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Show Free Press - Wednesday, February 17, 1993 - Page 2 Editorial A We are willing to sacrifice if it will make a difference Sometimes, despite the holiday known as President's Day, we forget the men we're supposed to be honoring. The following information contained in the book, Profiles of the Presidents published by Brombacher Books, should bring back and make us all familiar with our Dear President Clinton: brilliant first president: Don't get us wrong. We are very sympathetic to your plea to sacrifice now so that we might salvage the future. We look at the spiraling deficit with a combination of fear and resignation as already incomprehensible numbers grow in a fashion that we do not clearly understand and reach proportions that we cannot - grasp. We see ourselves spending our children's inheritance, mortgaging their future, and we want to demand that the deficit spending stop, that the federal budget find some kind of balance, that the national debt be brought back under control. And we are not unilaterally opposed to the kind of sacrifice you are calling for. National polls tell you that. But I must confess that we are deeply concerned. We want to know our sacrifice will make a difference. If it won't, we don't want to sacrifice any more. How can we be certain that the federal government won't spend more that a dollar for every dollar it raises in new taxes. That's what happened last time, and our increase in taxes resulted in an increased deficit as well. And frankly, although we have a new president, and several new congressmen and congresswomen, little has changed in the basic process that determines how our d taxes will be spent. So don't be surprised if we start looking for results, for some sign that all the talk about sacrifice, spending cuts and bureaucratic reform is more than just more of the same old political doublespeak. Expect skepticism. And then earn our trust. We want to see our country stabilizing, our economy growing, and our deficit shrinking. If we see your plan working, we will support it By 1795, when Gilbert Stuart painted his most famous portrait of George Washington, the President, in his final, trying year of office, was old and sick. His hair, originally thick auburn, had "turned grey in the service of his country." His teeth had disappeared over the years, falling victim one by one to the popular cure-al- l for toothache of any origin immediate extraction. Although his expensive dentures were handmadeofthefinesthippopotamus ivory, they did nothing to alleviate the sunken visage of toothlessness. No one knows, how- hard-earne- ever, how they may have aided Washington's appearance after he smiled. Stuart, apparently less a stickler for authenticity than a loyalist to ideal, was undaunted by Washington's hollow cheeks and sickly complexion, the lifelong pock-arks acquired in an early bout with smallpox, the chest diminished by childhood rickm ets. The artist simply stuffed his distinguished subject's cheeks with cotton and painted a portrait of a healthy man with a rosy face and muscular chest. Although frequent illness was the rule wholeheartedly. In the meantime, you've got years of mistrust and broken promises to deal with. We can be won over. We can't be easily bought. Just be sure our contributions to reducing the national deficit make a difference, instead of just adding more money to spend increasing our nation's debt. It was a true pleasure to attend the Utah Press Association Convention last week and see our publisher receive an award for his service to the association. The UPA, which turns 100 this year, represents daily and weekly newspapers throughout Utah but for most of its history, it has focused on the needs of community weekly newspapers. And in fact, the group has strong local ties. The men who created the UPA first met in Lehi in 1893. But that's another column. The organization basically represents the in terests of community newspapers like ours. It helps place ads for businesses that It seems that someone is always trying shatter our dreams or destroy our tradi- tions. want exposure throughout the state. It of- A professor at one of our universities says that interest in the old west is on the downswing. If this is true, it is sad, for the taming of the west was a saga that should never be taken out of our lives. Sure, we had robbers and all kinds of bad men who left their imprint on early western life, but there were others also. Can we ever remove from our memories the picture of a caravan of covered wagons as they plodded along, some with religious intent, others with a desire to settle down with a little land to call their own. Oregon or California or Bust was a theme and Indians, storms and illness and even death did not deter them. The stories of cowboys and Indians travIn the little village in eled world-widWales where we lived was the Victoria Theater. It was an old building with seats. The front rows of seats were plain wood and went for thruppence and the seats at the back, which were padded, cost sixpence. The music for the films was a piano played by an old maid named Emma Goodfellow. Emma was good. She could make that old piano talk. In a storm she would portray thunder and one could hear the wind howling as she rattled the keys. My father couldn't afford regular attendance at the theater, but when William S. d cowboy, came to town Hart, the in a movie, father would go even if there wasn't much food in the house. Once in a while he would take me and as we sat in the darkness of the theater, I could feel his excitement as he watched Bill Hart shoot down the villain andrescuethemaiden from a fate worse than death. It was duringa cowboy movie that Emma Goodfellow really did a job on the piano. She played "boo" music when the villain made his appearance, and when the cowboy rode away on his horse one could almost hear the clip clop of the horse's hoofs. In the finale, when the heroine threw her arms around the neck of William S. Hart and kissed him, the music from the piano e. two-price- d sober-face- fers a press release service where a release can be sent to the UPA office in Salt Lake and be distributed to all the member newspapers. It does the same with classified ads and operates a clipping bureau. The UPA also represents the newspapers' interests before the state legislature, where we take an active interest in items like sales tax on newspapers (taxing our first amendment rights) and the state's open meetinglawfor local government agen- cies. Each year we have a convention where new officers are named, the newspapers h ear the results of the annual Better Newspaper Contest and individuals are honored for their achievements. This year, Brett Bezzant, who basically is the owner, publisher and boss of our small group of newspapers received the John. E. Jones Award - which is given on a basis - usually about every two or three years. Brett was president of the UPA a few years ago when the organization had some problems with personnel and the basic or- - I By TOM GRIFFITHS would become soft and tender, and I would see father reach into his pocket for his kerchief. As for me, I thought the scene was as soft as a penny's worth of soap on a wash day. -- the rugged mountains and the prairie and the cry of the coyote at night, but I loved a cowboy who could shoot 20 shots from a without reloading was a bit farfetched. Of course, I had more sense than to criticize William S.Hart to my father, for he believed he was real and dedicated his life to destroy evil. The stories of outlaws and gunmen have perhaps warped our thinking a little and made heroes out of men who were mean and 1991 Lo Angeles Time Syndicate rassed. Once when it distorted a story. Then when it faked a story about GM trucks. In each instance, in the critical ratings business, it was "sweeps week." NBC has been struggling for ratings. It has been trying hard to create a newsmagazine program to rival CBS' "60 Minutes" and ABCs popular But so far in the ratings, NBC's "Dateline" has been able to do no better than 16th. Recent distortions and fraudulent sensationalism are a reflection of desperation. With a multiplicity of media, each fighting for survival, the temptation for "dramatization" and exaggeration are inevitable. Wal-Ma- "20-20- ." rt And at a time when our schools should be teaching a healthy .degree of skepticism, they are preoccupied instead with drugs, danger and deportment. Unable to think for themselves, graduates become lemmings, accepting anything they see and hear. With proper, rational judgment, we might rescue ourselves from the misleaders. Without that judgment, we are a manipulatable juggernaut. If yesterday's lynch mob was a hundred men with pitchforks in the town square, today - with mass media - a single misleader can throw a match into seven oceans of gasoline. Our schools have many challenges these days, to be sure. 1 By BETTY FOWLER rather than the exception for most indi- viduals during Washington's lifetime, the first President seemed to have had more than his share of physical problems. One of the most annoying of these was a "malignant carbuncle" he developed on his left hip during his first term in office. For several months, it was quite painful for him to sit; in fact, the presidential coach had to be so that Washington could lie down when he traveled. The episode must have wounded his dignity a little. Even as an ill and aging man, Washington was impressive. His great height of his stately carriage, his tremendous mental and physical strength (despite all the sickness), all reinforced his reputation for self control, patience and determination. He was so imposingly aloof that most of his critics preferred to wait until his death lt was ridiculed by some (who were far from his wrath) as being ponderous and ignorant because of his notoriously slow decision making. But, he was highly valued for his strength of character. Because of his powerful influence, he was universally regarded at the first election as the best, indeed the only, choice for President. For 10 years I have written stories, columns and editorials for our newspapers -well over 500 columns and probably just as Editor's Column By MARC HADDOCK many editorials. I've only made him angry once, when a clumsily-wordeeditorial made it appear the newspaper supported the recent initiative to legalizehorse racegamblingin Utah. The next week we ran his response. I figure one out of 500 isn't bad. Many publishers feel the need to constantly meddle in the editorial side of their product - but Brett has given this editor basically a free hand in deciding what we will run, where we will run it, and how we will play all the stories that come in to the newspaper. That is a remarkable record, when you consider that we come from opposite ends of the political spectrum. And I think it works because despite our political differences, we share the same respect and love for home town newspapers and our home towns. We want to see our communities grow and succeed. We want to see a continual increase in our quality of life. We recognize our role as a reporter of public events and a watchdog of elected officials, and we are both willing to stand up for that. And that forms a basis for a lot more agreement than discord, regardless of the politics. After all, important issues always transcend the politics behind them in the long run. As a result, we have created a good working and personal relationship that makes our newspapers better than they might have been. I was not privy to the deeds Brett did that made his peers decide he deserved the John E. Jones award. But I was thrilled to see him receive it. There are few publishers around like him. d -- ganization in Salt Lake City. As president, it was his job to put the organization back together. And since we held our 100th convention last week, apparently he succeeded. The details remain obscure, although Brett maintains he did nothing special. He restated that when he received the award, telling association members: "I appreciate the recognition, although I am not sure I will ever feel that I deserve it. I just did what anyone else would have done during the same trying circumstances." That's Brett just doing what has to be done under trying circumstances and suc- - ceeding. I've known Brett for 10 years, occupying the office next to his. I don't think he was 30 yet when he hired me -- 1 was just a tad over. It has been an unusual relationship for an editor and a publisher, but a productive one. Unusual because although Brett is the owner and publisher of this newspaper, he rarely flexes any muscle in terms ofhow I do my job. And that puts me in an enviable position. Productive because we both understand our jobs very well, and we both take responsibility for what we are supposed to do, and we count on the other to do the same. The remarkable thing is it works. 'Elder Quest' valuable for senior citizens Editor: As a retired physician, I am prescribing "Utah Valley Elder Quest" for those senior citizens who feel they are withering on the vine of life. For almost a year now there have been a gang of folks at Utah Valley Community College who are getting back into learning by accepting the challenge of the college. "If you wish you can organize your own curriculum and your own faculty and use the college facilities for your own senior mem- - Television news generates skepticism eujs believe it Letters to the editor cruel. For example, a few years ago my wife and I were up in Wyoming. In a little store was an old lady who personally knew Butch Cassidy. She told how her mother lived on a ranch that was quite remote. One day Butch Cassidy and a few of his gang came riding in. Butch pulled his gun from his holster and shot the headsoff a half dozen chickens and then ordered the woman to cook them. After the meal and before they rode away, Butch gave the woman a $20 gold piece for each chicken. A nice tale whether true or false, but part of our western lore. NBC has apologized to General Motors. General Motors has accepted the apology and canceled its defamation lawsuit against the network. GM said it would no longer advertise on NBC News programs, callingit a "negative environment." That boycott lasted only one day. These are unhappy days around NBC. Twice in two months its newsm agazine program "Dateline" has been embar- better to publicly judge him. Alexander Hamilton said his heart was stone. There may be a great deal of truth in this evaluation; one does not usually become a military hero with empathy and understanding. But it should be remembered that Washington was also a shy person. In later life, his natural diffidence was increased as he grew deaf the result of numerous colds and quinine taken for malaria. He was not however, all solemnity, despite his serious aristocracy. He loved parties and good conversation. He was an enthusiastic dancer in his younger days; once he kept a partner on the dance floor thee hours without resting. He also enjoyed his liquor, drinking half to a full pint of Madeira daily. He served grog generously to his troops during the war when it was available to brighten their spirits. For many years he had a contract with his gardener allowing his gardener as part of his pay four dollars at Christmas with which he would get drunk for four days and nights. Never hailed as a genius, Washington Publisher deserves some kind of award Heroes of old west caught world's imagnation to brief look at Washington, the man Vou'ei But as long as our news media remain free - as we want them to be - young people must be taught to ask the right questions, to probe beyond what one sees and hears to what "is." You m ay decide for yourself if this next is relative. It was in Egypt that I learned about camels. It has been said that the camel - a have preposterous, ungainly beast surely been put together by a committee. But the camel takes itself very seriously. You m ay see a string of several camels in one caravan, each tethered to the one in front. The camel in the lead is wearing a halter and thus tied to the saddle of a donkey. The donkey leads the way, the camels follow. In a caravan a camel will follow another camel anywhere, assuming the camel in front knows where he is going. A camel will NOT knowingly follow a donkey. So the No. 1 camel in the lineup - the one that is leading all the others not know that it, in fact, is following a donkey. Because that lead camel is -- -- blind. bers." To date, there have been classes organized in communication, family history, creative writing, woodworking, art (pastels), paper literature, piano, music appreciation, yard preparation for spring, armchair travel, "over 55" driving, stress seminars, wardrobe recycling, and numerous social exercises and events. The faculty sounds like "Who is Who in Utah Valley." The next major event will be a trip to Las Vegas on Feb. 26 to take in the famous "Les Miserables." This even t is well planned and consists of transportation, room, and the Policy on letters to the editor We welcome let- ters to the editor. All letters should be typewritten and double spaced. Letters must also be signed, and must include the writer's name and tele- phone number. Please send letters to Editor, Newtah News Group, P.O. Box 7, American Fork, Utah, 84003. price of tickets, from $ 129 to $165 inclusive. Now the good news. Charter membership can still be obtained until March 1 for $12.50, which offers classes at ridiculously low fees thereafter. members more. considerably pay New charter members will be welcomed at a banquet March 11 to be held at the UVCC banquet room. For more information, contact Lenora Plothow, continuing education, UVCC, at 222-800- 0 ext. 495, or Bernice Williams at Non-chart- 225-933- 5. J. Faux |