Wednesday, April 27, 1933
Daily Nebraskan
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Facts Ml Mcleaii ofctoinic
This country has demonstrated lately that it has not yet
lapsed into a political coma. No matter which side is
right, no one can deny the startling strength with which
the pro- and anti-nuclear freeze movements have raised
their voices around the country.
No other issue of recent years, not ERA, abortion or
capital punishment, has turned so many heads. The reason
for that is easy to sec - life itself is a component of the
bargains being made.
So it seems appropriate here, in my last editorial of the
semester, to talk a bit about what fears I have about this
most important issue.
My first fear is that minds are succumbing too easily to
the wrong forces. The gargoyles of propaganda are waiting
out there to grab at our heels. The Right says the Ruskies
want to bomb us tomorrow. The Left says the arms race
is controlled by industrial giants who play with the future
of the world to make a few million bucks.
The truth lies somewhere between these two perspect
ives, and I worry that we are not going to enough trouble
to find it.
We can find it by not accepting what anyone says at
face value. It scares me when peopie get all dewy-eyed at
Reagan's dreams of defense laser weapons systems as the
"means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and
obsolete."
It also worries me when people are swept up in the
enthusiasm of groups like West Germany's Green Party
and their demonstrations and exultations about yanking
West Germany out of NATO or doing something equally
outlandish.
Reagan's idea would bring the unbelievable tension of
a high-tech arms race. The Green Party's would bring
destructive fragmentation.
I worry that people jump too quickly to one side of the
question and don't try to keep a firm grasp on their logic
and perception. Maintaining that grip is difficult, but
it is a must in the midst of the circus of opinions leaping
about us.
The best way to maintain that grip is to read and read
and read. Find out what's fact and what's fallacy. Find
out who's speaking intelligently and who's letting their
paranoia drive them to exaggeration.
A good place to start that reading expedition is a book
let entitled "World Military and Social Expenditures"
published by Ruth Leger Sivard.
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i
Letters
Assaults need attention
Steve Carter, (Daily Nebraskan, April 18), portrays
himself as 'a defender of Love Library, which he seems
to believe is under siege. He speaks of "attacks on the
libraries" and "attacking the university, or specifically
the libraries."
This is somewhat difficult to understand, given the
reality that no one is "attacking" the libraries, the uni
versity, or even Carter. The issue is, rather, "offenses,"
"assaults," "incidents," and "acts of violence," as Carter
variously calls them, by men against women.
Carter, in an apparent attempt to minimize women's
perceptions of the situation, says that "while it is true
sexual assaults have occurred on campus, the assaults
have been relatively few in the libraries as compared to
other campus locations."- On what statistics does he base
this statement? Until recently, no list of assaults either at
Love Library or at other campus locations has existed.
I know this because I spent many hours trying in vain
to compile such a list, using the information Bob Fey
at Campus Police gave me and checking it against the
"Police Reports" column in the Daily Nebraskan. The
list I sought was of those offenses actually reported -a
small percentage of those committed.
The campus police have now released a report of
criminal activity in and around Love Library which
shows 10 criminal acts against women in the past 15
months. These include indecent exposures, men mastur
bating in front of women, "grabbing" women, a peeping
torn in a women's bathroom, and a crime called
"robbery" in which a woman was bound, gagged, dragged
into a stairwell in Love North Basement, and disrobed.
If the campus police has now compiled the complete
list of assaults against women at all sites on campus that I
requested four weeks ago, I hope they will release it
immediately. And if, as Carter says, the 10 assaults in 15
months in and around Love are truly a smaller number
than at other campus locations, I am concerned about
what this says about the atmosphere in which women
must study, teach and work.
Continued on Page 5
hf rlnVf nf the economics division of the
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U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament agency. She lett hat
job when funds for the annual publication of this booklet
were cut from the budget.
Sivard's booklet doesn't go out of its way tosway your
opinion in any particular direction. It doesn't have to,
because it is based on facts, on research that is explained
in the text, graphs and tables of the booklet.
Probably the most interesting aspect of the booklet is
its demonstration of just how pervasive the arms race is.
Far from being confined to the United States and the
Soviet Union, or even to developed countries, the arms
race is worldwide in scope, and its implications infiltrate
all levels of society.
Twenty-five million people worldwide serve in the
armed forces, and there are three times that number in
reserves, paramilitary forces and in industries that produce
weapons and other military goods.
Of these 25 million soldiers, 1 5 million are in armies of
nations of the Third World, and the size of armies in the
underdeveloped nations is increasing.
El Salvador's huge military expenditures relative to its
size mean that for every person in El Salvador, $10
was used for military expenses last year. $150 billion was
spent on arms purchases worldwide.
These facts are all the more staggering when one consid
ers what else this money could be spent on. According to
Sivard, there are one billion people in the world who live
in poverty, and 900 million adults who are illiterate.
The arms race helps to perpetuate the poverty of many
of the countries it is supposedly meant to defend.
And while our negotiators sit in Geneva and debate
about "our" arsenal and "their" arsenal, 54 nations now
have the capability to manufacture nuclear weapons.
So, you can see that the arms race is indeed the most
pressing issue in the world today. There simply is nothing
of greater importance. We have no business ignoring it.
Another of my fears is that people lay the blame for the
arms race on the Soviets. This is an easy way of dealing
with a mysterious country, but it serves only to per
petuate the Cold War mentality that has gotten us where
we are today.
I am afraid that people, especially the people who
represent our country in discussions with the Soviet
Union, misunderstand the situation and that they do not
see how American inconsistencies and mistakes have
contributed to the danger.
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Time are other people who are afraid of this too.
Read any of George F. Kennan's books. They will tell
you that "there is no issue at stake in our political relat
ions with the Soviet Union . . , which would conceivably
be worth a nuclear war."
I hope there are enough people who believe this to
be so.
David Thompson
Editor's Note: Sivard's booklet can be ordered by sending
S4 to World Priorities, Inc., Box 1003, Leesburg, Va.,
22075
ware off He's Stoddley Slyedips
My good friend Stockley Bluechip asked me the other
day who I would be if I could choose to be anyone in
history. I initially thought of the usual ones like Albert
Schweitzer, but he wouldn't do for a publicity hound
like myself; Mohandas Gandhi, but my level of patience
is not up to his; and Jesus Christ, but he's been so mis
interpreted and abused through modern history that I
felt I'd probably be happier being somebody else. Then I
looked at Stockley, and I realized that I wanted to be
him.
Dave Milo
Mumgaard
"Stockley, if I could choose anyone, I would choose
to be you," I said. Stockley just grinned that bashful
grin of his, and kicked at the ground with his Topsiders
and picked at the narrow lapel of his navy blue blazer.
"Yeah, I'd want to be you for a number of very good
reasons," I said.
"Gee, that's nice of you to say, Dave," said Stockley.
"But what about all those great men of history like John
D. Rockefeller and Nelson Bunker Hunt? I mean, those
guys had their acts together, man."
"Well, yes, they'd be good choices, but I want to be
you, Stockley, because when it comes to ethical behavior
and belief, you're a total vacuum. I really respect that."
He nodded in agreement and grinned again. "Well,
it sure makes life easier, that's for sure."
I reached out and shook his hand.
"Stockley, you're really cool. You're going to graduate
from college next week, go into business, and you're not
going to ask yourself: What is noble? What is generous?
What is good? What are the teachings of the Gospel?
But you'll ask yourself: What is the most efficient way
to do this in terms of production, distribution and con
sumption of property and wealth!"
He laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Isn't it great?"
"Not only that," I continued, the tone of respect in
my voice rising. "But for profit's sake you'll build cluster
bombs, nuclear power plants, and, if there's a market,
fruit-flavored deodorants. You also have the refined
sense that if people disagree with society always operating
by the profit motive, they're probably heathens, or worse:
un-American."
"Definitely," he said firmly. "I know what's important
in my life."
"I also have to admire you for something else, Stock
ley. You seem to be able to be a fundamental Christian
who believes in Christ's 'love ethic,' at the same time you
can advocate buildups in our nation's military, cut-backs
in welfare programs meant to alleviate rrjisery and roll
backs of laws intended to create more equality and
opportunity."
"Nice trick, eh?" said Stockley.
I noticed his little blonde girlfriend bouncing toward
us.
"Boy, you sure have a nice looking girlfriend, Stock
ley." "Not only that, but she's from the best house on
campus," he said proudly.
Well, I thought I'd better be going. After all, I graduate
next week too, and I have to sort through all my job
offers from Dow Chemical, IBP and General Dynamics.
It's a tough decision, but Stockley's inspiration will make
it easier.
"So long, Stockley. I really appreciate you're making it
clear to me that ethics, morality and principles are
nothing but hairy warts on the pristine face of humanity."
Dermatology," he said. "There's money in it."
Letter I
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