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Show August 1969 UTAH Page 4 FARM BUREAU LV S CAM MJH1&DCA pMitiim BIT w it h y it d 7DILHMC RESGmN at a time when the forces of violence seem to be gaining the upper hand over law and order. We have been dismayed by the riots on our college campuses; the unrest in our cities; the We are living growing tensions between blacks and whites; and the growth of violent crimes. Everywhere in the world violence seems to be increasing. Bloody revolutions continue to break out The war in Vietnam drags on; Israel and the Arab nations are at swords' point; and children and women starve as the struggle goes on between Biafra and Nigeria. Violent crime has reached an all-tihigh in the United States, to the More than 12,000 Amthe from latest FBI. reports according ericans were victims of criminal homicide in 1967. Police reported 27,100 rapes; 202,500 robberies; and 253,000 aggravated assaults in that year. President Richard Nixon declared recently that "there can be no compromise with lawlessness and no surrender to force." Both State and Federal governmental agencies have taken steps to contol violence. Our local police forces are being strengthened. There is a National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence whose chairman is Dr. Milton S. Eisenhower. It is making a comprehensive study of the causes and ways of preventing violence. as "the threat or use of force that results, or is Violence is defined me intended to result, in the injury or forcible restraint or intimidation of persons, or the destruction or forcible seizure of property." The maintenance of law and order sometimes requires the use of violence; policemen may find it necessary to injure or kill an individual in the line of duty. Some wars must be fought if a nation is to survive. These uses of force are generally considered by most of us to be legitimate. However, illegitimate violence is closely related to legitimate violence. The parent who spanks a child may be engaged in legitimate violence, but breaking the child's arm would be illegitimate violence. The right to assemble is guaranteed by the Constitution, but rioting that results in the destruction of property and the loss of life is not legitimate and should be put down by force. The elimination of all violence in a free society, such as we have in the United States, is impossible, but better control of illegitimate violence in our democratic society is an urgent need, and one which we must work harder to accomplish. While we wish that a solution could be found to all the problems of illegitimate violence, there is no single prescription for its control. We must be thoughtful, and persevering if we wish to decrease the violence which threatens to destroy all of us. open-minde- d, IS OUR COMMUNITY THREATENED BY VIOLENCE ? OUR TRADITION OF VIOLENCE While we are disturbed about violence in our society today, we have made great progress from the lawlessness of the past The story of civilization has generally been the story of man's violence toward other men. As we have established social orders under law, they have been challenged from time to time by those who would overthrow them. We observed the 193rd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. To us the American Revolution was an act of courage, patriotism, and honor. Yet, to the English at that time it was treason and revolution. The Civil War was fought when debate and compromise were unable to solve the issues raised by Negro slavery. Our forefathers believed that the use of force was justified to preserve the Union. Those in the South thought they were justified in taking up arms. We consider the "Winning of the West" a glorious part of our history. Yet, to build this nation we seized the land from the Indians and from other nations who claimed it Law and order on the American Frontier was often dependent on who could draw the fastest gun. Homesteaders were often driven off ARE WE MAKING PROGRESS their land and killed by unscrupulous bad men. Justice under the law was established only after a long struggle. As farmers we have taken part in some of this violence. Shay's Rebellion in Massachusetts was an early attempt on the part of farmers to take over the government The Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania was a protest by farmers against paying taxes. The Grangers and the Populists protested violently against the railroads and other monopolies. Some of us can remember the Farmers' Movement of the Holiday Depression Days, where aroused farmers took the law into their own hands, and threatened those who were foreclosing on their farms. There have been examples of violence between farm workers and farmers. This has often come when workers have attempted to form unions, and this has been resisted. Some of the most violent confrontations in our history have been between workers and industry. While we still have much violence in the United States, we have made great progress in some areas. This should give us hope as we face violence today, and try to find ways of controlling it IN CONTROLLING VIOLENCE ? |