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Show Thursday. January 3. 1980. THE HERALD. Provo, Utah—Page 33 Opinions: What the Herald thinks, what the columnists say and what our readers think The Herald Comments Letters to The Herald Time Blowsit with Khomeini Resolutions Commendable Editor, Herald The statement of the Herald staff's New Year's Resolutions which appeared on the editorial pageof your Dec. 31 issue was both Surprising and gratifying to this long-time reader. It was surprising because one usually thinks of goal-setting as apPlying to individuals in their personallives, rather than to institutions such as a newspaper. It was ratifying because, on reflection, a newspaper has a highly important roleto playin thelives of the people it serves, and to state its goals in that service cannot but help in their attainment. You are to be commended for «Spelling out specific objectives in each of the five areas of the Herald's concerns; listening to the public, journalistic responsibility, editorial leadership, community service, and attractive presentation. Someof these, as with the Man of LaMancha’s impossible dream, are beyond complete achievement but they canie a spurin the continu- ing quest for excellence. You have recognized this in your announced intention to evaluate next December the progress made during 1980 and then to set appropriate goals anew In the fifth area of endeavor — presenting content in attractive form — observant readers have noticed that the Herald already has made remarkable innovations durangie past few months. Someof the other areas may be more difficult to define and to recognize progress in, but we hope youwill find success in each of them. I wish you well in your renewed commitmentto fully serve the people of your Central Utah region. Sincerely, Oliver R. Smith Professor Emeritus of communication Brigham Young University ‘Heathen’ Makes Comment Editor, Herald: I watched the morning news both on Christmas morning and this morning and have something I must Say concerningthe hostages in Iran and the clergymen who wentthere recently. It might surprise some le to learn that not everyone inths nation is a believer in superstition or God, maybe that’s the reason the seven hostages refused to meet with and pray with the clergymen! Carter should know better than to send a bunch of superstitious holymento Iran, to stuff the ‘‘Christian God” down everyones throat! An unhappy, god-less Heathen Michael R. Kelsey Springville Put Guardsat Rest Stops Editor, Herald: My wife and I travel extensively and enjoy nature very much. Therefore when we travel welike to stop and campin state and national parks. Also we stop at manyof the rest areas along the freeway. In mostareasof the nation these travels are extremely rewarding and satisfying because of the beautiful places that have been developed by thoughtful developers. Yet it seems that the nearer we come te our home area the more negative experiences we encounter. These areat the rest stops along ie freeways and the restrooms of parks and campgrounds in Utah and neighboring states. It seems that we must constantly be presented with lewd drawings and filthy sayings as the perverted minds of sick people make their desires known on the restroom walls. Some restrooms even have holes carved Eros the partitions so that the person in the nextstall can be watched. I don’t feelthatit is necessary for the majority to be subjected to the whims and uncontrolled desires of the few sick minds whoinsist on defacing public property in this manner. Notonly is this revolting to the majority, butalso to the children of everyone traveling must visit the Test areas more often than the adults. This makes them subject to the problem more often than the adults. Because most if notall rest stops in Utah have this problem the children witness it so much that they beginto think this is the normal expected behavior, which causes the problem to grow. Another problem that seemsto be limited to this same western region is the outright destruction of the above-mentioned facilities. I have goneinto rest areas in Utah where mirrors have been ripped from the walls, basins have been broken in half, toilets torn from the floor, Travelers aid and tourist information map casings broken andthe information marked upuntil it was of novalue to anyone. T have passed up manyrest areas rather than be subjected to what I had metthere on previoustrips. I'm sure many others also pass up rest areas for the same reason. The states in the midwest, east and deep south have 24-hour watchmen and custodians who live in trailers within the confines of the rest area or they have an office for the custodians and watchmen housed in the samebuilding as the other facilities. I realize that this is an expense, butso is rebuilding and refurbishing the facilities and still having rest areas unfit for humanbeings.I also feel the prosecution for those apprehended for defacing and destroy- ing public property is a necessary part of a successful program. Sincerely, Dean W. Cox Provo SpeedwayNeedsStoplight Editor, Herald: Pr Utah State Highway Commission, yourattention is urgently needed to place a stoplight at Carter's Service and the 7-11 Store on North State Street in Lindon. The Indianapolis Speedway of Utah exists from the stoplight on Eighth North in Orem to the stoplight before the underpass in Pleasant Grove and how theresi- Atk dents of the City of Lindon can escape being injured trying to cross onto such a speedwayasthis is more than I can figure safe to travel. Also, a four-way stop sign should be placed on Eighth North in Orem between North, State Street and Provo Canyon Road. Gerald Henrie 369 N. 100 W. Provo Time Magazine really has blown it by naming the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinias its Manof the Year. Some of the reasons he might be considered for an award which recognizes an individual who possesses qualities above the ordinary are obvious. Khomeini certainly is an effective leader of people. The students detaining 50 U.S. citizens at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran obviously follow him and him only without question. They havetold every other official of government, whohasdared to make any statements on the fate of the hostages, to take a hike. \ He certainly has had an influence on our world during the past year. He toppled a regime headed by a man thought by everyone to be one of the world’s most entrenched, durable monarchs. His seizure of the hostages at the embassy has held the most powerful country in the world at bay for almost two months. It has spread violence to other Islamic countries. His actions have beenfeii is. every aspect of our 1;’-s from religion to the economy. But Time seems to have forgotten a few other points about Khomeini. He is as shallow, cruel and murderous a leader as the former shah whom he replaced. He has led with charisma, to be sure, but he also has led with firing squads, torture and a conStitution which sets him up as a dictatorforlife. He has used the religion in which he professes to Serve as an example to his denomination’s faithful as a tool to achieve revenge against the shah whom he believes was responsible for the death of his father and brother. Hehas showna totaldisregard for international law and common decency in his pursuit of his bloodlust revenge to get the shah back to Iran for execution. He has shown he doesn’t care whoelse has to die to satisfy his obsession. In the past, with a lapse in which the award went to Adolph Hitler in 1938, the Time Man of the Year Award has been a meansof recognizing those who stand for excellence in the humancondition. Khomeini stands as an example of an individual who has used extraordinary gifts and abilities for the basest of ends. If Time is out to establish a new tradition with the awardfor citing those with extraordinary talents and influence and not for how they use them, we probably can expect to see future Time citations for Idi Amin Dada or a posthumouscitation for the Rev. Jim Jones. Julian Bond Take Facts Into Voting Booth By JULIAN BOND I don’t think you're really ready for the 1980 elections. You may be registered to vote. You may consider yourself wellinformed. But you can’t tell the players or the rules next year without a program. The most complete program is found in two books — “The Almanac of American Politics 1980” and the ‘‘National Journa!’s Election '80 Handbook.” The Almanac’s beauty is that it Democratic Action, but the Conservative Americans for Conservative Action scored him at89. Edwards’ Mobiledistrict is 33 percent black, 41 percent white collar, 42 percent blue collar, 3 percent farm. The median incomeis $7,305; 11 percent of his constituents earn morethan $15,000 a year; 18 percent earn less than $3,000. The necessary companion to the Almanacis the Election ’80 Handbook. Althoughit focuses heavily on lets you know how each memberof the presidential race, its articles, the House of Representatives and cuatts and graphs offer information the Senate has voted—and spent ike: your money—since thelast time you —The Republicans probably won't were asked cast your vote. In thumbnail sketches, the win control of Congress in 1980 but Almanac also describes the ethnic might in 1982 and could by 1990. —The 1980 state house elections and economic profile of each Congressional district and — most will decide who re-draws Congresimportantly for you — how 11 dif- sional lines after the 1980 Census ferent organizations rate the voting count, and that Republicans will performanceofeach representative probably be counted out more often an in. in Wathington. —Partylabels meanless now than For example, Rep. Jack Edwards, R.-Ala., rated low 20 in 1978 from they used to. —‘‘Interest group politics” has the Liberal Americans for fragmented a once-reasonably uncouare Political landscape. The Almanac’s own vote listings are derived from 15 key House and ite votes, ranging from a state’s right to rescind ratification of ‘the ERA to Kemp-Roth, « failed Proposal to reduce income taxed by one-third over the next three years. The voters are chosen, in the editor’s words, ‘‘to spotlight members’ views on major issues, particularly those which are not readily apparent from their party affiliation or their group ratings.” These votes—not campaign thetoric—are the sumof your teplelators philosophy. Yet the Election Handbook quotes two politicial scientists who predict reelection for most incumbents regardless of their voting records, as long as they “avoid scandals, send out frequent newsletters informing the voters of their achievements, answer their mail and conientic assist with their problems.” Today’s successful member of Congress is less a policy maker or legislator than heis legislator than he is an ombudsman whose staff serves to insure that Social Security checks are delivered on time and day care centers receive the appropriate federal grants. But these men and womanneed to: be judged on the issues they've supported or opposed—not on their television charm or the birthday cards they send (at taxpayers’ expense) to high school seniors evei, year. Your paragon on the Potomac may know the words to your favorite hymns, but these two election guides will tell you whether he can read the figures on your paychesk, and whether his vision of governmentcoincides with yours. “The National Journal’s Election *80 Handbook’ is $7.95 from National Journal, 1730 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. ‘The Almanac of American Politics 1980” is$11.50 from The Fund for Conv Suite 4200, 515Madison Avenue New York, New York 10022. Paul Harvey Back-to-Basics Teaching Works By now you've seen the Carnegie Foundation evaluation on public education. Wow! The foundation's study concludes that one-third of today’s high school graduates are so “uneducated” that they can’t get and hold a job. The report recommendsa drastic overhaul of the entire system of public education; says youngsters should te taught the kinds of skills which are now in demand Back to vocational education! After all that experimentation with “‘socially significant studies” it’s time to get back to teaching young Americans howto earna living. One good exampleis worth a thou- sand admonitions. Meet Marva Collins. A dedicated schoolteacher, she endured 14 years of frustration in the Chicago public school system. In 1975 she quit, rented part of an old brownstone lodging house on West AdamsStreet and wentinto the education business fer herself. This is no-frills education — with emphasis on discipline and drilling and memorization. The schooltakesin a total of only abouta thousand dollars a month in tuitions, survives otherwise on donations. But there is no government money because, says Mrs. Collins, “T don’t want any governmentexperts telling me what's good for these kids or how I should teach.” She said the government would want to send her $20,000 dollars worth of audiovisual equipment whichshe'd just have to leave out on the sidewalk. Because her system of education requires only ‘‘a blackboard and books and a pairof legs that will last through the day.”’ Mrs. Collins is black. Most of her students are black. But she demands that they leave any dialect of the street out in the street. In herclasses they learn correct English, respond in complete sentences. Manypupiis do not even know the alphabet when they enroll. They take standardized tests at the end of each school year and their progress has been phenomenal. Oneeight-year-old girl who'd been thought mentally retarded is now studying at tenth-grade level. Mrs. Collins keeps her students for only one or two years of intensive work and then encouragestheir parents to send them to parochial schools — not to problem-ridden public schools. Although manyparentsfindit difficult to afford the $80 dollars a month tuition, she nonetheless has a waitinglist of some 150 pupils. And so motivated are the students of this uncommon woman educator that many of them request homework over the Thanksgiving holidays. They request homework! Mrs.Collins, herself a mother of three, insists there is no ‘‘secret”’ to her success — unless this is it: ~ She teaches that poverty has nothing to do with your brains She says, ‘Don’t you childrenlet anybody convince you that you are ‘disadvantaged.’ You can do anything you want to doif you will workatit.” Whenyousee an examplelikethis you wish you could multiply the opportunity these youngsters have. But you'd have to clone Marva Collins — and individuals of her selfless dedication don't come in bunches. UPI Washington Window Rank and File Has Presidential Reins By ARNOLD SAWISLAK UPIPolitical Analyst WASHINGTON (UPI) — The 1970s probably produced more changes in American politica! prac tice than any decadeof the century. Muth of what was done wascalled reform, butit remains to be seenif thatlabel standsthetest of use. Perhaps the most dramatic change was in‘ the selection of presidential candidates. In a very real way, the nominating process was taken out of the hands of the politicians and turned over to rank and file members of the political parties. The outward evidence of this changeis the number and character of presidential primaries. In 1968, there were 15 presidential preference primaries that drew 4.5 million Republican and 7.5 million Dem-ratic votes. The impact of mar., of them on the nomination process waslessenedbythe entry of unpledged delegate slates and favorite sons. Those primaries did not deter- minethe 1968 nominees. Republican Ronald Reagan and Democrat Fugene McCarthy got the largest number of votes; Republican Richard Nixon and Democrat Hubert Humphrey got the nominations. Eight years later. there were 27 presidential preference primaries. The 1976 totals rose to 10.3 million Republicans and 16 million Democrats and this time the primary winners Democrat Jimmy Carter and Republican Gerald Ford, got the nominations. In 1980, there will be primaries in 37 states. There will be few. if any favorite son candidatesandslates of unpledged delegates. It will be almost impossible for anyone but the candidates who win the primaries to get. the nominations, although there remains the slim possibility of convention deadlocks that could bring candidates to the fore who did notfigure in the primaries. The rise of the primary in the presidential nomination process stemmed from two major themes. Thefirst was theuprising within the Democratic Party caused by the Vietnam War. The other was the wave of political reform that followed the Watergate experience The Democrats. wracked by the Johnson Administration's unwillingness to respond to violent disagreement within the party overits Vietnam policies, ripped their party apart andrebuilt it as an institution thatcould no longer be controlled by elected officials or party professionals. The presidential preference primary was the vehicle chosen to replace what was regarded asa boss-controlled caucus-convention system in the states for seiection of national convention delegates. Because Democrats held governorshipsand legislative control in about two-thirds of the states during the period, they were able to impose the primary system on the Republicans. That in turn changed the GOP nomination system. even though the Republicans had much less dissension over the nominating process and madefar fewer changes in their rules. Giving the nominating process to a the rank andfile appearsto be a big step toward democracy. But there are both scholars and practical politicians who think that by weakening the power ofthe politi- cians, the change may have hastened the day when the parties themselves have no useful role in the system. And if the parties die, saythese people,there will be little in the system to hold candidatesto a comm: of issue positions. Another majorchangein political practice during the decade of the 1970s wasthestart of public financing of presidential campaigns. That wi be takenupin the nextof these columas. |
