Pago 4
Daily Ncbraskan
Friday, January 27, 1C34
Legislative record
may indicate need
for party guidance
Nebraskans have become so accustomed to their
one-house non-partisan Legislature that any attempt
to change it is looked at lightly.
Tuesday, the Constitutional Revision and Recrea
tion Committee indefinitely postponed LR228, a
proposal by Sen. Vard Johnson of . Omaha that
would have allowed for partisan legislative elec
tions. The state's lawmakers would be wise not to let
the issue die.
The Legislature's track record has not been one of
efficiency, nor has it been one of decisions made
with the best interests of the state in mind. Surely a
change whether it be to revive partisan elections,
to return to a two-house legislature, or both at
least deserves serious consideration.
Nebraska's unicameral experiment began in 1937.
Its creators had big hopes for the new system, but
perhaps its success can be measured in terms of
how many states have followed suit none. Maybe
it's time we examine the system ourselves and
decide whether it is the best one for us.
If nothing else, the state should at least consider
abandoning its non-partisan elections. The absence
of political parties at the Capitol has left a void that
is being filled by lobbyists and special interest
groups which rarely have the citizens' interests in
mind.
- Testifying before a committee last week, Johnson
and Sen. George Fenger of Bellevue both expressed
concern that these groups are playing too large a
role in state government. Johnson told the Omaha
World Herald that 1 0 years ago, lobbyists spent only
$144,000 annually to influence legislation. Last year,
he said, they spent about 1.3 million just during the
five months the senators were in session.
Abolishing Nebraska's non-partisan system also
would reduce the role that name recognition plays
in legislative elections. This is a problem everywhere
but it is acute in Nebraska.
"-Without party-support in the general election,
- those without an established name have little chance
f of being elected. Few will even take the chance of
running.
It is no secret that the Republican and Demo
cratic parties have played a substantial role in the
election oi some senators, but by allowing them to be
up-front with their support and assuring that all
nominees would have party backing, the field of
candidates would become larger.
With more to choose from, you can bet the voters
would select a stronger group of senators.
Unsigned editorials represent official policy of
the spring 1934 Daily Nebraskan. They are written
by this semester's editor in chief, Larry Sparks. .
Other stqrnemherswillvmte editorials through
out the semester. They will carry the author 's name
cftcr the final sentence.
Editorials do net necessarily reflect the views of
the university, its employees or the NU Board of
ITis Daily Nebraslcan 's pu hlishers are the regents,
who cstzblishsd ths UNL Publications board to
supcrvic3 the daily production of the newspaper.
According to policy set by ths regents, the content
of ths newspaper lies solely in the hands of its stu-
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wh
ifce racisLoni extensive, dead!
To be a racial minority i3 to experience a unique
form of discrimination. One experiences separation
from the majority culture at the very beginning. This
is not something that most other oppressed groups
face.
We cannot, for example, tell if the person next to
us is an atheist or a Jew. If she i3 white, we may not
suspect that she i3 a foreigner unless she opens her
mouth.. . ,
0 ;
? Krishna Madao
Racial minorities do not have this kind of protec
tion. They are immediately identified and then given
the treatment appropriate to their group.
If, for example, you happen to be brown-skinned,
you then fall into the category "Iranian whether
you are from India, South America or even a native
born UJS. citizen.
When placed in white society, minorities have
come to expect the type of treatment that daily
denies their human dignity. I could give hundreds of
personal experiences, but one will sufSce.
During the hostage crisis, I was walking down the
road when I saw an old, white man approaching me.
Personally, I like talking to old people because I find
them interesting and I believe that we can learn a lot
from them, -
This particular old man seemed very interesting
and his blue eyes seemed to carry a lot of feeling.
Thi3 was indeed true.
After I greeted, him in a friendly manner, he
turned his head in disgust and passed by me with
out a word.
One excuse that Is often used to "explain" such
behavior b to assert that prejudice exists all over
the world. While this is correct, it still remains true
that white racism is one of the deepest and most
extensive forms of racism that has ever existed
Hindus, for example, may dislike Moslems, and
Arab3 may dislike Turks. Thi3 type cf racism, how
ever, has a particular history and i3 localized. Thus
Hindus da not dislike Arabs, nor vice versa.
The uniqueness of white racism h that it is not
limited in this way. Everyone who is not white h
excluded, whether she is Eskimo, Hawaiian, Chi
cano, Latin American, Iranian, Arab, African, Indian,
Chinese, Japanese or whatever.
A full 75 percent of humanity is consequently
denied full human status.
White racism originated as an ideology to justify
the colonization by whites of the rest of the world
and the enslavement of many Third World peoples.
Even today, white racism serves to justify the eco
nomic system under which Europe and America
exploit the resources cf the rest of the world. This
ideology is also used to condone the laughter of
those Third World people who resist exploitation,
e.g. Vietnamese, Iranians, Cubans and Grenadans.
- Fighting r-oinst racism thus means fighting
against the political and economic system that pro
duces it. On the personal level, this struma mean3
resisting stereotypes while taking cultural difTeren
ces into account in a sympathetic manner.
Only by combining personal action with organized
action can we hope to overcome white racism this
deadly ideolcy that has plagued the world for the
last four hundred years.
Yuri trades dictator's woes for dijostick
I pulled into the little gas station just
outside Vacaville. The attendant, a
stocky, arirj man with wire-rimmed
glasses, cans up, wiping his hands on
an oily rc.
"Give Ki3 10 gallons of unleaded" I
said, "and . . . Say! Arent you Yuri
AndropoVT
Arliiur
tn: Hopp2,
"That's right," he said. "You want me
to check the oUT
"Don't bother," I said. "You're the
premier of the Soviet Union, aren't
you?"
"Not since last August," he said. ' .
"I guess you were forced out in one cf
those Machiavellian Kremlin . power
plays, eh?" . . . ' V
"No, I qaif
"Quit? I dont believe it! Why would
anyone quit a cushy job like that?
Limousines, champagne, caviar, a
dacha at Sochi or vice versa. . ." But he
just shook his head "It's lonely at the
top," he said.
Frankly, I was a wee bit irritated.
"Look here, Yuri, if I may call you Yuri,"
I said, "I never met a world leader yet
who didn't say it was lonely at the top.
But they dont just up and quit because
they feel lonely."
"You cant imagine the awesome bur
den of having to make critical: deci
sions affecting the lives of millions of
people," he said. "Want me to gst that
iindsWeld? '
. "Never mind the windshield," I said.
"Just about every one of our presidents
IVe run into since Millard Fillmore ha3
complained of the awesome burdens.
And as soon as they get the chance,
they're cut there campaigning for re
election like crazy." .
. . "Then there's the long hours nights,
weekends, never a moment to call your
own"
"Don't give me that. You guys get
. paid plenty to run the world."
"It's the time away from your family
that hurts. Believe me, the missus
really appreciates me putting in an
eight-hour day now."
"The missus? I didnt think you were
married."
"That's what she used to think I
thought. I think you dont think you're
married,' she'd say. The stuffed troika
is burned to a crisp and how come you
never take me kazakhsky dancing on
Saturday nights? "
"Such talk!" I said. "IVe never bump
ed into a dictator's wife who didnt
gripe about her husband always being
busy. You should have known you were
giving up family life when you seized
power."
JAnd aH those nagging little details:
Why cant we establish a consistent
- and viable foreign policy? How can we
dispel-economic unrest in our client
states? Who gets to stand on my left at
the May Day Parade? Nar nag, nag."
"Come on, Andropov. The mayor of
Podunk gets nagged and he doesnt
quit. Where's your stick-to-it-iveness?
What about your responsibility to your
enslaved peoples?"
"Do they even know I'm gone? Is the
country run one bit differently without
me? Gromyko's still shouting at you
Americans; the Politburo's still con
demning inefficiency, and the army's
still stuck in Afghanistan. We have a
special on Super-Glo Auto Wax today."
"No thanks. Are you saying that one
of the world's most important and
powerful nations can get along equally
well with or without a leader?"
"Now youVe got it. And the missus
say3 1 look 10 years younger. That'll be
$12.24.
"Okay. But I can tell you one thing: A
man like President Reagan will never
understand why you quit."
"That's funny. Ill never understand
why he doesn't."
1 S;4, Chrsnic!a PuKshSna Co. '
