Opinion
University Daily Kansan, April 20, 1983
Page 4
Treaty pledge violated
For years, old Uncle Sam has been telling "true" Americans that Indians — those primitive red people who hunt and fish and live in the wild — cannot really take care of themselves and aren't smart enough to know when they're better off.
Well, maybe.
After warming to his story a bit, our old Uncle will also recount how those same Indians — those people who hunt and fish and live in the wild — shouldn't ought to live in the wild after all. Open up their reservations to mining, he says, and make those people "civilized."
Well, could be.
Now, my friends, our good Uncle has learned another fact about those Indians - those people who hunt and fish and ought not to live in the wild. Seems they don't know much about hunting and fishing either.
The Mescalero Apache Tribe of New Mexico has jurisdiction, it thinks, over all hunting, fishing and wildlife on its reservation near Ruidoso, N.M. — at least that's what an 1852 treaty says. In 1977, federal officials told the tribe it could issue its own hunting and fishing regulations, and set its own seasons and bag limits.
But New Mexico game wardens arrested non-Indians who had followed the tribe's regulations while hunting and fishing on the reservation. New Mexico, and at least eight other states, are arguing before the Supreme Court this week that those regulations are OK for Indians, but not for non-Indians — Uncle Sam's "true" Americans.
And you know, that's probably true. Just what can those Indians know about hunting and fishing on their little 460,000-acre reservation, 'specially after living there only about 130 years?'
Nothing, most likely.
Letters to the Editor
Bahais not being persecuted interfering in Iranian politics
To the editor:
"Tragedy haunts Iranian family's faith" is the title of an article by Anne Fitzgerald in the University Daily Kansan April 6. The article contained an avalanche of false allegations made against the Islamic People's Republic of Iran. Allegations accused the Islamic Republic of Iran of political persecution against what they called Bahai religion or "faith."
In fact this is not the case. Bahaism is not a religion. It was a by-product of World War I. In the midst of that war, the British Empire made its utmost efforts to defeat the Ottoman Empire's forces in order to take over the Islamic countries, including Palestine.
To achieve this goal, certain elements of the inhabitants of those lands were widely used as collaborators by the British government in covert activities against the Ottoman Empire.
Among those mercenaries was the founder of the Bahais, who had a reputation for whole-hearted loyalty and servitude to the British Empire. He was highly successful in rendering services for the British Army. An Ottoman court tried him then and ordered his execution. But this execution did not take place because of direct intervention from the British government. It was successful in saving the Bahai leader who was later awarded the medallion of knighthood and the honorary title of "Sir" by the British government.
Thus the message of the Bahai leader was well handed over to his followers in Iran. And strangely enough, Fitzgerald quotes one of the Bahais she interviewed as saying "They (the Bahais) adhere to political non-involvement. Theirs is a pacifist religion." One might wonder if the interviewer had known at all anything about the role of the Bahais in modern Iran and whether she had recalled the crimes made by the famous Bahai figure Abbas Hoveyda, who was the Shah's prime minister. His running of the political machine of Zionism and imperialism in Iran led to a popular rejection of the article is praising. Every Iranian knows that the director general of SAVAK (the notorious secret police of the Shah), the man behind the torture and murder of thousands of Iranian youth was nobody but Parviz Sabeti, a well-known Bahai now living in Israel.
Fitzgerald's article makes no mention of the cooperation of Bahais with the Shah. Her article deliberately ignores the fact that the voleily active opposition in Iran (members of SAVAK, communists, terrorists and Bahais) are all tried in Islamic courts not because they are Bahais or Moslems, but because of their proven and substantiated crimes. For, according to the Islamic Republic Constitution, everyone has the complete freedom to choose whatever belief he or she wants. However, the Islamis laws do require just trial for anyone who is proven guilty for "violent" actions against the just will of the masses of the Iranian people.
Soheila Nasseri,
Tehran, Iran, graduate student
Ideals worth guarding
To the editor:
I would like to comment on Matt Bartel's column "ideologies not worth the price." He writes that war is a burden of burthainy of war, and the insanity of wasting resources on weapons when millions worldwide
are suffering. I freely agree that such waste is philosophically absurd.
If his remarks are an appeal to mankind, then I have no quarrel; I would only comment that his observations are hardly profound. On the other hand, if his remarks are addressed solely to the United States, then I maintain that our ideology is worth the price.
We face a world tainted by regimes that steadfastly refuse to recognize the inherent dignity of the individual. These regimes often openly advocate violence and revolution as legitimate means to political ends. With such groups, if not prepared to match force with force, we would be unilaterally upholding a pacifistic ideal. This would inevitably lead to relenquishing the freedoms we currently possess.
Undeniably we should actively pursue options, and be willing to compromise to obtain them. We cannot, however, be so eager to forswarve arms that we endanger all of our other ideals like freedom of speech and freedom of the press to name two of the most obvious. I believe that an individual should be maximally free to pursue whatever he wishes in whatever manner he chooses. He is not bound to regard, but it is demonstrably better than life in societies that maintain power through fear and oppression. Considering the alternative, isn't our ideology worth defending?
Mike Perkins.
Overland Park senior
Parent programs exist
To the editor:
The University Daily Kansan carried an article March 31 on the pending closure of the KU Parent Program. The article contained several remarkably glaring errors and-or omissions pertinent to the availability and cost of community resources for families and children other than those provided through the Parent Program.
The Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, Inc., which has a thirty-two year history in Douglas County, provides a variety of services specifically designed to assist families and children. These services include individual work with parents focused on building effective parenting skills, sometimes conducted in the home and provided by the Center's Children Services staff. Costs are based on the schedule. The average fee currently for those without health insurance benefits is about $16 per individual hour, with the range from $5 to $80.
The center's services to families and children also include educational programs conducted by the Consultation and Education staff. One such program is the cooperative Parenting Education Program, which consists of four to six group sessions geared to developing effective parenting skills. The cost for these programs are $20-$25 and some scholarships are available.
It is regrettable that the KU Parent Program will be discontinued because of lack of funding. It is, however, extremely important that the public be accurately informed of the alternative affordable services for families and children that continue to be available.
Sandra J. Shaw,
executive director, Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center
Falwell's practices defy preachings
Another dark chapter in the saga of church and state is unfolding in this country, Jerry Fallow, that harbinger of holiness, has embarked on a well-financed political campaign to sell President Reagan's arms build-up to the American people.
The Reagan administration is so delighted with his effort that twice last month Fallwell was invited to the White House to discuss defense policy and be briefed by the National Security Council. Armed with Reagan's "facts" and an Army training manual he would travel nationwide tour and media blitz, covering as many as 10,000 miles a week and taking out full-nage newspaper ads.
Every person in this country, even Jerry Falwell, has a right to express his views. That is not the problem. But when Reagan, a public official sworn to neither promote nor prohibit free religious practice, enlists the aid of Falwell, a Christian leader, that is hard to swallow.
There may be some people who would find it hard to say which is more repugnant, Reagan's disregard for the Constitution or Fairwell's convoluted theology. For me, the theology is.
Falwell enjoys a weekly audience of millions as he drives the sword of righteousness through the body politic on 900 television and radio stations across the country. We owe ourselves a good, hard look at the theology being thrust before us.
Falwell said in Newsweek, Sept. 15, 1980, that "material wealth is God's way of blessing people who put Him first". Not surprisingly, Falwell lives in a 2-room room with a porch and a pool, and with his expense account and private jet he attends not only to business but also ball games and other perquisites afforded the head of a large organization.
"You lack one thing; go sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven . . . It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:21 and 25.)
Falwell's problem with eyes is not limited to his facial features. His eye is hardy more scriptural than his lifestyle.
"Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will
have no reward from your Father who is in Heaven. Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet, as hypocrites do . . .
MATT BARTEL
Certainly Jesus wouldn't condemn Falwell for trying to save a few souls, but he might have a few questions about his true intent. If Falwalw tries to stay in the street corner or pray on national television, fine.
"And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men." (Matthew 6. 3)
But the gold star for piety still goes to the meek, the persecuted for righteousness sake and the scorned for rebellion.
Far more disturbing than street corner prayer or fat lifestyle is Falwell's current effort to sell Reagan's massive arms buildup, which strikes a sour note in the ear of Christianity.
"You have heard that it was said, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
For it is in this campaign for freedom and "peace through strength" that Falwell is most blatantly leading his followers away from the scripture he claims to represent.
"You have heard that it was said, 'you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Sermon on the Mount)
Of course, a few verses do not the Bible make. But I seem to have missed the part where Jesus calls on us to beat our plowshares into swords for God.
We have always had our share of flag-waving prophets of hellfire and damnation, and in this country it has been easy, for the most part, to dismiss them as kooks.
But now, groups such as Falwell's "Moral" Majority are trying to become a political force, and we cannot continue to ignore them. That is why they have been called the "ultra-ellectual integrity to question their intentions."
Before we allow ourselves to be called Christians, we must face some difficult questions about whether our allegiance to our government and freedom should override that commitment to our God.
I, for one thing,
Thought for the Day: "We may not always be right, but we will never be accused of doing nothing."
Jerry Falwell
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The grass is always greener on the other side of Kansas.
Students should open eyes recognize KU's good points
No one comes to her to spend their vacations or to visit the scenic wonders of the state. Since Kansas may not be the social hub of the Midwest, she must also be far from a notable place, Wrong!
We sure have been taking a lot for granted lately. Nothing at the University seems as good in any other place. We whinat about increasing our research capabilities, our computer science courses and we ridicule the
JOHN BOWER
administration for not meeting all of our collegiate demands.
activities, and academics. The four-star rating is given to only 29 institutions in the nation.
- Our University had over 169 National Merit Scholars enrolled in the 1980-1981 school year, the highest in this state, and 11th in the United States.
coagulate demands.
Well, I'm getting tired of all the complaining.
Well, I'm getting tired of all the complaining. The University of Kansas is one of the top public universities in the nation and I do not think that most people realize that. It is easy to get wrapped up in classes and social events and forget about the reasons why we chose to attend this University. We really do not realize how good we have it here until we sit down and think about all of the outstanding qualities of our university.
- The William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications is one of the top eight institutions in quality of instruction in the nation and the Hearst Foundation's annual evaluation rates our journalism school in the top five.
- The New York Times Selective Guide to Colleges gives the University of Kansas a four-star rating in overall quality of life, social
- Our University's library system is the largest in the Big Eight Conference, holding over 200,000 volumes.
I have compiled a small list of the areas in which the University of Kansas excels and some of the national recognition that our University has received. I hope that this will open a few eyes and curb some of the doubts about the quality of education at the KU.
- The Kansas University Endowment Association is the oldest university-related foundation in the United States and for more than 20 years, provides public universities in terms of private donations.
- The KU Radiation Center, at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., is one of the 10 best treatment hospitals in the United States for cancer patients who require radiation therapy.
*The National Association of Music Executives at State Universities ranked the music division at the KU School of Fine Arts 10th in the nation.
*Travel and Leisure magazine chose four universities for its outstanding campuses. They were the University of California-Berkley, the University of Texas-Cincinnati University, and the University of Kansas.
- The KU Alumni Association has more than 31,000 active members of the 141,000 living alumni, making it one of the largest alumni associations in the country.
These are only a few of the many impressive accomplishments of the University. There are
At this point in the year, we tend to forget about the reasons why we came to the University of Kansas and start condemning it for all of its problems. The problems that the we have are not limited to just our university. They are problems common to those of all major universities.
So appreciate the University of Kansas. It really is an outstanding institution.