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University Daily Kansan, June 15, 1983
Opinion
Proud flags collect dust
Yesterday, June 14, was Flag Day, but it certainly wasn't evident by an eye-popping display of American flags in the neighborhood. Sadly, the flags we saw yesterday could be counted on one hand. This trend of un-patriotism is disturbing and more than a little bit scary.
It is hard to point out the beginning of this trend. One could trace it back to the unpopular wars in Korea and Vietnam, but it's not easy to pin it down to a specific year. Patriotism started waning about the time fenders-kirts and bobby socks went out of style.
There have been periodic surges in patriotism. When the United States Olympic Hockey team beat the Russians out of the championship in the 1980 Olympics, a cheer resonated through the American consciousness. American people huddled around their Japanese televisions and chugged German beer, cheering for "our boys."
When the Space Shuttle returned after its first, successful voyage, Americans dug into their closets for their flags and hung them proudly.
Yet, even then, Americans seemed to be getting bored with the wonders of space travel. Once you've had the moon on live TV, a few, measly orbits add up to a big zero. The same applies to Pioneer 10, the first man-made object to leave the solar system. Nobody put their flags out last Monday for this conquest of space by man.
Who can forget the triumphant return of the hostages from Iran? The yellow ribbons were out in abundance that year, a sign of national unity. We had really socked it to them, according to any good ol' boy in a Texas honky tonk.
How many schools require a civics course now? How many Americans put their hand over their heart when they sing the National Anthem? How many American children grow up thinking that the last two words in the Anthem are "Play Ball"? Do those children still say the "Pledge of Allegiance" before school begins?
In less than a month, Independence Day will be here. If you don't have a flag, they are easy to acquire. If you already have one, please display it proudly.
Women becoming potent voting bloc
By JUDITH NIES
The New York Times
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Something interesting is happening to the gender gap. Today, for the first time, national security is becoming a woman's issue and adding significantly to the difference between men's and women's voting preferences.
The history of the gender gap begins in 1980 — according to political analysts, the first election in which women voted in appreciable numbers differently from men.
One political analyst pointed out that in 1980 men voted for President Reagan by a margin of 56 to 38 percent while women voted for him by a margin of 46 to 45 percent.
"Until 1980, there had never been more than six percentage points between men and women in national elections and that was only once, during the Eisenhower election."
His explanation was that the gender gap first appeared during Jimmy Carter's Presidential
campaign with its emphasis on moral issues and grew wider in response to Ronald Reagan's macho style and cowboy politics.
The gender gap continued to grow in 1982. Women voted for Democratic candidates by a 15% to 40 margin and tipped the balance in two notable gubernatorial races (Texas and New York). Even more interesting was women's role in state elections, where a freeze initiative was on the ballot, women voted for it by a 2 to 1 margin, and it passed in every state except Arizona.
What accounts for the gender gap? Explaining it has become a pollster's nightmare, and no explanation seems to quite fit the facts. First, it does not seem to really be about gender. That is, when traditional "women's issues" like the Equal Rights Amendment, child care and pay equity are tested in national polls, what are the outcomes between men and women. (Some pollsters feel that men lie when they tell researchers that they really support the ERA.)
Second, although bodies like the National
Organization for Women and other women's rights groups have attempted to explain the gender gap as a matter of women's natural concern for children and family, polling data shows that it is working women, not homemakers, whose political views are most different from men's. Moreover, homemakers tend to stay home on election day.
Third, the Governments's own statistics show that women make up the majority of recipients of public welfare, Social Security, subsidized housing and Medicaid. They are thus the group most affected by the Reagan Administration's moves to reduce the number of social programs." Yet economic issues rank behind foreign policy as an area of concern to women.
I asked one woman who used to be active in the E.R.A. ratification drive what had caused her to shift her focus to questions of national security. She answered, "I a lot think of women felt that we have no real weapons we like good Germans, enjoy an history safety through ignorance."
Join the crusade against 'drunken grilling'
By DICK WEST
United Press International
Here truly is a hazardous activity that cries out for accident prevention hints. I comment the safety council both for its timeliness and for having the courage to take on one of this country's greatest public menaces.
WASHINGTON (UPI) - The National Safety Council recently unburdened itself of a list of tips on how to survive backyard barbecue; cautioning, among other things, against "drunken grilling."
"Never use an outdoor grill indoors," the council admires.
That warning is particularly applicable if the grill happens to be attached to a brick patio wall. Even if you are an experienced barbecue chef, you need professional help in moving the grill inside. I have seen entire patio walls collapse as a result of masonry weathering in detaching grills.
It is, however, the exhortation against drunken grilling where the council really shines.
Most states and municipalities have laws that cover the nasty situations that can arise from letting drunks have access to charcoal cookers and stoves. For fire, ashes, axyasizing neighborhood children, etc.
These, however, are after-the-fact pieces of legislation. To my knowledge, there has never been a concerted, preventive campaign aimed at the people from getting behind the grill in the first place.
Most cookouts begin as friendly, social affairs. But how many times has the environment become ominous because the person in charge of barbecuing shish kebabs had too many gin-and-tonics, or, more likely, gins-and-tonic, before attempting to light the charcoal.
The least that can happen is a loss of coordination. The rice is done and getting cold long before the chunks of lamb are even taken out of the marinade.
By the time the meat finally has been
skewered and is ready for the grill, all sorts of disasters can have occurred. To wit:
*The drunk behind the grill, doubling as bartender, uses lighter fluid as a mixer, leading some guests to complain that someone is spiking the punch.
- The drunk behind the grill attempts to prepare the charcoal by saturating the briquettes with tonic water instead of lighter fluid.
The drunk behind the grill falls off the carport roof upon which he has climbed to reach a mimosa limb, which he insists will impart a delicious, smoky flavor to the shish kebab. He is not afraid of being laughed at by drinking gin and lighter fluid faint dead away, prompting a neighbor to call the rescue squad.
The worst peril of all is the prospect of dining at midnight on the remains of barbecued shish kebab, or roast beef.
By that time, a person is hungry enough to eat anything, including toxic ashes. I trust the Environmental Protection Agency will join the National Safety Council in this crusade.
"Hey, you wanna buy a home computer?"
"Who?"
Wait, the last word is "computer".
The first one is "home computer".
The second one is "computer".
The third one is "computer".
""Cause everybody is buying one. Besides, you can do all kinds of things with it. It will add a whole new dimension to your otherwise mundane set, which is controlled only by a television set."
"No thanks, I'm happy with my network
SEEMA SIROHI
nonsense and don't want another machine to invade my life."
"You sound almost primitive. You should have been born 20 years ago."
"I was."
"Hey, you know what I mean. You are not facing up to the times. This is the age of video games and CS 200 and if you are involved in neither, you should move to Iceland."
"I'm going to stay where I am and fight these damn computers until the bitter end. Besides, I have a degree in journalism and I will show the world that a non-computer-science major also
"Good luck! And by the way, your newspaper industry is not untouched by computers. It is probably the fastest in computerizing the operations."
"So what? They still need reporters to get the information and make some sense out of it."
"Keep dreaming buddy. Soon you won't even see newsprint. Everything will be on a screen and all you will have to do is press a button and there it will be in glowing green letters."
I can see that you are getting some perverse pleasure out of telling me all this, but I realize that it's not a happy situation. If you are not careful, computers will overwhelm your life with their terminals. You may not even know, but you must have locked away in many computer memories."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what I just said. Computers are the
Big Brother that George Orwell warned us about a few decades ago."
"I don't get it."
"You are so caught up in the technological wonders of machines that you don't realize their intrusive power which can play havoc in the hands of something like the FBL. And Southwestern Bell is not far behind. It has a complete record of all the calls it have made."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Just to give you an example-journalists don't like the idea, especially the investigative variety. They can no longer call their secret informants and get away with it. If the court decides to find out, it can very easily through Southwestern Bell computers. And the IRS knows about all your money transactions. In Michigan, the state officials checked their computers to see who was on food stamps and welfare so the others won't get free cheese."
"Hey! that sounds ominous."
"It is, so stop glloating in the glory of computers, because they can get the better of you. Even the good old library has been invaded. More and more information is being stored on microfilms. So there won't even be microfilm," just as just as computer into "Ecclopedia Britannica" and read it straight from a central computer somewhere in Chicago."
"You mean no more gilt-edged volumes to browse over?"
"Probably not if the information explosion goes on at this rate. Do you realize how easy it will be to change history or distort it? I know it is being done now, considering what Japan did with its history books recently and angered Peking. The Chinese were angry at all the whitewashing of ugly historical facts. Can you imagine what will happen if all the information was stored in large computers? History will change according to party line."
"That is something to be thought about."
"I'm glad that you are beginning to see light. If hope you don't have to read your Bible on a computer. The compressed, compact Reader's Digest version, I mean."
"That sounds almost painful."
"Exactly! So beware, 'cause Big Brother is watching you. Did someone say 1984 was around the corner and I needed a home computer?"
Letters to the Editor
A final note before he goes
To the Editor:
Friday, June 17, is my last day as an electrician on campus. I'm retiring. These four years have been a blend of gadgets and people I love. I still work with fellow workers (98 percent) and the poorest, too.
Equipment confrontations score more poorly. However, ever start creating an automatic furnace on the roof of Printing Service in late December with a 15 degree wind passing through your brittles? Adjusting a condensate float-switch at Mallion Lagton (steam tunnel) is not more comfortable; it's just a different agency. Gage equipment and incinerators are a loss-up for frustration.
Discovery! Research scientists are normal folks, cheerfully patient when maintenance briefly interrupts their lab business. I'll give 75 patients a call, most of them love to talk about their projects.
Office personnel are good sports, eager to
accommodate our ladders and strung-around tools. Bless 'em.
Now, about the students: You're charty and human when encountered in lab and classroom. Out on the walks, I meet a city of strangers. Maybe it's safer to wear a mask. That's sad.
I've met a number of devout Christians on campus, and the fellowship is good. People need
To you students, and especially to the newcomers, I say, you don't have to go along with drugs, drinking and premarital sex. They are enjoyable, just like delicious poison candy. As to boy-girl relationship, remembrance is, like a birthday celebration. Don't cut the cake before the party; you'll be cheating yourself. Also keep your fingers out of the frosting.
I'll miss you all.
Ira Bond, electrician
The University Daily
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