Opinion
Off-the-cuff remark off
For a short time recently it seemed as if President Reagan had learned the hazards of departing from prepared texts during his speeches.
Not so. Last week, during a speech to a group of Boston business executives, Reagan left his text to say: "In our tax structure, it is very hard to justify the existence of a corporate tax."
Scores of business leaders cheered the president's words; others alleged the remark showed Reagan's "insensitivity" toward working people. Stock prices surged.
"He showed that his heart was still in the corporate board room," said House Speaker Thomas O'Neill.
Indeed, there was certainly a lot of fuss — over nothing.
"I said yesterday I would kick
myself for having said it," Reagan said. According to deputy press secretary Larry Speakes, the proposal to abolish the corporate income tax "is not being considered in any way, shape or fashion. It has never been discussed in this administration."
But it was discussed. Reagan spoke of it in Boston, and the country reacted.
How long will it take the president to learn that thoughtless or unfounded off-the-cuff remarks can seriously affect the country and damage his credibility — especially those remarks that concern an estimated $60 billion in revenues from the nation's corporations?
If he does not learn this soon, he may well kick himself to a political death.
Hardship of elderly ignored
Pat Moore is a pretty gutsy woman.
Once a week for three years, the 30-year-old industrial designer masquerade as an 80-year-old woman and walked through New York City's neighborhoods, restaurants and stores to learn what it's like to be old in America, land of eternal youth.
Moore found out. In an Associated Press article last week, she described how she had been mugged and beaten twice, insulted by rude sales clerks and frustrated by medicine bottle caps too difficult for stiff, arthritic fingers to unscrew.
To pull off this amazing masquerade, Moore had a make-up artist make a plaster cast of her face, then construct plastic pieces she attached
KATE DUFFY
to simulate facial wrinkles. Preparing for her weekly outing as an 80-year-old took her four hours in front of a mirror.
She wrapped layers of bandages around her torso and legs to make her body thicker and to slow her movements. To add authenticity, she plugged her ears to make it more difficult for her to hear and ward off any discomfort in her eyes to cloud her eyesight and toped the disguise with a gray wig.
To make her finger movements appear more arthritic, she wrapped her fingers with tape and wore gloves. She chose her dresses depending on which of the three characters she would be that was most appropriate to a conservatively dressed middle-class woman or a furred and weedy wealthy woman.
As befitting her characters, she walked slowly through New York's neighborhoods using a cane or walker. She was shocked to find how sleep had
Even more shocking was the galling rudeness of sales clerks when she asked for assistance. After one particularly nasty scene at a drustore, she returned the next day as herself, a woman in her late 20s, and found the clerk to be the picture of politeness.
steps seemed when she had to use a walker to pull herself up.
Sadly enough, these problems are not that uncommon for America's elderly population. Moore was introduced to the trials of the elderly in an unusual manner. Our heavily production-minded nation has little use for those not able to work anymore. America is the land of eternal youth, wrinkle-free complexions and here-today-gone-torrow fads.
Many of America's nearly 36 million citizens over the age of 60 are worried about their rising utility, food and medical bills that are already outstripping their monthly Social Security checks.
America is an aging nation. The lowered birth rate means that a higher percentage of the population is, and will continue to be, over 60 for some time to come. The nation will have to make structural and philosophical changes to keep up with the population's needs.
Rising crime rates in many communities have left senior citizens prisoners in their own homes.
Some of these changes have already occurred. One can witness the upwing in the number of federally sponsored nutritional, transportation and social programs for the elderly in the last decade.
These programs are a good start toward easing the burdens and enriching the lives of elderly Americans. But just as important is recognizing that the elderly have lived and worked full lives and should be respected accordingly.
Pat Moore discovered that by masquerading as an elderly woman. It may not be such a bad idea for the rest of us to walk a mile in an 80-year-old's shoes.
Exposing 'them' a risky job
By DICK WEST
United Press International
WASHINGTON — A new book called "The Paranoid's Guide to Them" is subtitled, "They know who you are, and they know what you did."
I commend the authors, Doug Stoveysky and Jerry Kolacz, for having the guts to put together an expose of this sort. It may be the most daring literary work since the publication of "The Neurotic's Handbook," which was subtitled, "The very nervous person's life in the modern age." With baked dates, kite-like designs, alien cultures, New Year's Eve, touching the bottom of the lake with your feet, appendix operations, true love and just about anything else you can think of."
everyone knows they are out to get us. As a publisher's blurb so accurately and chillingly put it, "You've felt their eyes on your back. You've felt their whispering about you through半开门 doors."
But despite the universal nature of the stage upon which they operate, including a few half-closed doors, none of their other potential victims have had the courage to tell us who they
There probably is a risk involved just in reporting the mere existence of the book. Nevertheless, there comes a time when all of us neurotics and cliche-lovers must stand up and be counted. Real paranoiacs don't flinch at dangerous duty.
That, in fact, might be the basis of the novel
book — a listing of things real paranoida don't. Books listing what real men and real women don't do already are best-sellers. Paranoia, being a unisex delusion, should be even more ripe for commercial success.
one point. One thing real paranoidaists don't do is delude themselves with wishful thinking, as Stoyewes and Kolacz seem to do a few times. That point is illustrated by the guide's dictum, "If we stick together, they'll never get us."
Most likely, they'll wait until we start drifting off by ourselves, and then they pick us off one by one. If there is anything they are good at, it's biding their time.
brating them.
Another suspect segment is the guide's assertion that "If we ignore them, maybe they'll go away."
together, then they'll take Nonsense. If we stick together, it may take them longer, but sooner or later, one way or another, they'll get us.
Of course they won't go away. Ignoring them does nothing to invite the companion question.
A third shaky premise can be found in the guide's avowal that "they said it couldn't be done."
I can tell you from personal experience that 99 times out of a 100, they are right about that.
Who, then, are they exactly? And, perhaps more important, what do they want?
After all, according to the book, "They're never at liberty to say." And if they aren't going to be at liberty, I'm not either. I may be paranoid, but I'm not crazy.
'80s rock and roll not all poor
Letters to the Editor
To the editor.
In reference to "Rock music's message deteriorating" by Dan Parelman (Jan. 25), he was right on his Billboard statistics and the spelling of Billy Squier, but besides those few nationwide bills he quoted, the rest of his ideas were true, he obscure, he I forgot, that's an overpriced cliche.
For as long as there has been music, there has been good music and bad. The question is, however, who is to say if the music is good or bad? The public? As far as I can see, that is the only answer. Because of this, the rock musician knows that this "music deterioration" Parcleman spoke of.
Several times in the article, Parelman referred to the bands that are relaying the decaying message of today as the bulk of the rock bands. This number is only a minute fraction of the number of groups that are around today. Ganted, the ones Parelman named were the popular ones, but again, he put the blame on the bands, not the public who chose those to be their favorite music. Parelman said that the industry is to blame for some of the lower quality of music that is popular today, but they know who they are catering to — the American public.
Chuck Huels
Parelman also stated in the article that "The lyrical quality of the bulk of modern rock . . . is emptier than the music," insinuating that the lyrical and musical quality of the '60s were superior. Any unbiased listener who knows talented lyric writing would not give "here I am, with open arms," by Journey, a D- while giving "She loves you yea, yea, yea," and "I can't get no satisfaction" an A. The same unbiased person would not condemn the guitar work of Eddie Van Halen while raving about the guitar work of Eric Clapton. I am not putting down the musicians of the '60s by any means, they were great and always will be. But rather I am pointing out how Parelman's generalizations show that he should not be writing about music of the '80s when he is stuck in the '60s. He is not the unbiased listener I spoke of earlier.
But even today, searching through the sometimes thick haze of lazers and electric chords, there really is a meaning behind it all. Read a Kansas, Rush or even Ozzy Osbourne album cover, and the lyrics are saying something.
I am confident that the "bulk" of rock bands have not altered or lowered themselves to "drive" only to retire by the age of 25. Bands like Journey, Styx and R.E.O. have to some extreme gone "pop" as Pareman suggested, only for the success of the band, but as I stated before, these groups are only part of today's rock world.
St. Louis junior
Give the public a group of talented musicians, gifted and meaningful lyrics, new arrangements and an exciting presentation of all of these, and if this group would get a chance to show these talents, the band would not only please themselves, but the public as well.
Bob
Parelman not listening
How could Parelman neglect to mention the Clash (Pat Benatar and John Cougar may not compose as well as Lennon and McCarthy, but Mick Jones and Joe Strummer come close), Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, Dire Straits, Billy Joel, the English Beat, Pete Townshend or Joe Jackson? Springsteen, Burnett, Joel, et al. will not write hollow, cliched lyrics. The title track of Springsteen's Nebraska recounts the lives of weather murders in 1982; ex-eagle Don Henley matches Burnett's "Dirty Laundry," a biting satire on TV news; and Joel's latest hit single, "Allentown," focuses on America's most pressing social problem — unemployment.
If Dan Parelman thinks rock music message is deteriorating (Jan. 25, 1983) he isn't listening closely enough. Indeed, a great deal of today's rock music "has sags into the mainstream of consumer America." Indeed, Men at Work, John Cougar and Asia, who topped Billboard's charts last year, all can be classified as commercialized rock. But despite Parelman's claims, many of today's artists have refused quality of their work. Rolling Stone hailed 1982 as one of their best years artistically in the music industry since the early 1970s.
There is currently more happening in popular music than at any time during the past few years. Rock is moving in several diverse directions. The Stray Cats are leading the resurgence. Haircut 100 and the English Beat are popularizing the reggae sound. Synthesizers (Yes, Guitar Fans — they are here to stay), thanks to artists such as the Human League, Peter Gabriel and Laurie Anderson, are progressing beyond the disco beat stage. And perhaps the most important innovation, Music Television, is bringing lesser-known bands into living rooms across the country, while creating a whole new artistic medium for musicians.
To the editor.
Still, Parelman is right: mainstream rock does dominate the airwaves. The Fat Benatons, Sammy Hagar and Michael McDonalds receive ten times the airplay of the Elvis Cosmos or Joe Jackson. But instead of dwelling on the negative aspects of today's popular music, why not look at the abundance of high quality music being produced?
Better yet, why not listen?
Omaha. Neb., sophomore
Julie Comine
Safe abortions needed
To the editor.
Meninger implies that women who are faced with unwanted pregnancies are no better than unthinking animals because they have not used
Thank you for focusing on the abortion issue in the Jan. 24 issue of the Kansan. I want to disagree with a few points made by Bonar Menninger and Jeanne Foy, though.
effective contraceptives. I take exception to this because many women are impregnated by men who are unthinking animals.
Take the case of the 12-year-old girl in Oklahoma who was raped and impregnated by her mother's boyfriend. According to Oklahoma law the girl could not have an abortion because her mother would not give her consent. The girl was taken to a unit mother, and her baby was taken from her.
Second, Menninger admits that there are a few contraceptive failures, but I submit that contraceptive failures are not as uncommon as he believes. Kate Duffy stated that one out of every four women who get abortions do so because of contraceptive failure.
I can understand that people who do believe that life begins at conception may consider abortion murder and for that matter I can understand why they may consider use of low estrogen birth control pills and the IUD as murder since they prevent implantation of the fertilized egg. I can respect that viewpoint, but I do not respect their determination to restrict the reproductive freedom of those who do not share their viewpoint.
Finally, I resent Foy's suggestion that adoption is the answer for all women with unwanted pregnancies. Pregnancy and childbirth can be physically, mentally and financially damaging to a woman. Most single women and some married women are not emotionally or financially prepared.
In a world without violence against women and children, without contraceptive failure, without resistance to sex and contraceptive education, without prejudice toward different races or handicaps, the arguments against abortion would have some foundation. That world does not exist. In our world, safe and legal abortions protect both women and the unborn.
It is true that many pregnancies occur because of ignorance or recklessness, but should others be denied access to safe and legal abortions for that reason? Or should access to abortion be determined by the courts on a case-by-case basis?
Foy implies in her editorial that the Supreme Court determined that a seven-month-old fetus is a human being. That is not true. The Supreme Court did not conclude that the fetus is a human being at any state of fetal development since there is no consensus of this issue from philosophers, medical doctors or the clergy. It did conclude that the state has an overriding interest when the fetus can live outside the womb.
The other case against adoption is that the greatest demand is for white, well-formed babies. This means that a great many unwanted babies that would be given up to adoption would remain unwanted.
Mary Brown, vice president, Kansas NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) board of directors
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