| Show 18A The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday September 13 1987 Common Carrier FIRST IT ml POWLAR ID PERSOJIE JEWS THEK IT AIKT PCCAJLAR ID FEJ5££CUTE US Slurs Nicaragua Image By Rebecca Widenhouse In late 1986 three of us all Presby- “We’re not Communists” she told us "and we don’t support the Sandi-nista- s We don’t support the Contras either We’re just trying to stay in the terian Church members from Salt Lake City joined the national delegation of Presbyterians visiting Nicaragua under the auspices of a group called Witness for Peace Witness for ChrisPehce is a tian organization opposed to the Contra' war and to US military involvement in Nicaragua The Nicaragua we discovered during our two weeks was far different from the Nicaragua pictured by most middle” Today s Common Carrier author is Rebecca Widenhouse 312 S 500 East ff5 Salt Lake City Utah 84102 She is pursuing a masters degree at the University of Utah on press coverage of Central America The views expressed in the article are the pers onal views of the author Americans So different in fact that I believe the Reagan administration is mistaken about Nicaragua and the necessity for a military solution there I would like to point out three of the contradictions we discovered between Nicaragua and its image as portrayed in the United States First in the United States we are told that the Contra forces are fighting communism in Nicaragua This leads to the mistaken impression that it is communists who are dying in the Contra war In fact those who are dying at the hands of Contra forces are often innocent Nicaraguan civilians whose only "crime" might be to work for some govern- ment agency or to have a family - t - ' ' a' ' ’ y Rebecca Widenhouse member serving in the Sandinista army In the southern Nicaraguan town of Verdun we met many victims of these tactics We met a man whose son had been kidnapped by the Contras last spring along with four other boys The children have not been heard from since We met a preschool teacher who earns $450 a week working for a church development agency She could have a better job working for the Ministry of Education but is afraid it would make her a target of the Contras and endanger her life We met a woman named Elba whose husband has disappeared at the hands of the Contras leaving her with six children to feed and no means of support zier research professor and associate chairman for undergraduate studies in the University of Utah department of mechanical and industrial engineering The board seeks articles from all segments of the community Articles need not be professionally prepared but should be between 950 and 1J200 words' long and be typed and double spaced They should pertain to the economic political and sog cial of the Intermountain Area Articles should be timely have a basic idea Handicapped and Develop-mentall- y promote dialogue and be chalDisabled Persons lenging "open letJudy Vogel member Bountiful ters ” are not acceptable and Utah State League of Women Voters Maxine P Material should be mailed to Hughes president Communi- Common Carrier The Salt Lake cation Workers of America Tribune PO Box 867 Salt Lake Local 7704 and Dr James Stro- - City Utah 84110 Opinions expressed in Common Carrier do not necessarily reflect those of The Salt Lake Tribune or the Common Carrier Board of Lay Editors Articles in this department are selected by the lay board of editors which operates independently of The Tribune edito nal and reportonol policies The Common Carrier board representing a cross section of the community is composed of Dianne Hesleph principal Wasatch Junior High School Granite School District Fran Schwaninger-Mors- e executive director Governors Council for well-bein- So-call- ed Point of Law Police Power Is Reserved For Each Individual State high-pitche- d Edward McDonough is a lawyer practicing in Salt Lake City central part of town up before dawn last Tuesday It kept on ringing for most of an hour and gathered a large crowd of the curious which eventually included even Samuel P “Judge" Carruthers a man whose routine is not usually disturbed by mere noise-make- rs “W'hat the blazes is going on here?" Carruthers demanded of Harold Smith First National’s branch man- ager 1‘Someone has broken into the bank by driving through the south wall” Smith replied He pointed down the alley between the bank and the Ajax Hardware Store The back half of a 78 Chevy was protruding from a hole neptly punched in the brick wall of the bank directly underneath the clanging alarm bell TCan’t you turn the thing off?" Carruthers shouted “I have been waiting for cleararce from proper authority" Smith said Hal” said !'It’J)K to turn it yi BUT BEFORE THINGS GETS TOO BAD OWES CCMETOJE Aimj THREE AIKrPCSrnVE HEMOftOLIC KIDS! kVim st How to Submit Articles To Common Carrier Board of Lay Editors The Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution says: “The Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States respectively or to the people” One of these “reserved powers" of government that belongs to each state is the police power The United States is a country without a national police force The FBI and other federal agencies that exercise police functions in various contexts are limited to enforcing specific federal laws They do not exercise the basic police power ” of government to “keep the peace It works like this The piercing hammer of the burglar alarm on the side of the First National Bank Building had most of the people who live in the Elba refuses to stay in her home at night now because the Contras might come again Instead she her mother and her six children spend every night at a friend’s home crowding together for safety Needless to say none of these ordinary Nicaraguans feel that the Contras represent liberation in any way By terrorizing civilians the Contras hope to demoralize the population and demonstrate that the Sandi-nista- s are not in control It is a low-coway to run a war that has little support but it’s also the same thing as terrorism And so when our government says it is fighting communism in Nicaragua it is very important to remember that "fighting communism” is meant in only the most abstract sense More often than not the people who are actually dying are innocent civilians Sheriff Andy Carper who was now standing beside them “It’s very loud” “This is not a local police matter Sheriff” Smith said “An attempt to rob a bank that’s insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a matter for the FBI” “It’s not a matter for the FBI” Sheriff Carper said “until we have confirmed that there’s been a violation of federal banking laws” “Why else would someone drive a license car a car with plates mind you through the wall of the bank” Smith retorted “if not to rob it?” “But you haven’t found anything missing in the bank have you?” Sheriff Carper rejoined “Nevertheless” Smith said "attempted bank robbery is a matter for the ‘feds’” "Perhaps I might suggest" Carruthers said stepping between the banker and the sheriff "that the matter of the alarm bell’s continuing to ring is a matter within the jurisdiction of the local police authority as it has become something of a nuisance The FBI has no authority with regard to abating nuisances that I am aware te of" “Oh all right" Smith said "I’ll turn off the alarm But you two shall have the privilege of explaining it to the special agent from Junction City” (Point of Law is published for information purposes only and should not be used as legal advice You should see your own lawyer for specific legal opinions) second contradiction between Nicaragua and its image in the United States has to do with religious The Public Forum Tribune Readers’ Opinions A freedom Since our delegation was sponsored by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA we were espe- cially concerned about the reports that religious worship was not only tolerated in Nicaragua it was thriving We attended services at many churches both Catholic and Protestant and also worshiped with Catho- lic lay groups called Base Communi-die- s The tiny village of Verdun supported both a Catholic and a Protestant church the Protestant church holding services every afternoon And on Thanksgiving part of our group attended a particularly loud and enthusiastic evangelical worship 'service just two blocks from Sandinista Party headquarters in the town of Nueva Guinea It was obvious to us That no one felt constrained in their freedom to worship publicly This is not to say that the political aspects of religion have not been curtailed It’s true that the Sandinistas have shut down the Catholic radio station and newspaper believing that the Catholic hierarchy was using both n to support the overthrow of the government I don’t condone the restriction of these political freedoms but I think it’s important to distinguish between political restricNica-jragua- tions and religious repression Nicaragua does not repress or discourage religious worship worship thrives in Nicaragua today as it has As one of our own US embassy officials put it “The impression in the United States is that nuns are being truncheoned in the streets here and that’s not true There is a lively religious atmosphere in Nicaragua” Finally the most important contradiction we discovered between Nicaragua and its image in the States has to do with its ability to threaten its Central American neighbors and our own country “If we don’t fight communists in Nicaragua” it’s been said “we’ll be fighting them in Texas” But the simple fact of the matter is that Nicaragua isn’t large enough or strong enough to invade Texas or any place else Nicaragua is about the size of Iowa or about half the size of Utah Its total population is approximately 3 million half of whom are under the age of 15 That leaves an entire adult population including noncombatants like women and senior citizens of about 15 million Not only is Nicaragua small it’s' also desperately poor Half the country's annual budget goes to fight the Contra war The Nicaraguan econo my has been devastated by the Nica raguan revolution the Contra War and the US embargo Today the country can barely take care of its own people It's simply in no position realistically to overwhelm its neigh bors and it's certainly not a real threat to the United States And Nicaraguans know it Time and again they asked us “Why is the United States afraid of us? We’re a small country We won’t hurt you We want peace Tell people in America Rather Remarkable Sallie Eccles (Forum Aug 28) praises herself for not being shortsighted selfish stupid arrogant and domineering unlike the Mormons with their plans to close the Hotel Utah I hope she noted the Utah Heritage Foundation has dropped plans to bond the Hotel Utah to keep it open and operate it as a hotel This is rather remarkable Only a few weeks ago e I saw a of rather prominent names in The Tribune exhorting the LDS Church to keep it open Now the Smith’s bodyguard Orrin Porter Rockwell” LeSueur made no such statement As a matter of fact LeSueur says after referring to the shooting and to rumors that spread that “a Jackson County grand jury refused to indict Rockwell” One cannot help but wonder where Mr Bigler is coming from JR Forum Rules full-pag- Utah Heritage Foundation has dropped its plans because of lack of interest Amazing how the prospect of the collection plate can disperse the crowd and dissipate their ardor KEITH M CALDWELL Not a Careful Reader I read DL Bigler’s review of “The Mormon War in Missouri" by Stephen C LeSueur I also have read the book and found it to be an excellent history ANDERSON Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writer’s full name signature and address Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reason on others Writers are limited to one letter every 10 days Preference will be given to short typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writer’s true name All letters are subject to condensation Mail to the Public Forum Tbe Salt Lake Tribune PO Box 867 Salt Lake City Utah system) Bad News: The governor has asked school districts to cut another 1 percent from their budgets (In the case of Jordan District that’s almost a million dollars) Why? In every district programs " have already been cut Supplies are unavailable class loads ace ridicu- -' lously high and teachers salaries are embarrassingly low What more can ! be cut? The buzzards have picked this carcass clean Solution: Let’s just bag the whole thing Shut school down for a year Let the governor have the money add it to his $51 million and use it for something more valuable It's appar ent he thinks schools are a waste of time KATHY DAMJANOVICH Sandy Helmet or Death 84110 and well written Mr Bigler however did not read it very carefully He says referring to the attack on Illinois Gov Boggs "Boggs later was sacked by the voters and shot in the head by Joseph back into our underfunded education Waste of Time Good News: The state has found a surplus exceeding $51 million (Surely I thought some of that will funnel In response to the letter on July 31 concerning the use-o- f helmets Mr Aragon of Price maintains “let those who ride decide” Ir As a nurse I agree Those who ride should have the freedom to decide whether they wear a helmet To those who decide not to wear a helmet I suggest they fill out an organ-doncard so others can benefit JAN BAKER RN M K1 M AOa2iiANT)(SUnHHEADQUAItTBRS Sunt Headquarters 2 for 350 2 for 400 2for$650 $179 $219 $349 Our Best 2-Pa- Suit Buy Ever I u Mr Mac — Is x nt the Suit Headquarters for the world! 2-Pa- nt We can fit you m Suits Yes — We have Yes M £ solid color Suits Yes — We have striped 2- - Pant Suits Yes — We have plaid Suits Yes — We have that” Undoubtedly the situation in Nicaragua is complex and in this short article I haven’t begun to deal with all the legitimate questions that can be asked about the situation there But it’s clear to me that there are too many contradictions between the real Nicaragua and the Nicaragua portrayed by the Reagan administration for us to be supporting the Contra war I believe the Reagan administration's support for the Contras is based on a Nicaragua of the imagination a Nicaragua conjured up out of our own worst fears The real Nicaragua has sought negotiations with the United States it has agreed to the draft Contadora proposals including the stipulation that no foreign bases or advisers be allowed on the Nicaraguan soil and it endorsed the latest peace initiatives undertaken by the Central American countries With all this surely peace is possible But it won't happen until our government puts paranoia aside sorts out real concerns from imaginary ones and begins to pursue peaceful solutions as energetically as it has pursued military cnes & Dacron Yes & m Wool Suits — We have Free Alterations on all 2- - Pant Suits Yes — 2 or more people may share one order on all Suits S3 Complete Missionary Department The Right Suits The Right Shirts Ties & Socks The Right Raincoats - Topcoats The Right Luggage - Briefcases The Right Shoes Pi’s & Robes nt The Right Price Feature Same Day Alterations for Missionaries We I 551“ Tf f - |
