Oregon daily emerald., March 31, 1981, Page 4, Image 4

opinion__
Violence continues to shadow American life
When many of today’s students were in grade
school, a then-prominent political activist said
violence is “as American as cherry pie.”
While the name of H. Rap Brown today has
sunk into what some would consider well-de
served anomynity, his baleful analysis of the
position violence holds in American life remains
depressingly accurate to many people. Indeed,
one of the most horrifying aspects of the shooting
of Pres. Ronald Reagan was the familiarity of it all
— for many Americans, it seems as though violent
occurrences have become the norm rather than
the exception.
Many feel that America is undergoing a re
newed surge of violence. The murder of John
Lennon in New York last December, the killing of
children in Atlanta, and the shoot-out between
Nazis and communists in North Carolina brought
back vivid memories of the turbulence of the late
’60s with its urban riots, campus unrest and
political assassinations.
Other events also have supported the thesis
that a renewed surge of violence is taking place in
America. Children are murdered in Atlanta while
Nazis gun down communists in North Carolina.
However, most of the violence directed
against individuals such as Lennon and Reagan
has little in common with the political violence we
associate with various authoritarian and totalitar
ian regiemes. Elsewhere in this paper, University
history professor Richard Brown points out that
“our form of government, despite its failings, has a
high degree of legitimacy with the people.’’
Brown says that political assassinatons and
attempted assassinations in this country tradi
tionally have been derived from mental instability
rather than political motivations.
The reaction of local businessman Peter
Murphy, a personal friend of the President, was
similar. Anyone seeking political prominence has
to live with the threat of violence, he told the
Emerald. The only alternative would be for the
President to remain shut up in the White House,
isolated from all contact with the people.
In an interview conducted 10 years ago,
Brown made a recommendation that holds true
today:
“What we should do,” he said, "is give atten
tion to violence as a general historical problem in
American society. If we don’t take this problem
seriously, we are not likely to do much about it.”
That was 10 years ago. It appears little has
been done about it, and the problem continues to
throw a shadow over American life.
vours
Infanticide
Re: Mr Albrecht's recent letter noting
an increase of infanticide over recent
years with the legalization of abortion.
Indeed, infanticide occuring in hospital
nurseries across the land is on the rise.
Legal authorities are largely ignoring the
reports, an expected response since the
killing of infants in the womb is perfectly
legal
A film titled, ‘'Who Shall Survive?”
(funded by the Kennedy Foundation),
shown to first year medical students
across the country, chronicles the death
of a newborn boy. The infant, born at
John Hopkins Hospital, died of dehydra
tion because care was withdrawn. The
child was mongoloid and also suffered
duodenal atresia, which is easily cor
rected by a surgical procedure. Instead
of care the infant was wheeled to a
corner of the nursery and left to die. An
order NPO, nothing by mouth, was at
tached to his crib "Who Shall Survive?”
can be interpreted by the first year
medical student as an acceptable exam
ple of a difficult situation in the care of
newborn
A recent issue of the magazine
Science ‘81 deals with the subject of
genetic screening. Two articles are enti
tled “Who Shall be Born?” and
"Wrongful Life.” As the writer states,
"AFP may be the first of many simple
checks for defects the beginning of
quality control for children.”
We have already bought abortion.
Some hospitals quietly practice infan
ticide by simply withdrawing medical
care When we lose respect for one part
of life (the unborn) we lose respect for all
of life, for even our "imperfect” children.
Marie Hurliman
885 W. 19th Ave.
Land planning
During the past two years many of i.s
farmers in Malheur County have brought
to light scores of problems in Oregon's
land use planning detrimental to agricul
turists.
Because a farmer is not allowed to sell
1 to 5 or 10 acres of land we have
documented cases of individuals that
could not hold their operations together
during the years of low agricultural
prices and some were forced to sell their
farms below normal land values.
A sad and tragic event now taking
place in Sonoma County, California will
undoubtedly help prove our point.
Because of inflation, high interest rates
and low apple prices, the entire apple
growing areas are being faced with total
extinction.
California's land use control is similar
to Oregon’s with minimum lot sales from
20 acres to 640 acres. Farmland in rural
residential zones setup by land planners
in the Sonoma County area is selling for
as much as $50,000 per acre, but the
apple growers are being prevented from
selling 1,2, or 3 acres which would help
them hold on for a year or two until their
agricultural prices stabilize.
According to news releases and per
sonal reports we are receiving, many
growers there are already pulling their
orchards and some have already filed
bankruptcy notices because other apple
growers will not buy at any price. Other
crops are not feasible on non-irrigated
land and they are not able to sell a few
acres to enable them tc hold their farm
ing operations together.
The professed purpose of land use
planning is to help preserve farmland,
but the inflexible rules sometimes work in
reverse as in the aforementioned case
where thousands of acres of farmland
are being lost, hundreds of farmers are
being put out of business and thousands
of people connected to the industry are
seriously affected.
I pray that the Oregon Legislature and
all Oregon news media take note of this
event. It could happen to any of our
Oregon agricultural commodity groups.
Neil Venturacci
Route I, Box 228
Ontario
For Paul Olum
The University of Oregon will have a
new President soon, and that new Pre
sident will have before him — all the
A
finalists are male — a task which is im
possible of execution. The new Pre
sident will have to fill Acting President
Paul Olum's shoes. There is only one
man who can do that, and the powers
that be in the Chancellor’s office and at
the OSBHE should realize that they are
lucky to have Paul Olum. He should be
offered the Presidency.
Paul Olum has earned the Presidency
of the U of O because he has been the
President in all but title. He could have
eased his way along the safe and proven
trails of mediocrity and tried not to rock
any sacred boats. Instead, he has had
the guts to speak the truth about this
University and higher education in gen
eral. He has had the guts to protest the
fiscal emasculation of this school, while
others in the slaughterhouse reacted
with little but a whimper. It is easy to find
yes-men and reasonably competent ad
ministrators. It is extremely difficult to
find a President, someone who will stand
up for education and for the U of O. As
other crises appear in future years, what
kind of person is the Chancellor, the
Board, the faculty, staff and student body
of this school going to want in that hot
seat in Johnson Hall? They are going to
want a President they can trust, even
when they disagree with him on occa
sion. In Paul Olum we have a proven
President who has earned the respect
and trust of the University community.
The State of Oregon is very lucky to
have the opportunity to keep a man of
this quality to run the U of O in a time of
declining fiscal resources and no-win
decision making. Paul Olum should be
kept.
Alan Contreras
Junior, political science
On abortion
Ms. Skinner has been led to believe
that the fetus is not a human being. She
compared it to an appendix and stated
that, "like any other part of my body it is
under my control and dependent on my
will for its survival.’’ The same could not
be said of her heart, liver or kidneys
which are also human tissue. Her sur
vival depends on their functioning and
on their will. Over them she has little
control
Doctors who perform abortions do not
deny that what they are killing is a human
life As to their intent? "When you can
solve in some other way all the problems I
can solve by abortions, I'll be on your
side," stated an abortionist to Fr. John
Powell, professor of Theology, Loyola
University.
If Ms. Skinner honestly looked into this
moral issue of abortion and changed her
mind, she would not be the first one.
Laura Foster
Eugene