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University Daily Kansan Monday, Oct. 22, 1950
Political Parties Are Too Smug
Today's devout Republican and Democrat need to get out into the world and see more and talk more and hear more. This will shake-up their political beliefs a little but it will also strengthen them where they deserve to be strengthened.
Now, a man goes through life believing in a party and its candidates and feels confident and comfortable in doing so. He reads the magazines, newspapers and columnists who help him believe as he does, and with those who support his position. If a Democrat sits down to read the column of David Lawrence or George Sokolsky, he is as comfortable in knowing they are fallible as he is in his easy chair. They may write something but whatever it might be, it's only sprinkled among conservative "trash" and bias.
Then comes the day—the day when the dyed-in-the-wool, comfortable believer is either matched against opponents who have just as much dye in their wool, or he is put face to face with his candidate's opponent.
The Republican, likewise, sniffs at leftist publications as at an ill-wind blowing socialism eastward across the Pacific. He looks at the quality of paper the New Republic and the Nation use and reduces everything but the simple fact that these publications don't have the circulation as does Time magazine or other national and well-known magazines.
In the first case, there is a discussion and each points out the qualities of his candidate and jeers at the inadequacies of the opposing office-seeker. If the participants in the discussion are not party-blind and if each can support his candidate soundly on a few points, they will walk away from the discussion a little less devoted to their news
sources and friends because the opponents argument was sound in places just as was his own.
This condition is good even if it is depressing for a time. It makes a person realize the fallibility of his own, guiding publications and it shows him the profit in questioning his own beliefs even more than just those of people who hold other convictions. It is much more difficult to prove one's self right than to prove others wrong, which is perhaps the explanation for so little of it being done. In the second case, meeting the man who is trying to defeat your candidate, a good is also produced. Although few people will admit it, the politicians hand-shaking, even with those who vehemently say he is a dirty politician and an opportunist, has its effect.
Coming face to face with this man will temper convictions. It isn't easy to talk to a man who pats you on the shoulder, asks about your home town and how you are and not have him make a place, however little it might be, in your heart. A person discovers this political devil to be human and as such, fallible. He sees him in a honorable light for a change and wonders if all the unkind and condemning things he's heard about him might be partly wrong.
Again, the person who has not experienced this will not believe it. Nor will the fool who undergoes no change of convictions. However, it is so and that is why more Democrats should meet more Republicans and vice versa.
No matter which happens, each of the two instances cause a person to reconsider his political beliefs. And if there is anything that's needed in politically unconscious America, it's closer scrutiny of party politics by the party members themselves.
Just Browsing
—Ray Wingerson
My, but this is starting out to be a dull week.
As far as we can find, there are no queen contests-after two great ones last week.
Also, there are no LMOC or other contests coming up which require a great deal of campaigning, complete with bands, convertibles, rallies, parades, and other miscellaneous trivia.
So, it promises to be a dull week,
marred only by the coming of
mid-semester tests sometime in
the near future.
Midsemesters actually are a vital part of college life, and this is one thing we're sure about because all of our teachers have been telling us so for the past two weeks.
Come to think of it, midsemesters usually do provide a sort of lively week, although not exactly the type of excitement usually preferred by the really discriminating college student.
And we're inclined to agree with them, by this time.
After all, if there were no midsemesters, students would be able to catch up on their sleep in preparation for the big Homecoming weekend which isn't as far away as many people think—Nov. 10, to be real specific.
And besides that, if there weren't any midseesters, everyone could catch up on such vital items as writing home, dating, drinking coffee, participating in activities, going to meetings, getting into bull sessions, and who knows what else.
And also, midsemesters can be very expensive, because it is of times necessary to retain reserve books from the library much longer than the legal amount of time, at a great cost to the reader.
But, after all, its all in the wonderful game of college life, and we wouldn't miss it for the world. Just don't take it seriously, and don't get so worried that you leave school or do anything drastic like that.
And speaking of leaving school, we may be without the services of the old reliable fellow at the next desk, who is considering leaving school because of financial reasons.
Seems his folks came up for the big game Saturday and our friend invited them up to his room after the game. Seems he'd forgotten to dust off his books.
—Dick Walt
Editor:
... Letters ...
Congratulations to A. Ralph Barr,
assistant professor of entomology,
and Paul R. Ehrlich, Maplewood, N.
J., graduate student, of the Entomology department for Wednesday's letter to the editor.
I am writing this letter in the hope that the incident and problem-mentioned in their letter will not be forgotten by the students of he university and citizens of Lawrente as promptly as similar occurrences have been in the past. I know it's awfully easy to hear something like this, declare emphatically to your roomate that something should be done about it and then blissfully forget the whole matter. This, at least, has been my experience. My apologies.
We've all heard the old saying about the students of today being the leaders of tomorrow. Let's not take this too literally. By observing the results that have thus far been obtained toward reducing racial prejudices in Lawrence by our respected elders, it becomes clear that we cannot afford to wait until tomorrow. We must take the initiative today. We have the means in our student organizations and newspaper. All we have to do is to utilize them.
I would like to put one question directly to the owners and managers of Lawrence's restaurants. What reason do you have for excluding colored people from your places of business? If you have a reason let's hear it. This column is open for letters, you know. If your reason is that you fear your white customers will stop coming, might I suggest that you not hold your breath while waiting for a white people's boycott of the Student Union cafeteria and Hawk's Nest?
Then let us hear your reasons for you are reasonable men. Bale M. Brethower, Bird City sophomore
The article written by Sloan Wilson and partially presented in the University Daily Kansan seems to be a very fair criticism of fraternities.
Editor:
To a veteran (not that veterans alone are necessarily mature) the opinion that fraternities are not all-perfect is quite sound.
Fraternities and their "system" strike me as being quite comparable to an assembly line turning-out a set type of product. The deviation
from any one of many "musts" is an "out-of-it" according to some. He who does is not regarded as one of the boys.
In order to survive, a person must keep with the herd and make as little commotion as possible, as though this were the mark of a man. Well, maybe it would be—a common man.
As for the "pledge-training" system, it seems to have many good points. I dare say though, that the manner in which training is carried out could be called childish many times.
Maybe fraternities will die out, and maybe not. Many of us will not worry through the night about it.
Arthur M. Harkins,
Ottawa freshman
The first contact lenses were recorded in 1508 by Leonardo da Vinci. Descartes, French philosopher and mathamatician, is credite dwith developing the theory of contact lenses in 1637.
Thirty-nine per cent of the persons killed in California while walking in traffic are 65 or older.
Daily Hansan
University of Kansas student newspaper
trifweekly 1908, daily, Jan. 16, 1912.
trifweekly 1908, daily, Jan. 16, 1912.
Member Inland Daily Press. Printed.
Associated Collegiate Press. Represented by National Advertising Service, 420 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. News service: United Press. Mall subscription rates: $3 a semester or $4.50 a year. Published in Lawrence, Kan., every afternoon during the University year except holidays and examinations. University holiday, days, and examination periods are second-class matter Sept. 17, 1910, at Lawrence. Kan., post office under act of March 3, 1879.
Extension 251, news room
Extension 376, business office
Dick Waltz DEFENSE... Managing Editor
Margaret Armstrong, Gerald Dawson,
Larry Strop, Louis Strop, Assistant
Managing Editors; Kent Thomas, City
Editor; Flecha Fenberg, Assistant City
Editor; Joan George, Assistant City
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