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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1996)
- - Oh n ion ‘ ' 'i** Monday, April 1, 1996 Page 4 - . . I . • I. , , i Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board - University of Nebraska-Lincoln J. Christopher Hain.Editor, 472-1766 Doug Kouma.. Managing Editor Doug Peters. Opinion Page Editor Sarah Scalet.Associate News Editor Matt Waite.Associate News Editor Michelle Garner.1.Wire Editor Jennifer Mapes.. Columnist from The Daily Athenaeum, West Virginia University ' JV O .I Only nuclear warfare will prevent Bill Clinton and Bob Dole from becoming the two main contestants in November’s presiden tial elections. It seems that the prospect of a lame battle between these two “centrist” and “mainstream” candidates has sent out ripples of discontent right across the entire political spectrum. The vacuous battle for the populist center ground has inflamed the passions of three rather diverse public figures. Each feels so impassioned over this matter that they all may launch their very own presidential candidacies. From the far left, the champion of consumer issues, Ralph Nader, ran unopposed as the Green Party candidate in last Tuesday’s Cali fornia primary. From the far right, Pat Buchanan has not ruled out running as an independent against Bob Dole if the Republican Party turns its back to his legions of supporters and nominates a moderate “Rockefeller Republican” as vice president. From the center of dis content, that both Clinton and Dole claim to represent, comes Ross Perot — a man who chides both candidates as purveyors of empty promises and the lapdogs of corporate interests. All three hopefuls arc more than aware of the damage they arc capable of causing if they decide to stand: Ralph Nader could con ceivably cost Bill Clinton the all-important state of California; a nonaligncd run by Pat Buchanan for the White House would result in the Republican party losing tens of thousands of dichards; and there is a strong possibility that Ross Perot, or a suitor within his ' Reform Party, may once again throw the traditional two-party sys tem into complete disarray. What each of these three potential nominees represent is the gen eral discontent that many Americans feel about the entire political process. Ordinary citizens believe that their needs and opinions no longer matter — “government for the people, by the people” has become a misnomer — and in its place is a prevalent feeling of general disenfranchisement coupled with apathetic isolationism. What Bob Dole should have learned along the road to the Re publican nomination is that there arc a lot of people out there who genuinely feel aggrieved with the role that their government and representatives now play. To dismiss those three skeptics as mere espousers of populist rhetoric could cost them dearly. For example, Newt Gingrich naively downplayed the influence that Pat Buchanan wields within the GOP by stating that he would not play a conse quential role at the Republican convention in August. Such unschooled downplaying is the stuff that makes or breaks presidents. Perhaps it’stime for both Clinton and Dole to listen to why Nader, Buchanan and Perot feel so strongly about this issue. They are merely reflections of a wider picture. The general public docs indeed have many deep concerns that arc not being answered in Washington. Unless our political leadership can begin to approach these is sues emphatically, then third, fourth and even fifth presidential can didates might easily create independent political organizations that would soak up the waters of discontent that flow between the Demo crat and Republican parties. The public needs to be heard. Let’s hope Clinton and Dole can learn something from them and the three potential candidates. If they don’t, then the reason one of them will lose November’s elec tion may be the direct result of ignorance and arrogance. Editorial policy Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Spring 1996 Daily Ne braskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the university, its employees, the stu dents or the NU Board of Regents. Editorial columns represent the opin ion of the author. The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish the UNL Publications Board to super vise the daily production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its students. Letter policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others. Letters will be selected for publication on the basis of clarity, originality, timeliness and space available. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject all material submitted. Readers also are welcome to submit mate rial as guest opinions. The editor decides whether material should ran as a guest opinion. Letters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be re turned. Anonymous submissions will not be pub lished. Letters should include the author’s name, year in school, major and group affiliation, if any. Re quests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. A SORE S\6Kl Of 5PRINI6 Career choice Money defines value of person, profession Chances arc, when you were first asked the question “What do you want to do when you grow up,” money was the least of your concerns. Soon, quite a few university students will be graduating and entering the work force, or at least somehow altering their present status in the work force. A discus sion of how we distribute the wealth seems appropriate. Work is its own reward, espe cially if you arc fortunate enough to find a vocation you both enjoy doing and can make a living at. A lot of us run into trouble with the latter part of this equation. Take teachers for instance. My mother was an elementary school teacher, and even though she never got rich in terms of dollars, she loved her work and passed that attitude along to her students, myself included. But the fact remains that the majority of public school teachers in this country are not highly paid, despite the merits of the discipline and the fact that we entrust them with our children’s lives on a daily basis. Sometimes it’s a question of the wrong person getting paid the right sum. By this 1 mean the $50,<)00-a year department head, who del egates all the work and responsibil ity to the subordinate making $18,000 a year. Just imagine what could be accomplished if we cut the $50,000-a-year bureaucrat out of the picture. We use money in this society to define the value of people and their professions. In so doing, we treat ' valuable professionals such as teachers with disrespect, and then wonder why the nation has a shortage of them, along with Fred Poyner l‘We use money in this society to define the value of people and their profession. In so doing, we treat valuable professionals such as teachers with disrespect, and then wonder why the nation has a shortage of them ... ” mechanical engineers, social workers and sanitation workers. Paying people what they arc worth is good business practice, plain and simple. Following this thought, employers need to recog nize that low salaries cannot always be disregarded in light of an employee’s desire to work at a particular job. Persistence of this disregarding attitude promotes division within the organization, and hard feelings that occasionally lead to Disgruntled Employee Syndrome, a.k.a. The Maniac with the 12 Gauge Autoloader. It seems we cither put too little emphasis on money matters, or far too much with respect to certain professions. Yes, our nation is one of extremes. When lawyers market their abilities to defend someone’s rights to the highest bidder, 1 wonder what made such people want to be representatives of the law in the first place. Was it the money? Is that why we have such a glut of them? When doctors charge fees that patients cannot be expected to pay, where does the Hippocratic oath show in their actions? Somewhere on the insurance company’s state ment, perhaps? And when politicians vote themselves a pay raise, demonstrat ing that they can’t put the nation’s priorities ahead of their own, then hasn’t the time come to question where all of the money is going? Perhaps individuals in high paying professions lose sight of the original reasons they entered their professions in the process of making so much money. This blindness caused by greed extends into other aspects of their lives, including the value they attribute to other profes sions and individuals who deserve better recognition. Maybe the lawyer down the block needs to have his trash uncollected for a week before he or she bothers to say “Thank You,” next time the garbage collector comes by. It’s called respect, and money has a way of subtly affecting how we merit it out to our co workers and our employers, not to mention ourselves. Is the cash always greener on the other side of the pasture? Poyner is a graduate student in museum studies and a Daily Nebraskan columnist. Send your brief letters to: lO thO Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., - Lincoln, Neb. 68588, or Fax to (402) 472-1761, or email <letters @ unlinfo.unl.edu.> L—- - Letters must be signed and Nebraskan isar™numbe,
