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fridsy, October 19, 1979
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Peace Prize recognizes threat of poverty, hunger
The awarding of the Nobel Peace
Prize Wednesday to Mother Teresa,
the "Angel of Calcutta," seems par
ticularly appropriate.
The aged and frail Roman Catho
lic nun has spent 33 years, nearly
half of her lifetime, in the slums of
Calcutta working with homeless
beggars, abandoned children, starving
women and pitiful lepers.
Her dedication can be sensed by
reading her comments reported by
UPI: Of the destitute, Mother Teresa
said, "We want them to know there
are people who really love them . . .
at least for a few hours." And of her
Prize and the money that accom
panies it she added, Tm going to
build more homes for lepers."
The Nobel citation noted that, "a
feature of her work has been respect
for the individual human being and
for his or her dignity and innate
value. The loneliest, the most
wretched and the dying have at her
hand received compassion without
condescension based on reverence
for man." ,
This is particularly significant. The
most recent winners of the Prize
including such as Henry Kissinger,
President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and
Israeli Premier Menachem Begin were
honored for their efforts to promote
peace after peace had been broken.
Kissinger's, Sadat's and Begin's
efforts ' for the Mideast are truly
notable and praiseworthy, but the
promotion of peace at the most in
dividual and human level is what true
brotherly love is all about-and
where world peace begins.
'i believe that by giving me the
prize, they have recognized the pre
sence of the poor in the world and
that they are our brothers and
sisters," Mother Teresa said .
Just as important, the committee
in its tribute to Mother Teresa
remembered what is so often forgot
ten: "Poverty and hunger and dis
tress also constitute a threat to
peace."
Pope goes home;
lifestyles remain
; ' ' '' i
Boston -Religion is once again off the front page and
morality off the evening news. The people who followed
the pope's trip as if he were a candidate and the people
who tracked him as if he were a celebrity will soon be
after other stars. Those who care are left to sort out the
dashed and renewed hopes.
But for a week we witnessed the impressive behavior of
a religious incumbent in an age of political transients. For
a few days we heard the sound of authority in an age of
relativity.
People who long for such certainty greeted the embodi
ment of it, wrapped in splendor and human warmth, with
admiration-even envy. John Paul II spoke of eternal
truths when most of us are playing catch-up to change. He
represented unity when we were so aware of disparities.
Americans responded to the pope more than to his pro-,
grams, and displayed a kind of nostalgia for a world that
seems more stable.
But in the end, nostalgia doesn't change the way peo
ple live. . .
THE PART of John Paul's message at greatest odds
with the daily life of the Catholic laity was his unwaver
ing opposition to birth control. On this issue, his words
were as clear and conservative as Jhey are likely to be
ignored. As one woman put it: "The pope is in Rome and
I am on the pill."
But the words of the pope on birth control were, in a
way, central to this nostalgic vision. He spoke of a world -in
which pleasure has a biological purpose and sex is part
of nature. There is an intellectual purity and wholeness
about this ideal which appeals strongly to people like us
who have such mixed feelings right now about the ways in
which we have "controlled nature."
I suspect that the real revolutionaries of the past
hundred years have not been politicians, but technocrats
and medical scientists. In this century, medicine has learn
ed to do something it rarely did before: save lives.
Doctors are the ones who have "interfered with the
natural order" in the deepest way: by preventing so many
deaths. Today, in the western world at least, far fewer
women die in childbirth as did the pope's own mother.
Fewer children die of infectious diseases.
BECAUSE OF MEDICINE, the world eventually will
be faced with overpopulation or with birth control. It is
not a question of wanting to provide each child with a,
color television set. It is a question of protecting the exist
ing life and exhaustible resources.
We have already breached the natural order. The
question is how we respond.
Continued on page 5
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X-rated films sexist
We are writing about the editorial of Friday, Oct. 12
which focused on whether or not the Daily Nebraskan
should advertise pornographic movies.
We consider this a serious issue. It is obvious that our
"free society" is sexist, racist and built along class lines,
and it is our responsibility to try to counteract these
influences. Theaters that advertise in the Daily Nebraskan
do so for good reason-to attract those of the 22,000
students who are unaware of the oppression in our
society. These pornographic films are blatantly sexist and
depict women as nothing more than sexual objects
existing to fulfill the fantasies of men. Even if such
students exist who enjoy seeing women portrayed in this
degrading manner-that is not a reason for a student
newspaper to promote sexism. The Daily Nebraskan must
decide if it wishes to advertise such sexism t.The paper
should not advertise anything simply because of money
and profit.
The editorial on Friday, Oct. 12, illustrated little more
than how lightly the Daily Nebraskan takes criticism from
students on charges of sexism. It remained unclear
whether the Daily Nebraskan has given any thought at all
as to the question of pornography and how it affects
women. To say that the editor is a woman does not
exempt the Daily Nebraskan from blame. It is the respon
sibility of both men and women to challenge the way
women are exploited sexually in our society.
There are many more mature men and women on
campus than the Daily Nebraskan seems to believe who
are concerned that the newspaper reevaluate its "policy"
on sexism in advertising and elsewhere. We hope that in
the future the Daily Nebraskan will be a less flippant and
more serious about the oppressed position of women in
our society.
Ellanora Ward
Teresa Holder
Jean Potmesil
Cynthia Trainor
Nasser Arshadi
Moira Ferguson
Melanie Hatfield
Theresa Coughlin
Roxanne Mahloch
Mary Emanuel
Linda Pratt
Members and Supporters of
The Progressive Student Union
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ASUN concerns
Since my last communique there have been two Board
Of Regents meetings upon which I would like to
comment.
The September meeting of the board was of great
significance to students. As Fm sure you've read in the
press the board elected to raise tuition 10 percent. To be
perfectly honest there's very little that we can do about
the 1980-81 increase at this point, but our focus must be
on re-oricnting regental and administrative thought so
students in the future can obtain a decent quality
education at a reasonable price.
The OctoberWeting of the board had nothing on the
afln . direct,y Pertaining to student life at UN-L;
although, I'm sure that a great many of you have an
interest in the abortion issue at the Medical Center.
Frankly, I don't feel that this is an issue that I am either
in a position to, or qualified to take a stance on. -
In addition to the abortion issue the resents also
brought up the issue of student tickets and the abuses
linked with these. I have been appointed to a committee
with Regent Prokop, Athletic Director Devaney, and
ticket manager Helen Ruth Wagner.
Continued on Page 5