OCR Text |
Show Sunday. January 6, 1980. THE HERALD, Provo Utah—Page 39 Opinions: Larson Misses the Facts church as any anti-Mormon literature I've ever come across. So I believe she got what was coming; nevertheless i feel great empathy for her for losing sight of her roots: and I feel empathy for her family and especially her children who have been embarrassed and neglected while she has placed them second on her priorities. I feel empathy for her bishop. He has gone through tremendous stress. His co-workers at work have abused him and he and his family have received phone calis 24 hours a day from all over the country from pee using unprintable abusive tee and someeven threatening his life and the lives of his children. I feel empathy for Sonia because she is being used by powerful political forces who could care less what happenstc her andto her family. A friend of mine, who is a national consultant in press relations, said that Sonia could not have orchestrated the press the way she has without knowledgeable press counsel and a strong organization with money such as NOW behind her. Sonia has brought harm to lot of people. But I believe and earnestly hope that shewill realize the harm she has done and will have a change of heart andtry to makerestitution. that happens I am confident that members of the Church everywherewillbe willing to extend the hand of feliowship.. John D. Chase P.O. Box 587 Provo Attacks Go BeyondIssue Editor, Herald: I have been deeply distressed at the many public attacks on Sonia Johnson by those who would defend the LDS Church. Too often these comments have-gone well beyond a defense of the churchandits leaders to approach character assassination. Particularly offensive wasthe letter by Donna Christensen and several other (Herald, Dec. 27) that accused Mrs. Johnson of betraying the Churchfor ‘30 pieces ofsilver.” The suggestion that Mrs. Johnson has beeninvolved in her feminist activities for personalgain is.a vicious smear that hurts most those who lend their names to it. To make such a public accusation on the basis that it would be ‘‘naive’’ to think otherwise, with no apparentattempt to checkthefacts,is irresponsible in the extreme. But so many ofthe letters have shown a sad lack of Christian compassion. Christ taught that we must extendourlove to those we disagree with as well as those who think as we do. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them whichdespitefully use you, and persecute you;...For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?’’ (Matt. 5:44, 46 ) One of the grounds for LDS Church court action is ‘“‘unChristian-like conduct.” May we live the teachings of Christ and cease using Mrs. Johnson’s excommunication as an excuse for indulging ourbaser instincts. William E. Evenson 629 E.. 2875 N. Provo About Letters: The Daily Herald welcomes letters to the editor on any subject of broad reader interest. Letters preferably should be type-written, double-spaced and not exceed 400 words (about two typed, douhlespaced pages). Without exception, every letter mistbe signed in ink with the writter’s full name, home address and phone number (Phone numbers won't be published.) Names can be withheld for good reason .but only after personal consultation with the editor. The editor reserves the right to what our readers think AUK AsThe Herald SeesIt Letters to the Editor Editor, Herald Charles Larson evidently loves to tead between the lines without knowing feelings or facts. I've never read where those who defend the churchin the papersaid they didn’t have empathy for Sonia Johnson T haveattended Sonia’s ward on a numberof occasions and J have met her and her family and I have also met her bishop among other ward members, who are close friends. I am told that her bishop is an extremely cine and loving person with a great deal of compassion. For many, many, months he has counseled ward members from the pulpit andprivately and even thou she publicly disagrees with the church, ward members should not have feelings against her in any way, but she should feel loved, accepted, and welcomed regardless of her views. He has counseled Sonia many, many, months thatshe is free to express her views publicly. She was cautioned by the bishop, however, not to mis-represent church, nor to try to harm the church, for such conduct could cause her to lose her church membership. She chosenotto follow his advice, and one of many evidences was a talk she gave in New York to the American Association of Psychologists in which the entire talk was an attack on the church and not about why she felt ERA should be passed. It was full of half-truths and as vicious an attack on the What the Herald thinks, what the columnists say and edit any letter to removepotentially libelous material, material in poor taste and to makeletters conform to the length requirements. Length requirements can be waived in unusual cases where excess material provides exceptionally pertinentinformation orinsights on a matter of broad community interest. As nearly aspossible, all letters which meet the above requirements will be published in the order they are received, although handwritten letters may be delayed for typing, and letters containing questionable statements maybe held back to be verified. How Taxflation Affecting You By DON GRAFF If you wantto see realinflation power, take your eyes off the gas pump meters and supermariet cash registers for a moment and study your tax statements. Taxes — federal, state andlocal, the whole bundle — have been going up at a rate now approaching twice that of consumer prices. The comparative figures for 1978 were taxes up 13.2 percent, prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index up 7.6 percent. In the 1968-78 period, the tax take swelled by 155.3 percent while price inflation was 87.5 percent. Andif that bottom line is bad news, some of the statistical details as paid out by Industry Week magazine are even worse. Three major expenditures — food, housing and clothing — traditionally get the largest of consumer budgets. But as a consequence of taxflation, Americans are now shelling out more in taxes than they do for the three basics — $624.3 billion in 1979 as compared to $575.1 billion the year before. The difference was $49.2 billion, about triple whatit wasonly two years earlier. Tax growth while general, is uneven. State and local levies have increased morerapidly than federal — 187.5 percent during the past decade compared to Uncle Sam’s 139.9 percent. But while they may be gaining, state and local governmentstill take in only about half of what Washington extracts from the economy every year. The fastest growing tax category is social insurance. Up 249 percentin 10 years, Social Security and kindred programs accounted for 26.3 percentof the total tax load in 1978. Onanindividual basis, as Industry Week figures it, each American contributed $1,814 to the federal and $1,043 to state and local governments — for a total tax payment of $2,857, which represented 57 percent of the per capita income from wages and salaries of $5,047. And as a final measureof taxflation, the tax total of $624.3 billion was larger than the entire Gross National Product had been 15 years earlier. Of course, tc be completely fair and. accurate the figures would have to be adjusted for changes in the valueof the dollar, that of 1979 being worth considerably less than that of 1963 as a result of inflation. But then, that’s what we're talking about, isn’t it? Paul Harvey Let’s Use Food as a Weapon How can anybody play politics with hunger? The very idea that any nation would allow people to starve in order to accomplish diplomatic obJectives! Well, now, wait a minute. The recentsituation in Iran has brought into sharp focus our lopsided disadvantage if we aid and comfort our enemies in the nameof “humanity.” While they are willing even to kill people in the nameof religion. Historically, our country has been disinclined to withhold food from anybody who’s hungry. Recently, frequently, our generosity has been misused by dictators who diverted our shipments to their own profit — but we accepted that calculated risk in the hope that at least someofourgiftgrain would filter down to starving babies. Then came the tremendous grassroots response to the song ‘‘Cheaper Crude or No More Food!” Then camethe sobering situation in Iran. Then — President Allan Grant of the American Farm Bureau reversed his longstanding opposition to playing internationalpolitics with food. He said we are fools to strengthen the captors of our own people. Then — American longshoremen’s unions refused to load grain shipments bound for Iran. It was then that President Carter quietly allowed an undeclared em- bargo on food for Iran. The hordes who populate Iranian cities have depended on imports for half of what they eat and 80 percent of those imports have been supplied by U.S. farmers. Our Agriculture Department It will not hurt us anything like as muchasit will hurt them. And it will benefit us if it motivates us to accelerate the conversion of surplus grain to alcohol fuel. Berry's World - (USDA) had earlier rejected the idea of ‘cheaper crude or no more food.’ Agriculture Secretary Berglandcalled the notion “impractical.” Now. after you and the longshoremen and the Farm Bureau andothersgotriled up, suddenly the Department of Agriculture has reversed itself. Now the USDA's Mideast expert, Michael Kurtzig, says a cutoff in shipments of American feed grains to Iran will create shortages there almost immediately. Indeed, while the oi!-drunk Ayatollah Khomeinihas been urging hisfollowers to arin themselves and prepare to use guns against the United States, Iranian merchants have been trying desperately to purchase 30,000 tons cf Louisiana rice. There are always mercenaries willing to try to complete such a deal through intermediaries — but someof us are watching. ~ The Iranians have been trying to purchase grain elsewhere. They tried to order 60,000 tons of barley from Canada; were refused. , 4979 by NEA tn Fon ra Will this punish our farmers, depressgrainprices, add more red inkto our trade imbalance? Se Special News Analysis Today's Afghan Woes Be EDITOR'S NOTE: David Glen Wright is a free-lance writer now living in Provo. Heis a retired journalism professor and advertising professional who also works occasionally as a substitute teacher and producer of special newspaper sections. By DAVID GLEN WRIGHT The stage wasset in 1965 for what is happening in Afghanistan today. King Zahir Shah established a modified monarchy. He ousted his nephew Prince Daud from the Prime Ministry. For the first time in history, the people elected a democratic form of government, consisting of a two-house Parliament. I arrived on the scene in March 1965 as Fulbright lecturer in Jour nalism at Kbul University and advisor to the government press ministry and advertising agency. Elections were conducted by university teachers and administrators. I wasintimately privy to the process, makinga tour of the country by car, visiting the 12 government-owned newspapers and observing the balloting. Americans were popular, I was welcomed hospitably. The idea of self government was heady wine to those who had nevertasted it anda holiday mood prevailed. The Soviet Union then had relatively little influence in the country.It had built a road from the Oxus river to Kabul, an airport, a flour mill and bakery, an irrigationwer dam and was developing a naturalgasfield. On the other hand U.S. activity was pervasive. Education was directed by Columbia University of New York, Kabul University had been built and was supported by our State Department's Food for Peace Program, USAID conducted a school, supervised by George Bryson of Bountiful, and the Afghan Agricultural department was advised by a Wyoming team of agriculture instructors at Kabul University. The biggest powerirrigation-reclamation project in the country andthe longest highway linking Iran and West Pakistan via Kabul had been built by Idaho's Morrison-Knudsen Co. The leading importer and industrialist was Peter Baldwin, an American. Onthe surface, the future of the new representative government seemed secure. But, although apparently cooperative and loyal to King Zahir Shah, the csied power elite had been alienated. Suddenly the Khans (tribal chiefs) had to share control with commoners, even their servants. This was democracy? They immediately began to plot re-attainment of their status, turning to the Russians for help. [ observed some of that intrigue at first hand. When the new parliament convened, students were banned from the galleries. Several tried to force their way in and werekilled by the guards. A red-hot Marxist (not in myclasses) named Babrackled the angry youths on a marchfrom the University campus to parliament house, I got caught in the middle of this mob and witnessed the ensuing rock-throwing battle with police and soldiers. Babrack called the show off after the students had stoned to death two motoreycle traffic officers. Later, in clasnes downtown, about 50 students werekilled and scoresjailed. Prime Minister Maiwandwal restored order by broadcasting anin 1960s the democratic concepts that I expressed. They boldly announced Radio Kabul. From then on the dominoestilted and some began to fall. U.S. influence declined and the Russians began to edgeinto the picture. Freedom of the press was rescinded and by 1970 half a dozen independent papers had been suppressed. I was denied permission to establish a campus newspaper. The Soviet Union made syme spectacular movesall at once First, its AMTORGforeign trade they were devotees of Hegel and Marx.Myhorrified interpreter said such overt declarations of leftism were the first in his experience at the University. The trend was set and the antidemocratic wave was in full flow. The thousands of nomads (Kochis) induced to settle on farms were not successful and blamed USAID. Columbia University’s proposal to give precedence to elementary and secondary education over advanced wascriticized. Theelite did not need Soviet needling to block that move. The rest is recent history. By agency began to advertise neavily turning to the Communists to keep parliamentary procedures over for the first time in press and radio. My agency trainees wrote and placed this promotion of merchandise and tourism. Next, the Kremlin offered to cancel repayment ot its loans to Afghanistan. Thenit obtained permissionto establish a Russian-stafied technical college in Kabul About half my students of Public Opinion and the Press challenged them in powerthe elite alienated the eople who loathe the Russians. jot only do they hold themin contempt for their atheism, they fear their srnperiataan Since 1734 the Russian bear has gobbled up more than half their ancesiralterritory. Therefore, ever since Daud brought in Soviet advisors when he ousted Zahir Shah, the people have been in open rebellion, urged on by their Moslem leaders. Civil war con- tinues to rage and coups follows coups in the capital. Three succeeding Communist puppetleaders, Daud, Taraki and Amin, have been assassinated. How long the present Kremlin tool, Babrak, will last is anybody's guess. In the pastthesefiercely independent Moslems have successfully survived such terrible oppressors and Ghengis Kahn and Tammerlane. But then it was sword versus sword. Nowit is rifle versus atomic bomb. The devourmentof Afghanistan by the Russians swiftly advancesits long-planned acquisition of another all-year seaport. Il is only a short and totally undefended distance from the Afghan border across West Pakistan's Baluchistan province to the mouthof the Persian Gulf of the Arabian Sea. The Politburo’s collective adrenalin must be surging at the prospect of controlling that strategic waterway. With that and dominance of the Mediterranian the USSRwill haveall the Middle-bast oil for her war machine and we won't have enough to keep our domestic cars rolling. |