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Show Friday. March Th . VJ'M.UflLU HMD UlLiS a. 1983 U us ine tieraia, reaaers, and columnists syndicated issues cartoonists discuss vital fWll WW Page THE HERALD, Provo, Utab, I !A iitl The Dailv Herald Comments - WASHINGTON In March 1982, as leftist guerrillas threatened to ambush them on the way to the polls, 85 percent of eligible voters in El Salvador cast ballots in a courageous display of democracy. While the process was heartening, the outcome was unfortunate. A coalition of right-win- g politicians came The question now facing the United States is whether an infusion of more assistance, both in money, weapons and military advisors, can save El Salvador from being added to the Russian-Cuba- n sphere of influence in this hemisphere. There is no easy answer to that question. But this much can be said: The amount of aid being sought by President Reagan in the attempt to save El Salvador's fledgling democracy is modest compared to the aid given routinely to say, Israel. And unlike faraway Israel, El Sal- government through the leverage of increased economic and military assistance. It was also hoped that El Salvador's freely elected leaders would earn the support of their countrymen by pushing forward with land reforms and by protecting them from the onslaughts of Marxist-supporte- d ts El Salvador's leaders recently agreed to advance their next election date from 1984 to later this year. The hope is that the military situation, now critical according to the Reagan administration, will be stabilized by then. "Sensitivity of $67 million. Critics fear the United States may be heading for another Vietnam if the aid is approved. Specifically, there Today, one year later, those hopes have been only Right-win- The real answer, however, clearly lies not in Washington but in El Salvador. The United States can provide a measure of eocnomic and military assitance, but it has no antidote for human-righabuses in El Salvador. Only when that government is humane, as well as competent, will it earn the trust of its citizens. vador rests in America's backyard. President Reagan proposes to increase U.S. military personnel in that country from 37 to 55, and has asked for emergency military aid of $110 million and economic aid guerrillas. partially realized: a matter ot time before the government falls. army has not been good. to power, headed by Roberto D'Aubuisson who was widely believed to be a ringleader in the civilian slaughters perpetrated by death squads. However, it was hoped Washington could bring civility to El Salvador's mi mm and the is growing concern in Congress that U.S. advisors may be followed by U.S. combat personnel. In all the debate however, there is precious little support for sending Americans to fight in El Salvador. Congress easily enough can en- - g death squads have reduced but not stopped their genuine grisly work; has been made in progress distributing land to peasants, though not on a scale hoped for by Washington, and the performance of El Salvador's "Forget the EPA, OPEC, the geraniums." sure against that possibility by putting strings on aid to El Salvador. It is rarely wise to tie the hands of a president this way, but if such is the price of increased aid, then the price must be paid. "If we allow a government that is reforming itself into a Feedback Congratulations to my seven colleagues who finally exercised their freedom to speak on freedom vs. repression at Brigham Young University (Daily Herald, March 10.) At least they ended the ominous and deadly silence among huge but inert faculty which, so far as I know, had been both in campus as in valley newspapers since the 7th East Press was banned. With them I deplore our anonymous colleague who had sufficient courage to write his views to Denver Post Editor Tim Kel-lethough he lacked sufficient courage and integrity to throw off the concealing clock of anonymity; therefore, his views 2nd actions don't count. My colleagues' generalization was that they have never felt themselves "caught in a freedom-stifling and web," and that "the suggestion of shadowy and sinister repressive forces at BYU is hogwash." May I remind them, as I do my students, that an easy generalization not backed up by specific details and examples only fills space and befogs thought, nothing more. The only specific they gave is that their combined service to BYU totals 132 years, which admittedly does indeed tower over my 37 years. Unfortunately, however, this one specific strays y, al lamentably from the central issue rather than supporting and strengthening it. The central issue which must be faced is whether freedom exists at BYU. Of course it exists. Who can ever question its existence? Always we who are at the Y have been perfectly free to exercise our freedom to speak or our freedom to remain silent, according to the dictates of our own unique and sacred consciences. But the specific fact which' directly concerns my colleagues' central premise is that, before these seven spoke, to my knowl edge only one faculty member had exercised his cherished freedom to speak by actually speaking. Since the banning, students have spoken over their signatures (but for many faculty students seem to be only immature transients on campus who must be tolerated); alert, loyal, and safe alumni have spoken; unsigned news releases and editorials have been published on campus and off; but only one faculty member has spoken, off campus. Granted, many of my 1,100 colleagues keep their noses so near the grindstone that they resent any intrusive fact which might cause them to agree that any living pressure in present n. tense can possibly be their co-ner- Granted also that many of my colleagues may have been aware of this censorship-repressio- n issue, but justify their indifference to it since it lies outside their specialized field of expertise. But it must also be granted that I may not be the only member of our faculty who recognized the compelling pertinence of this issue and who felt strongly that someone should speak on it, yet who in shameful expedience remained silent. And why did I and the vast majority of our faculty remain silent? On this crucial point I am certain that no one answer stated either by one voice or one group will prove acceptable to all, but this makes no difference since on this point our multiple, debatable opinions are immaterial. The indisputable fact stands firm that we did not speak, either because of ignorance, indifference, or expedience. And our freedom to remain silent completely and witheringly replaces our defended but unused freedom to speak. Briant S. Jacobs, Professor of English 1950 Willow Provo About Opinions The Dailv Herald attempts to stimulate healthy discussion of all sides of important public issues through the "Opinions" Page by taking stands as a newspaper on community issues, by publishing varied commentaries from staff and syndicated columnists and by providing a public forum in the "Feedback column. Comments published on this ( page under "The Herald headline represent the official editorial policy of The Dailv Herald as determined by an editorial board comprising the nublisher. managing editor, news other editor, citv editor and Salvador and Herschel Walker. Let's plant democracy ... to be knocked off by guerrillas who don't have the support of the people with them, then no government in the isthmus will be safe," Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Enders said recently. Marxism, he noted, will lap ever closer to Amer ica's shores if it isn't tained in El Salvador. con- No one can guarantee that any amount of outside aid will save El Salvador's embattled government. But, al- most certainly, without stepped-u- p aid it will be only error does dor. "The administration's plans, as distinct from its rhetoric, show a sensitivity to the real lesson of insurgency warfare: that the mili-- : tary role is to screen and support the political process, not replace it." The United States should keep that in mind as it proceeds in El Salvador. But proceed it must. Robert Walters Death With Compassion Congratulates Colleagues Editor, Herald: El to not require paralysis," former CIA Director William Colby said recently of the comparisons being made between Vietnam and El Salva- members of the editorial slulf Columns published under the names of individual columnists represent only the opinions of the individual writers and not ncces-- ' sank the official editorial policy of The Daily Herald Letters to "Feedback." likewise, inrepresent the opinions of the dividual writers and not necessarily the official policy of The Dailv Herald The Herald frequently will publish columns and Ictieis which conflict with viewpoints expressed "under "The Herald It does so in the Comments spirit of giving its readers a balanced presentation ol viewpoints on all issues SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (NEA) At first glance, the nondes- cript office in the midst of a commercial and industrial park here appears to be a highly unlikely refuge for victims cancer and other incurable of ma- ladies. But that office the headquarters of the Hospice of Marin has provided not only physical comfort but also spiritual, emotional and psychological assistance to hundreds of terminally ill residents of California's Marin County. "We think of these people as our family. We want the very best for them," explains a hospice official. "We're here to help them do whatever they wish in the final weeks or months of their lives. Whatever they want, they get from us." The first hospice in this country was established in New Haven, Conn., in 1971, followed by the Hospice of Marin in 1976. The National Hospice Organization, based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of McLean, Va., estimates that today there are more than 800 such programs throughout the nation. Although the country's pioneer inpatient hospice has a 44-b- facility in Branford, Conn., and a growing number of hospitals are starting hospice programs, the term "hospice" typically refers to a coordinated program rather than a building. "Hospice is a specialized health care program emphasizing the management of pain and other symptoms associated with terminal illness while providing care for the family as well as the patient," NHO explains. "Medical care for the patient is coordinated by physicians who supervise a team of professionals, including doctors, nurses, psychiatrists or psychologists," adds NHO. "Other patient and family needs are attended to by social workers, clergy and trained volunteers both before and after death." One important difference between the hospice concept and conventional forms of caring for the dying is that patients are not confined to dreary, sterile, antiseptic rooms in hospitals, nursing homes or other impersonal institutions. About 70 percent of the patients served by the Hospice of Marin, for example, die in their own homes surrounded by members of their families because that is their desire. Caring for the terminally ill at home can be a physically arduous and emotionally exhaustbut the hospice ing task program offers an array of specialized and sensitive services which few hospitals or nursing homes can match. Here in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, assistance is provided by eight e registered nurses who work under the direction of a physician and are available to respond to calls for help from patients and their families at any time of the day or night. A trio of family counselors can help to cope with family stress and tension produced by fear, grief and disappointment A social worker can provide information on medical insurance, financial aid and numerous specialized services. Volunteer aides can assist both patients and families by doing chores such as house cleaning, meal preparation and food shopping. Although the hospice concept has been widely acclaimed by those both within and outside the medical profession, its growth has been frustrated by a lack of established procedures for licensing, accreditation and - full-tim- A number of states are taking action to resolve the first two problems while some insurance companies, unions and employers have started to authorize health insurance reimbursement for hospice care. Perhaps the most significant breakthrough for the hospice movement was a provision buried in the $99 billion omnibus tax reform measure enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Reagan late last year. That legislation, sponsored by Sen. Robert J. Dole, and Rep. Leon E. Panetta, makes hospice care reim- - ' bursable for the almost 30 million elderly and disabled people who participate in the Medicare program. That initiative was virtually unopposed because hospice care, in addition to being more humane and compassionate than hospital treatment, is substantially less expensive. The Congressional Budget Of- fice estimates that hospices can produce "sizable savings" because their services can be provided for as little as $40 per day, ' compared with rates often 10 times higher in big-cit- y hospitals. Paul Harvey Why Don't We Celebrate? On that recent day when we learned wholesale prices had declined a full percentage point, when we should have celebrated this significant sign of returning one strength for our dollar network telecaster saw it differ- ently. up. Allow for inflation and the Dow is nowhere near record high; it would have to penetrate and 3,067 to be "record high" d of the way it's barely - one-thir- "That," he said solemnly, "shows you sion is." They were looking down when they should have been looking how deep the were. the media don't help the situation when we persist in We of headlining unemployment statistics, virtually ignoring the employment statistics; a near record 99.1 million American workers working. reces- grinning. It's in fair weather that we are more inclined to frown while exchanging unhappy reminders, "Sure looks like rain!" read and applaud the pro- emulate them. Something subconscious tells us that if we don't enjoy ourselves too much, inevitable disappointments will be less painful. That's letting tomorrow's clouds hide today's sunshine. Our "promised land" was founded by men and women who willingly battled elements, Indians and adversity. Without flinching, they faced and overcame frontier hardship. The steepest of the uphill is behind us; we need only to shift psychiatrists. When Wall Street saw the Dow penetrate a thousand, the market's nervous Nellies immedi- ately began warning us that penetration of "a historic high" would surely trigger a precipitous correction. stead; fearful. home-bas- e city of Chiis great public tolerthere cago ance for weather extremes. We will lean into a blizzard grim but We hope-in-han- d. When they should have been enjoying at least a rational degree of euphoria over this indicator of improving economic health, they were anxious in- In my ponents of a "positive mental attitude" but seem unable to You know people ike that: unable to accept glad tidings without anxiety. Such people hedge against disappointment, rather than enjoy It's akin to acrophobia, the unreasonable fear of high places. There is some of this tendency in all of us. Only the extremes of this cynicism are treated by C'W3byNEA.mc "Isn't it OBVIOUS? They're hamburgers. One's Burger King an' the other's McDonald's. THEY'RE FIGHTINGI" ' We have a leader willing to lead us to new heights if we are willing. The good seed sown by a dozen generations is bursting into bloom. Let's enjoy the harvest! , |