Editorial The Daily Utah Chronicle - Page Six Gorbachev deserves 'maim off Wednesday, January 3, the decade 1990 Ihioimoir' occurred had Gorbachev not toppled the a year ago, hot to mention a decade ago." Such an observation has become a cliche first domino. Likewise, once the dam broke, in recent months, but that fact doesn't Gorbachev deserves credit for allowing the make it any less true. Changes in the river to flow freely. It is true that as a new Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, If somehow a causal link could be formed, tracing .the astonishing changes that occurred throughout the world as the curtain came down on the 1980s, to one point in time that point would have to be the ascension of Soviet leader Mikhail . decade begins there is no turning back the forces pushing for freedom throughout the world. However, there most certainly was a point in time when Gorbachev, like a number of his infamous predecessors, could have clamped down on the change, Gorbachev to power in 1985. Gorbachev might be compared to the proverbial man plugging the hole in a dam with his finger, who, having removed his finger, finds himself engulfed in a flood Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania the list goes on have exceeded what even the most optimistic observers were predicting. These changes come almost solely as a result of Gorbachev's willingness to allow people in his own country and elsewhere ' greater freedom and autonomy. While predictions abound, no one is sure what the future holds for Gorbachev, the Soviet Union or the countries on its borders. Nevertheless, the Chronicle hopes exceeding his wildest expectations. effectively stopping the flow. But he Gorbachev unleashed a tidal wave of didn't. change in his own country with Because of this, we have chosen Mikhail perestroika and glasnost. And while he Gorbachev as the Chronicle man of the may not be directly responsible (that decade, realizing of course that we are not honor goes to the people themselves) for the only publication to make such a this unprecedented movement toward the dramatic and revolutionary changes choice. peace and freedom, started by Gorbachev, occurring in Eastern Europe, it is safe to The choice was not a difficult one. The will continue on into the 1990s and say these changes would not have world is a very different place than it was beyond. Letters hairless gals should head sout h to B Y U Fashion-clad- , Editor: Walking to class the other day I was suddenly overcome by the strange sensation that something was terribly wrong. It was then that I heard, smelled and saw something waddling down the sidewalk at an alarmingly slow rate. I turned around to see a blur of overpriced "stylish" coordinated clothing, high-heele- color-- : d shoes, designer labels and religious paraphernalia slowly approaching me. It appeared that the daughter of a "saint" was on some blissful religious' trip and thought I was a heathen ready to tempt her with the ways of the devil. She passed by with an ungainly strut, lipstick glaring and trailing an overpowering odor of perfume, l " l " S f - prosperity and yuppiedom was of alienation, military homelessness, intervention and economic decline. I came of age, so to speak, during the 1980s. Sor, just for kicks, I spent the last day of the decade listening to. the windbags on the Sunday morning chatter sessions getting in their two cents worth about what will happen in the next 10 years. Keep all of your money in liquid assets for the impending economic disaster, one economist warned. A rather optimistic chap estimated that in the future, researchers will have figured out how to extend human life up to 300 years. Yet another not-too-dista- Sunday their obnoxious perfumes and cosmetics? What happened to women who don't need to self-confide- nt conform to male society's wet dream? Peter Budnick, Emil Golias, Dan Baker, Jim Woodruff, Amir all graduate students Shamsuddin From Grenada to greed, adios to a haunted y mire Donny and Marie Osmond song. Whatever happened to the girls who don't shave their legs, don't use deodorant, know how to dress without spending more than my average yearly income and don't force me to step off the sidewalk to avoid Andrew Hunt The 1980s was, in every sense, a haunted decade. Beneath the veil of economic a forcing me off the sidewalk with her numerous layers of cosmetics, stiff antenna-lik- e hair and lyrics from a nt morning prophet guessed the 1990s would be a decade characterized, by benevolence rather than greed. It was all very amusing. One prediction is as good as another. I think what frightens so many people is they don't know what to expect in the next 10 years. It's as if we're all strapped into a roller coaster, belting up and down at breakneck speeds, roaring into a "closed , a tunnel, only to see "for repairs" sign by the side of the tracks when it's too late to do anything. "Communism is dead," was the favorite slogan of the latter half of the decade. It has a nice, comforting ring to it. It's an easy little phrase for Brokaw, Rather and Jennings to belch up while scanning their messages. Thankfully, I, like many others, discovered real life was nothing like it was in those textbooks. withering of tent the rise Witnessing cities (known as Reaganvilles) in cities across the nation during the 1981-8- 2 recession; teleprompters. pushed me to the left end of bogeyman, communism, other, the While the pundits piously applauded the demise of the Cold War's most ominous more ferocious, bogeymen were creeping in the American cellar. The demons of global warming, environmental decay, government corruption (in both since parties) unparalleled the days of Warren G. Harding, and yes, even the possibility of nuclear holocaust, haunted the American public. ' By the time. I turned 12 in 1980, another Cold War was underway. This Cold War oozed into every nook and crannie of American life, destroying free wherever it went. thought I Where attended public school, history teachers shamelessly vomited the names of powerful figures and dates of important battles. Economics classes uncritically preached the virtues of "free enterprise' And English instructors (with one noble exception in my case) were careful not to assign books containing subversive the political spectrum. I believed then, as T do now, that America was too good for cynical, right-win- g curmudgeons who controlled it. During those dark ReaganBush years, our government officials could have used a healthy dose of the same sort of human decency that prevailed in the New Deal era. The invasion of Grenada in 1983, and the belligerent overthrow of the legitimate New Jewel government there, was another factor that radicalized me. Bofh Democrats and Republicans cheered this flagrant violation of The media faithfully parroted Reaganite claims about a Cuban airstrip and port on the island. What they neglected to mention is the "democracy" overthrown by the New Jewel movement was a fraudulent regime run by Eric Gairy, in which ballot boxes self-determinatio- n. were stuffed, political opponents were murdered and the economy was sold to criminal interests. While President Reagan and Congress weren't waving their big sticks in Grenada, Central Americans were the victims of our bloody foreign policy. Ten years and more than $4 billion since the 1979 military coup in El Salvador, the same ARENA butchers that murdered more than 30,000 people are back in power. In Nicaragua, thousands of peasants were killed by bands of bloodthirsty mercenaries likened to our forefathers by President Reagan. Meanwhile, back at home, weapon's arsenals were stocked to capacity. In the late 1980s, intellectuals wBre celebrating the end of the Cold War and what they saw as a universal, worldwide acceptance Western-styl- e of democracy. Yet, in the United States, no to rampant Keynesian military spending were being sought. alternatives Policymakers are still turning a blind eye to the inevitable necessity of dismantling the military industrial complex. By the time 1988 rolled around, I registered to vote in my first presidential election. To be quite honest, I wasn't sure whether to go punch my ballot or stay home. I opted for the former, but the majority of eligible voters chose the latter. decade Can anyone blame them? When a sleazy politico Richard Nixon a reputation more base with than that of a used car salesman can emerge as an elder statesman, it's difficult to convince your friends that politics is more important than television and beer. Be that as it may, the 1980s are history now. The popular perception of the decade was perhaps best echoed in the following headline in People magazine: "The '80s Go for it! From greed to glasnost, brash was beautiful and the only sin was not to win." It sounds upbeat, but catastrophic and troubled times await. Yet, I'm confident my generation will find many of the answers to the questions plaguing human beings. But it's not because we're asking the a uestions. Solutions will be iscovered by default. There can only be so many homeless people, so many cuts in school lunch programs, so many crumbling bridges and deteriorating roads, so many crack addicts. Rebuilding a new America that puts the highest priority on its own people is a vital task worthy of support from America's finest youth. Andrew Hunt, a senior majoring in' history, is the Chronicle's associate editor. .