of the Midlands, truly sheltered from this struggle by virtue of our neutrality and general lack of monied men on either side? No. In fact, our historical alignment with the manufacturing Interests, despite our supposed connections with the largely mythical and legendary Old West, can be clearly shown. Note that Amtrack runs through Lbcoln only in an East-West direction, not allowing direct linking to the South. Note our ncnslave alignment during the Civil War In the meantime, the vicious struggle takes its toll among the workers. This is most obvious in the oil crisis, a clever gambit of the Southern capitalist pigs. The struggle is also the primary cause of the current depression; while the big capitalists of both sides hide safely behind high profit margins, the small producer falls victim to capitalist concentration (so ably predicted by Marx) and the working class, hardest hit by the dual spiral of inflation and unemployment, starves. We have an analogous process going on in the Nebraska Union, in which the Union masses find themselves pitted against the Union bureaucrats, petty tools of the capitalist class. They have stolen tables from the Union lounge and now threaten the TV set. They have steadfastly refused to legitimize, let alone support, the playing of spoons. We, the vanguard of the Union oppressed, recognize that the only true course is that of active resistance. , I UIOI1I VttU US leilUllMS, 101 IIM3IM pivikMM "v exist. Our knives will stick deep in the capitalist pigs hearts; we will draw blood, and slice bacon. And we will emerge triumphant, though somewhat dirty. "La Lutt, Continue!" Spoons League of America (SLA) Gobbledygook outpourings Dear editor, As a "down-trodden" member of the working class it will be necessary for me to insist on hazard duty pay if j have to attempt to type another letter like the one above! My mind is now reeling with the gobbledygook outpourings of the minds of ?????? Your devoted editorial asslsM Editor's note: Don't you worry your pretty "red" head, kkldo. The repercussions of this are being felt today most "'fld tflQ SCQDOS recently in trie great 5upr Bowl controversy. Bear Bryant staunch representative of the interests of the South has kept us out of the big bowl games in a personal vendetta against our continuing affirmation of the capitalist status The victims of all this are clearly the proletariat Under the control of either elite the workers' inSts would be squashed under the heel of totalitarian reoreTS Witness the coalition of both elites against the New Left and their dual guilt in embroiling us in the struMes of tha capitalists against the finally victorious people of V etaam Dear editor, v I see the UNL football coaches are to receive 1 healthy raise over the 5 per cent plus $468 due each NU employe. This is fine, but I wonder If the behind-the-scenes people also get merit raises. I am speaking of the office workers, student managers, trainers, equipment room workers, grounds crew and per haps many more who do not come to mind right now. There are the people that do great job and make our great coaches look great. , . ' Wondering
