4 Friday, January 23, 1987 / University Daily Kansan Opinions THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Don't 'just say no' In October, President Reagan capped an intense political and media blitz on the evils of drugs in this country by signing a comprehensive anti-drug bill. The bill committed millions of dollars to be used to bring about Reagan's stated goal of a "drug-free generation" Reagan had said earlier that his efforts to put drug abuse prevention high on the national agenda was not another short-term government offensive. He was right, if you don't consider three months a short time span. Not quite three months after signing the bill, Reagan has proposed in his 1988 budget cutting aid to state and local governments for drug enforcement by $225 million. The explanation given for the cuts was that the money already appropriated by Congress made additional grants unnecessary. This turn of events shows that although his intentions seemed noble, Reagan did not understand what kind of national effort would be needed to curb drug use in the United States. What was needed was a sustained effort of education, enforcement and treatment. What the United States got was a pep rally and an unkept promise. What good will it do Nancy Reagan to tell children to "just say no" when there is no funding for educational programs to tell them why they should avoid illegal drugs? And how will slogans slow the growing drug trade in the United States or help local governments to set up treatment centers for current users? This policy reversal not only will result in another loss of credibility for the Reagan administration, it amounts to a surrender in a war on drugs that was just beginning to build momentum. Preserving a vital link Maybe the eighth time is a charm — at least the Kansas Corporation Commission bones so. Requests to abandon bus routes in the state have been overruled seven previous times under the Bus Regulatory Act by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Trailways Lines has applied to the KCC to cut back on its Kansas routes. Forgetting the past defeats, the KCC once again has thought of the passengers and denied the application. In response, Trailways has asked the ICC to reverse the decision. If this request is granted, there would be virtually no bus service to rural Kansas. The company wishes to retain its Kansas City-Topeka-Wichita route and Greyhound has a route from Kansas City to Denver on Interstate 70. Trailways' officials said they were losing money, so the KCC proposed alternatives for the bus company to help keep them profitable without taking bus service away. Trailways wants to get rid of service to 62 of the 75 cities it now serves because it says the routes are losing money. Without Trailways, 40 of those cities would be left with no intercity bus service. Trailways is not in business to lose money, but many Kansans rely on bus service for their primary means of transportation. The KCC, ICC and Trailways need to remember that and work together to combat the problem so as to make the bus company a profitable business. In order for Kansas to continue to grow and prosper, the societal infrastructure needs to remain intact. The KCC has thought of this. The ICC and Trailways need to do likewise. Album a hit, trip wasn't It looks like Paul Simon is wading into some troubled waters after his recent trip to South Africa. Simon went to South Africa to record his “Graceland” album. By going there, he was accused of violating a United Nations boycott of entertainers performing in South Africa. Simon also drew criticism from many black groups in the United States who were upset because he recorded his album there. In defending his actions, Simon said he recorded the album in the "racially torn nation" to help spread black South African culture, and he paid black musicians that worked with him on the album three times the U.S. scale wage. Some of those musicians also will go on tour with him. Simon also added that there was a difference between performing in South Africa and recording there. He is right that there is a difference between performing for a group of people and recording an album or record in a studio. The point is, he really did not need to be in South Africa to record "Graceland." He could have recorded the album in the United States just as easily, and still made his point without violating the agreement. If performers, or anyone else, agree to something such as the boycott, they should stick to it—especially when it focuses on such a heated issue. The trip to South Africa was not necessary, even if it was only to record in a studio. News staff Frank Hansel Editor Jennifer Benjamin Managing editor Jul Warren News editor Brian Kaberline Editorial editor Sandra Engelland Campus editor Mark Sheltter Sports editor Diane Dutmeier Photo editor Bill Skeet Graphics editor Tom Eblen General manager, news adviser Business staff Lisa Weems Business manager Bonnie Hardy Ad director Denise Stephens Retail sales manager Kelly Scherer Campus sales manager Duncan Calhoun Marketing manager Lori Coplee Classified manager Jennifer Lumianski Production manager David Nixon National sales manager Jeanne Hines Sales and marketing adviser Letters should be type, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words and should include the writer's name, address and telephone number. If the writer is affiliated with the University, include class and hometown, or faculty or staff position. Guest shots should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed. The Kansan reserves the right reject or edit letters and guest shots They can be mailed or brought to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The University Daily Kansan (USPS 650-640) is published at the University of Kansas, Kansan 118 Stairway-Flint Hall, Kanan. Ken 60045, daily during the regular school year, excluding Saturday, Sunday, holidays and finals periods, and on Wednesday during the summer session. Second-class postage paid in Lawrence Kan 60044. Subscriptions by mail are $40 per year in Douglas County student subscriptions. Student subscriptions are $3 and are paid through the student activity fee. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the University Daily Kansan, 118 Stauffer-Flint Hall, Lawrence, Kan. 66045 What's wrong with small town life? It seems like I've spent half my life tiving to explain why I like Kansas. "So, uh, where are you from?" The client starts. How should I go about explaining to the seemingly infinite number of big city people here in Lawrence, the benefits of growing up in the middle of the Sunflower State? Especially to those people from exotic, far-away places like Chicago, St. Louis and Omaha — they just don't seem to understand. Lori Polson Columnist It's not like I haven't tried. I feel I've put forth an incredible effort on behalf of Kansas. In fact, since my very first day in Lawrence four years ago, I've taken it upon myself to be north-central Kansas' most persistent public relations representative. A typical conversation with one of my prospective clients might go as follows: "Clay Center." I reply and wait for the expected response. Ever the model of patience. I repeat myself. "Is that in Kansas?" I calmly ask the idiot if he (although it could just as easily be a she) has ever heard of Kansas State University. It's close to there. "Oh, yeah, the place where every one wears cowboy hats." Once the general geographical position of my hometown has been established, the really annoying questions begin. "You mean you actually lived there?" "Yes." I reply, trying desperately to think pleasant thoughts. "Wow. That must have been really hard on you. Like, uh, what did you do for fun?" This brings up the popular misconception that people who grew up in small towns have never had a good education, at least, until they went to college. Of course this assumption is ridiculous, and I tell my client so, stressing the most important parts of small town life; close friends, open spaces and safe streets. I must admit, trying to explain this to someone who was nursed on car exhaust fumes and pavement, is not easy. "No, I mean what did you do for FUN?" My client does not understand. I repeat myself. "What? You mean like, there were no shopping carts on video work computers," the bank exec By this time, my client usually gives up on me and leaves. It's really pretty sad, I think. People who never have had to create their own fun don't know what a simple resource the imagination can be. Then there's the other poor, misguided, city-nutured soul — the kind that's politically screwed-up. I was on the bus the other night, coming home from the library. My overly sensitive friend couldn't help conversation of the couple seated behind me. Do you think all people from small towns in Kansas are conservative" the female voice asked "Extremely," the male replied, knowingly. "That's sad. Why do you think they are like that?" "They're so sheltered. They've never really been exposed to any thing. They don't know what life is really like." I would have turned around and glared at the couple but I was too mad. So this is for them. Guess what? We get cable television in the country. Know what that means? You guessed it — Dan Rather and the Cable News Network. Oh yeah, we even read the ... papers over heard of the Wail Wall Jointal" You learn something new every day. Okay, so maybe I'm a little cynical and protective of my native community. I think it's worth protecting. And perhaps the nature of life there is worth preserving. At least I don't stereotype people like everyone else does. Religion can't escape politics Given their moral imperatives and international involvements, religious institutions - and their leaders - are often major actors in the world's geopolitical events. Nowhere is this more the case than in the Middle East, the birthplace of the religions of Sometimes, like their secular counterparts in the political and diplomatic world, they get their fingers burned. David E. Anderson (JPI Commentary Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and a region where the distinctions between the secular and the sacred are virtually non-existent. It is less than surprising then, that despite the caution and care with which they approached their separate missions, two prominent clerics — Roman Catholic Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York and Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite — have scorned their fingers. Waite, 47, a personal side of Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie, has been tireless in his efforts to negotiate the freedom of U.S. and other hostages held by Islamic militants in Lebanon. credited with playing a critical role in the freeing of three of the hostages — the Rev. Benjamin Weir, the Rev. Martin Jenco and David Jacobsen. But when the Iran arms scandal began to break and it was revealed that Waite had met on at least one occasion — and perhaps as many as six — with Lt. Col. Oliver North, the Reagan administration aides who was on vacation for hostages deal, questions were raised about Waite's involvement. in mid-December, Wate denied, despite the confirmed meetings with North, that he "ever had any dealings in arms or money" in connection with hostages. Still, the denial left unclear Waite's role in securing the hostages' release, and still open, is the possibility that he was used by North and others as a respectable cover for the actual deal involving the transfer of U.S. arms to Iran in return for the hostages' release. O'Connor and his Mideast mission stumbled over the tricky issue of Jerusalem and Vatican diplomatic positions that have long created tensions between Rome and Israel, as well as among U.S. Jews and the Catholic hierarchy. At the beginning of his nine-day trip to Jordan and Israel, O'Connor's itinerary included meetings Indeed, Waite has been widely with three top Israeli officials at their offices in the Israeli-occupied but contested section of Jerusalem. But Vatican policy does not recognize Israeli control over Jerusalem nor allow official meetings between cardinals and senior Israeli officials for fear of implying recognition. A clearly embarrassed O'Connor was forced to cancel the meetings, but did manage to work out a compromise that allowed him to see two of the officials — President Chaim Herzog and Foreign Minister Shimon Perez. But the third, Prime Minister Yit-chen Bengtsov, tipped us aside with him, fearing a meeting outside his office would be seen as undercutting the Israeli claim to all of Jerusalem. The miscues prompted an apology by O'Connor to the Israelis, but did not stem the criticism by U.S. Jewish leaders and the issue is certain to be on the agenda when U.S. Jewish leaders speak at the annual United Nations conference in Miami on Sept. 13, during the pope's visit to this country. Instead, the incidents underscore how the best of religious intentions can become impaled on the horns of secular dilemmas. Ceremony important Mailbox As a longtime KU student and reader of the University Daily Kanan, I was more than a little disappointed in the Tuesday, Jan. 20 edition when there was no mention of the official dedication of the Air Force ROTC Detachment 280 Medal of Honor Room. At first, this may seem like a trivial matter, but it is not. The idea of the room was to allow people to stop and show respect for the numerous men who gave their all so that this country might remain free. It is frustrating that on the same day the nation celebrated the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a different celebration, also recognizing men who worked to improve the world and the United States, was ignored by the Kansas House. However, the mayor, Mayer Sandra Praeger, Chancellor Gene A. Budig and Gov. Mike Hayden were all present. It's not that a Kansan reporter was not there. There was! I think the Kansan thought this was not as imitative as it appeared in Tuesday's Kansan It is really too bad that the rest of the students of KU could not have been informed about this inspirational and moving dedication. Bruce W. Willett Kansas City, Kan. Graduate Student BLOOM COUNTY by Berke Breathed