p2g3 4 Da,y Ncbraskan frl6 October 19, 134
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tirin? tho virp-nrslrfent.lal dphatp. Genn'e Bush
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m spoKe &DOUI Knowing, iuny me American aream.
"I started a small business ..." he said.
That's a pretty sad commentary on the spirit of this
nation when a high office holder speaks of the American
dream on those terms. What's worse i3 that Bush doesn't
stand alone.
Recent polls of high school and college Americans
have shown that Bush's view of the American dream is a
common one among the nation's youth. It seems we are
not concerned with what we can do tor our country or
our world. Rather, we concern ourselves mainly with
what kind of job we can get and what kind of financial
future we can secure for ourselves.
Those ere not evil things in themselves, and there are
probably good reasons behind such thinking hard
economic times, increased competition for jobs, among
others. But when personal money matters carry more
weight than all other considerations, then good becomes
a liability. The pecuniary tunnel vision of our generation
raises some serious questions about our national direc
tion. We are on the brink of a self-serving age which could
make the Me Generation look like an altruists convention.
When our president asks, "are you better off today
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than you were four years ago?" most of us can honestly
answer yes.
Four years ago a lot of us were on an allowance, we
didn't own cars, we didnt have our own living quarters,
we couldn't drink in a bar. Sure, we're better off. You
mi?,ht say we're living the American dream.
Many of us may continue to live George Bush's version
of that dream when we finish college. Well be making
money, driving new cars, buying new televisions and,
well, making money.
By then, we may not even be aware that people lie in
streets starving, that the downtrodden are becoming
the undertrodden. If we can ignore it here, in a university,
how much easier it will be to ignore it in the plush
environs of our suburban homes and Oldsmobile 88s?
We will be safe in our dream from the nightmares some
of our nation's policies are causing those less fortunate
than us.
In the dawn of a new generation nearly two decades
ago, Bob Dylan sang "The times they are a-changin'." In
this, the dawn of another new generation, we can sing
the same line, followed by a new verse, The first shall be
first, and the last shall be last."
If that's all this brave new wor ld has come to, we ought
to be ashamed. And if that's all the American dream has
come to, weVe already been put to sleep.
Gbrfstopbsr Buxbach
Daily Ne&rasfcui Stt'or Editor
Social Security issue
h, how quickly we age. In political
terms, the Yuppies of springtime
have become the Social Security
recipients of fall. With the leaves falling,
both Walter F. Mondale and Ronald Rea
gan have forgotten the quiche-eaters of
America with their BMWs, hot tubs and
personal computers, and turned their
attention to those prosaic voters with an
obsessive interest in retirement benefits.
Neither candidate can promise them
enough.
Suddenly, the issue of Social Security is
dominating the presidential campaign.
Should Mondale even hint that Reagan is
even thinking of cutting the program,
presidential spokesman Larry Speakes
leaps to his lectern and promises nay
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vows there will be no such thing.
Ronald Reagan, for whom Social Security
long exemplified a government descend
ing into the muck of socialism, has been
born again as a New Deal Democrat.
The non-debate on Social Security
teaches us some things about this coun
try. Like Dwight Eisenhower before him,
Reagan has learned that the New Deal is
not to be trifled with. The president is a
slow learner, but it's finally dawned on
him that what makes the New Deal pro
grams so everlastingly popular is that
they were, by and large, directed toward
the vast middle class. You cannot, on pain
of political death, mess with those benefits.
The other lesson, though, is that you
can mess with the benefit programs of
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the Great Society. Those were by and
large directed at the poor. These pro
grams can be reduced, abolished, deni
grated and mocked. Indeed, Reagan has
managed to cut back on food stamps,
welfare, legal services and a host of other
programs. All it has earned him is the
undying enmity of blacks and other mino
rities and a lead in the polls that would
be the envy of any politician.
To be sure, there are some differences
between the New Deal programs, particu
larly Social Security, and most Great
Society programs. Social Security is con
sidered an insurance program. You pay
into it and you get something out. It is
widely viewed as a contractual arrange
ment certainly moral, probably legal.
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Cohen
9
Great Society programs, on the other
hand, smack of government largesse, wel
fare. They might be deserved, but they're
certainly not earned.
Nevertheless, there are other programs
directed toward the middle class that are
in no way insurance programs. Take
government student loans. No one directly
contributes to this program. Yet, of all the
programs Reagan has trifled with, this
one may have cost him the most politi
cally. That's because the middle class in
this country is like the proverbial 8-foot-tall
gorilla. Dont take away its toys.
Now Mondale is remembering the les
son all Democrats learn virtually at birth.
For a while too long, his critics say
he talked of fairness, listing theGreat Society
programs Reagan cut. The result was a
resounding yawn heard the width and
breadth of the nation. As a sleep-inducer,
the fairness issue was second only to the
deficit. Put the two together and they
comprised a soporific overdose of Rip
Van Winkle proportions.
But once Mondale brought up Social
Security the entire nation raised itself
from its stupor. This was not fairness, this
was not the deficit, this was something
that really mattered the continued
pampering of the middle class. And Mon
dale was clever enough not to limit his
dire warnings to those already retired or
nearly so. He warned about Reagan's
alleged long-term intentions and the
President was quick to extend assur
ances to virtually, as they say in pro-life
circles, the unborn. That's not surprising.
The voting habits of the middle-aged and
middle-classed are not hypothetical.
People aged 55 to 74 are nearly twice as
likely to vote as those aged 18-29. Buzz
off, Yuppies.
The upshot is that between Social Se
curity ($260 billion), which is inviolable,
and the defense budget ($270 billion),
which is nearly so, about half the pro
posed total federal budget for 1985
($925.4 billion) is beyond debate. Neither
candidate will seriously discuss cutting
either one nor what that mean3 to the
poor and the disadvantaged, not to men
tion the young. Spring has turned to fall
and the candidates have turned to Social
Security. It is what it is and has always
. been an evergreen.
WasSsBRsHosi Pest Vi:-ir Group
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USA
Letters
Student says officials
folkm) misleading policy
An important question that often is
ignored by American officials when they
react to any military operation against
U.S. or Israeli targets is, "Why do such
attacks take place?" Instead of focusing
on the reasons that lead to these att acks
and trying or helping to find solutions,
those officials follow a policy of mislaad
ing the public by directing the attention
to issues such as Soviet involvement or
inadequate security precautions.
A good example is the "Palestinian Why."
The Palestinians often have been accused
by U.S. officials of being terrorists. Strong
words are used to condemn them and to
distort their image as a group of killers
paying no attention to human values and
respecting r.p international laws. A right
approach to this case would be to exam
ine it as a whole from the beginning.
After they had been forced to leave
their homeland in 1948 and 1057 by
Israelthe Palestinian people turned to
the United Nations hoping that it would
do something for their just cause. Unfor
tunately, this organization completely has
.failed to deal politically with any interna
tional problem including the Palestine
issue. Its only contribution, besides issue
ing dead resolutions, has been to supply
refugees with some flour and blankets.
Feeling desperate and helpless, the
Palestinians started a guerrilla war
against the Israelis. I believe that this is
the normal course to be taken by any
nation .that loses its homeland, being
. deprived cf its legitimate rights and being
discriminated against Why should we
blame the Palestinian people for fighting
the invaders of their land? Why should we
blame the blacks for killing the racist
whites in South Africa? In fact, those
people are performing heroic deeds that
deserve appreciation and honor.
Again, when addressing the human
rights, those officials totally ignore Pales
tinian rights and try to convince the pub
lic that human rights are violated only in
Russia and the Eastern Block. Does the
United States want the Palestinian peo
ple to give up m& to keep living in refugee
camps after they had tried all peaceful
means? Before we label the Palestinians
as terrorists," we should remember that
they are refugees driven from their home
land, and before v. e ask them to recognize
the aggressor, the capturer of their land,
we should turn our attention to them and
grant them full recognition as a nation.
Abdullah Hamad
graduate student
linguistics
Health Center thanks
The UNL Health Center would like to
take this opportunity to thank Mike
Sophir (Sigma Alpha Epsilon) and Stacy
c - -. rfru ! . .r i v. i i , J. t c
in planning Do It Sober II.
The result of their effort was evident as
1 200 students filled the Centennial Room
at the Nebraska Union to enjoy a non
alcoholic bar and listen to Dr. Tom
Goodale. We at the Health Center ap
preciate the efforts cf these two students
in making Do It Sober II a success and the
contribution it mada to Wellness Week:
84.
Steve Bloni;
Health Center Administrator;
T-f rvwford
Health Educator,