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Show nn0m:tvtatk frVKwitiyits Do Presidents Need DESERET NEWS SALT LAKE CUT, UTAH We Stand For The Constitution Of The United States SATURDAY, MAY 17, 1969 Christianity In America By RALPH KEYES Newsday Staff Writer THE SPIRITUAL CRISIS America, it's Time For A Secretary Of Peace If America is to come to grips with the crisis of the spirit that President Nixon spoke of at his inauguration, peace in Vietnam is essential. But peace is a most elusive commodity. Our desire for it is not always shared, and is often disbelieved even by other peoples. And even our best intentions are subject tc being misi epresented and misunderstood. That much is apparent from the harsh treatment that President Nixons proposal for a mutual withdrawal from Vietnam received in Paris this week. But, as fervently as Americans seek peace, dees our desire for it really run as deep as it should? Are we really taking every legitimate opportunity to convince by deeds as well as words that we wish to live in harmony with the rest of the world? As a case in point, look at how s me of our governmental machinery is set up. We used to have a Secretary of War, and now we have a Secretary of Defense. But we never have had a Secretary of Peace. Why not ? In the 17S0s Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, called for the establishment of a Peace Office for the United States. More than a decade ago this page campaigned for the formation of a Peace Commission, composed of the finest minds in America, dedicated to seeking solid bonds of mutual understanding between our nation and other peoples. Twice in more recent years Congress has been asked to establish a Department of Peace, and the proposal got as far as the holding of public hearings. But nothing ever came of these suggestions. Why? Must we conclude that Americans desire for peace goes no deeper to it? Dont we believe that waging than paying peace is as important as waging war? Congress still has a chance to show how it stands on this matter. A bill has been introduced In both houses, with the sponsorship of 16 senators and 60 representatives, calling for creation of a cabinet-leve- l Department of Peace. Combining into a single agency a number of scattered government programs oriented toward peace, the proposed new agency would symbolize a national commitment to the peaceful solution of international tensions. Moreover, the measure envisions, an International Peace Institute that would parallel the military service academies. Just as the military academies train young men for war, Bo should we train the flower of Americas young manhood and womanhood for peace. While America needs to keep strong militarily, our nations security will rest on shaky foundations if our only answer to international problems is simply to build bigger bombs. We must match our growing physical power with spiritual and moral strength. And we must make an effort an organized effort to mobilize that spiritual strength to win mens hearts and minds to the cause of international peace through international brotherhood. AmericaiiS are supposed to be the greatest salesmen in the world. Let us now strive to sell the world on peace. peace-lovin- g lip-servi- How Good Are Camps? For an estimated 7.5 million young Americans, the approaching summer vacations will not mean a letup in their schooling but a continuation of it in summer camps. The 800 Waking hours of a summer at camp, one report on the subject observes, are equal to the time spent at school from September to June." Another notes that a camp director and his counselors have a greater opportunity to influence young people than a school principal or teacher, since the camp workers have supervision of children for 24 hours a day in an environment removed from offsetting influences from home. Yet, camps and counselors arent accredited and supervised to nearly the same extent that schools and teachers are. Thats why Congress is considering a bill to provide for a national survey of the camping situation, to be followed by setting of camp standards on health and safety matters in cooperation between the states and federal government. Camping organizations, including the American Camping Assn., support the principles of the legislation and helped in its drafting. Utah is listed by the ACA as being among the 29 states that do not require annual camp inspections, the 40 that have no training requirements for supervisors of aquatic activities, and the 46 not regulating the condition of vehicles used for transportation or the qualifications of drivers. Before the federal government steps in, it should give the States a chance to regulate summer camps now that the matter has been brought to national attention. But if the states dont act, then Congress should. Space And Success For the past eight cars Americans have increasingly come to accept the idea that our astronauts will set foot on the moon before this decade is out. Now, three spacemen are poised to takeoff Sunday on the next to last leg of this long and perilous journey. If the Apollo 10 mission succeeds, it will permit Apollo 11 to try mans first landing on the moon next July. If it fails, it could threaten the U.S. goal of landing on the moon by 1970. President Nixon reflected the sentiments of most Americans when lm obscived that Any great nation, if it is to remain great, must be m the forefront in exploring the unin discovering the new' worlds. known So did Col. John II. Glmn, the first American to orbit the eari;h, when he declared recently: 'Every' big businessman, even in lean years, knows that his best guarantee for future success is to put some part of his resources into research and inquiry' into the new, even though his current problems may be considerable." The astounding prognss of the space program stands as an inspiring testimony to man's abil.tv to sit a goal for himself, overcome trenu ndou- - ebstac los, and lealize much material and mental growth through striving to achieve his objective. Man has showm what energy, initiative, and cooperation can accomplish in outer space. Now lets put those assets to work in coming to grips with more problems. down-to-eart- h An Editorial From Christian Science Monitor What would happen if an American President suddenly became unbalanced?" asks British author C. P. Snow. An unlikely contingency? Not in the view A fascinating and never-endinwhether the United States is truly a Christian, that is a religious nation, or whether it Is actually a secular one wMch likes to think of itself as deeply religious. Of course, such an argument can never be settled for several reasons. One is that any judgment on this question is likely to be subjective, depending upon the judgers outlook. A second is: not all will agree on what constitutes a truly religious nation. The latest contribution to this argument y comes from C. C. Goen, professor of church at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. Professor Goen states categorically that America is not the Christian nation it tMnks it is but essentially a secular one," in that its system of values comes from a secular society. To prove his point, he says that whenever a moral issue arises to divide a community, church members rarely try to act on specific Christian insights by seeking a meaningful ministry of recong former President Harry S Truman. The job of the President is getting to be an almost unendurable mental and physical burden, wrote Truman four years after leaving office, adding, We ought not to go on trusting to luck to see us through. In the nuclear era, when world survival may depend on one Presidents judgment, the problem is of split-secon- d pertinent. Under the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a President unfit in body or mind who refuses to resign can be ousted by his vice president and a cabinet majority. Should the chief execus tive continue to be obstinate, a reof the can ratify Congress majority moval. Ms-tor- two-third- With luck, this country will never face such a suicidal quarrel. Hopefully any President suffering severe emotional problems would be diagnosed and helped or removed before the state of his mind made him totally unfit for office. Unfortunately, as Dr. Arnold Rogow of New Yorks City University points out, among there is a mental government officials In health mythology (which) holds essence that Very Important Persons do not become mentally ill, or at any rate not while they are in office . . . before (the problem) can be realistically statesmen and politicians will have to abandon their considerable personal and professional stake in the official mythology. In other words, perhaps the President, among others, might do well to have an analyst. A psychiatric checkup should be a regular part of holding public office, say3 Rogow, a political scientist who concentrates on mental health In high office. Dr. Bryant Wedge, a Tufts University specialist in political psychology, recommends that an official presidential psychiatrist be a staff member much like the White House physician. Explains Wedge: Presidents of universities and corporations often tell me how much harder their job is since they have no neutral person to talk to. The same thing is probably true for the President of the United States." A major stumbling block to such a move is that among the general public, there is a lingering demonology about mental health, particularly the mental health of high officials. During the closing days of last years presidential campaign, Drew Pearson alleged that Richard M. Nixon received psychiatric care some years ago. In the brief press flurry that followed, Pearsons gossipy charge was dealt with only in terms of accuracy and taste. A spokesman for Nixon denied Pearsons story, as did the psychiatrist in question. This controversy died quickly ami inconclusively. Its most serious aftereffect could be, as New York Post eolumrist James Wechsler worried, if Mr. Nixon in some future moment of genuine stress shrank from any contact with those dubbed lest shrinks Pearson be watching. Interestingly, it is the military and the Central Intelligence Agency who have proved most receptive to modern psychological tools. The Pentagon admin- isters thorough personality tests to men in sensitive positions. The CIA uses a number of psychiatrists for ministering to agents and evaluating foreign leaders. Occasional hints of this work seep out rumored psychoiographs of such men as Cuban Premier Castro or Greek dictator Last year. Wedge Papandopoulous. revealed the story of a psychological profile of Khrushchev which he and 20 other specialists constructed for President Kennedys use in the 1301 Vienna summit meeting. ciliation. sons wife and his physician kept disturbing information away from Mm during his year and a half as President after his shattering stroke. The 20 minutes or less that the current President would have to ponder pushing that button tends to work against extended therapy. The countrys most dangerous known nuclear-erflirtation with official insanity came in the case of the first defense secretary, James ForrestaL A serious presidential possibility early in 1948, grew increasingly irrational as the year progressed. After Ms retirement in 1949, his condition quickly deteriorated. A cabal of Communists, Zionists, and their friends were after him, this cold-wa- r stalwart believed. Finally committed to a hospital, Forrestal killed himself May 22, 1949. Though the defense secretary had shown symptoms of a breakdown even while in office, he was never advised to seek anything more than rest until it was too late. The invariable rule is that VIPs never experience anytMng more than exhaustion, explains Rogow, author of a biography on Forrestal. Historical evidence suggests otherwise. Seventy-fiv- e cMefs of state in recent centuries suffered severe mental disturbance while leading their countries, according to Dayton University psycholo-tis- t Robert L. Noland. John Adams, writes one biographer, had such a suspicious disposition that it would be diagnosed as a persecution complex if he Even before his stroke, lived today. Woodrow Wilson suffered nervous breaka For-rest- al downs. During the frenzied Paris peace conference he fretted that his delegation's French servants were all spies. Paranoia sems to be a problem which occurs rather frequently in top leadership, writes Tulane University psychiatrist Dr. Mottram Torre, an expert on health problems of public officials. Assuming that the maintenance of health among government leaders is a problem, what can the U.S. or any country do to protect its leaders and its people? emotional Some have proposed boards of empowered to screen unstable types from the political arena. But this carries problems of its 'own. Who certifies the certifiers? Is evidence of clinical disability the same as publio incompetence? (Llnooln might have appeared dangerously neurotic to a modern-da- y psycMatrist) And what of a doctors biases? The 1,189 psycMatrists who pronounced Goldwater emotionally incompetent in a 1964 mail survey inspired little confidence in their profession. One of the doctors responding to the survey, made by Fact magazine (against which the Arizona senator eventually won a libel suit), wrote: If Goldwater wins the presidency, both you and I will be among the first into concentration camps. GUEST CARTOON Whos paranoid? A concerted effort to shift public attitudes would be more realistic. In a campaign, the focus is on issues, says Dr. James Barber, Yale political scientist, but these become trivial when a man takes office. It is character that counts. We must get party leaders to take this kind of thing more into account when making their choices. There are problems with tMs approach as well. Rogow worries that such discussion would probably become Given irresponsible the current climate of opinion, this fear is justified. Nixon, for example, had no realistic alternative to denying that his doctor examined his mind as well as his body, whether this was totally accurate or not. gossip-mongerin- g. Until the day when Presidents are allowed to seek professional counseling without deeming them mad, the greatest safeguards must continue to rest with and luck. checks, balances 40 m.m. cannons, we should frown on that, even if it makes some of us unpopular." Htrblock cartoon All Their Guns Point In The Wrong Direction At the May convention of the American Assn, of University Professors in Minneapolis, President Nixon was denounced for his position on 1 college riots. The res- olution said the Presi- I dent had made a JENKIN LLOYD JONES i h direct threat to aca- demic freedom. The AAUP granted the Alexander Meikle-Joh- award to Presi-den- t George Uni- V. Starcher of the versity of North kota. These are stern charges. Furthermore, arguing from one point of view, that wMch says that mankind always falls short of its obligations and potentialities, it is hard to refute such charges. No American, alive and thoughtful today, would gainsay that his country is wracked with problems which a greater and purer sense of the n moral, ethical, countrys great and spiritual heritage would not have prevented. Yet, while it is right and needful to hold up stern and demanding standards, it is also right to be sure that we are fair and balanced in our judgment And to be so, we must be ready to acknowledge the good with the bad, set the gains against the shortfalls. Nor is it either idle or blindness to proclaim that in many ways the United States today Is a very Christian nation indeed. Never in Americas history have so many Americans seen and stood ready to acknowledge their own and their countrys shortcomings. Never has there been greater concern for misfortune, never a stronger public willingness to help correct injustices even if this can be done only through sacrifice on the part of the more fortunate. TMs is Christianity of a deep and abiding nature; it is Christianity made practical in human affairs. Time was when a man was looked upon as a good Christian if he merely went through tha prescribed rttes of dogma. But mankind is learning that true Christianity is an infinitely deeper thing, that it involves, not outward actions alone, but even more importantly Inward growth and transformation of character to bring tMs latter more fully in line with the source cf all right action and tMnldng. Greater concern for others is one evidence of this growth and of a truer Christianity. Judeo-Christia- Continuing to give official psychiatric attention only to spies, soldiers and enemies may prove a luxury the U.S. can no longer afford. So far the country has been lucky. James Garfield stayed in office for three months after being mortally wounded by an assassin, suffering hallucinations toward the end. Woodrow Wil ' iDggi mh'yKr ANOTHER VIEW A Handy Psychiatrist? As Having Been Divinely Inspired 12 A EDITORIAL PAGE xrgli Da- Mr. Jones President Starcher was hailed for insisting that Gus Hail, general secretary of the U.S. Communist Pariy, he allowed to speak to the student body. He was praised for resisting pressure to fne a siudent editor who wrote an editorial denouncing the university for accepting a gift to support prizes for essays on patriotism. And m a dirty word controversy guess where Doctor Starcher wound up, to the cheers oi the award committee. The AAUP also cited seven small schools, mostly in the South, for violating academic freedom. Conspicuously absent from the black list, however, was MIT which refused to rehire Professor Walt Ros-toostensibly because there was no If being "liberal In this sense meant a wiser understanding of student activists, then It should follow that colleges manned by 1'beral facilities should be enjoying the greatest peace. The opposite, alas, is true. The ivy is scorched in such bastions of liberalism as Berkeley, Madison, Cambridge, Momingside Heights and Ithaca. ably, until these solutions are delivered to The apostles of violent takeover have found the satisfaction of militant students, no one these boys are patsies. should object to flaming universities. How innocent is the militant left? How It was, alas, a typical AAUP perform does it fit the stubborn AAUP dogma that it ance, marked by paralysis of any capacity is mainly a manifestation of young idealism to react to assaults from the left. and noble impatience at slow progress Dr. S. L Hayakawa, the embattled presitoward fieedom and justice? dent of San Francisco State, iias comment In a recent speech, William C. Sullivan, ed that such professors are like the defense assistant director of the FBI, pointed to the of Singapore all their guns point in the on sabotage and explosives workshop wrong direction. which the Students for a Democratic SocieAnd Prof. Theodore J. Lowi of the ty held in connection with its convention at of political science, University of East Lansing last June. dis Chicago, observed this spring that profesThe participants," said Sullivan, sors who regard themselves as liberals cussed act3 such as flushing bombs in toilhave excellent defenses against attacks ets to destroy plumbing, firing Molotov from the right. But when hit by the left cocktails from shoiguns, jamming radio they fall apart. equipment and dropping thermite bombs cannot down manholes to destroy communications said stand the They tnought," Prof. Lowi, that they might not be liberal equipment. Subsequent efforts of the SDS to enough. explain away this workshop have been ludi vacancy. Prof. Rostow, as an adviser to L.B.J., had supported the war in Vietnam. A delegation from the Amherst faculty sent a message to President Nixon saying that student unrest would not be quelled until there were solutions to the war, the draft and the needs of the poor. Presum- crous. On Ftb. 25 of this year a secretary et Pomona College lost a part of a hand and the sight of an eye when she picked a bomb out of a college mailbox. On March 3 three faculty members at Kent State in Ohio overheard SDS members saying it wa3 time to burn a building. Four nights later a building went On March 5 a student placing a bomb In the Creative Arts Building at San Francisco State was blinded when it exploded premat- urely. On March 7 two students at Loyola in Los Angeles found a fire bomb in the computer building. On March 20, diuing student unrest, the science building at Lane College in Tennessee was burned to the ground. On April 11 a custodian at the University of California at Santa Barbara was killed when lie picked up a package laid against the door of the faculty club. Maybe its time the faculty club got the word. These are not high jinks. On April 11 in a speech at the University of Florida, Michael Klonsky, national secretary of SDS and son of a former Communist Party USA official, urged student revolution and the formation of a truly communistic society." Perhaps the AAUP at its next convention should consider the degree of academic freedom it would then enjoy. |