opinion
Celebrating the earth — every day
Eugene residents might not know it, but this is
Earthweek.
Local media have made a bigger to do about
National Secretary Week than the week set aside
for people to share and celebrate the earth. And
that’s sad.
Don’t get us wrong. We’ve nothing against
secretaries. It’s just that we think knowing about
the problems and possibilities of the earth are
more important than sending flowers to secreta
ries once a year.
“Environmental consciousness” is a
hackneyed, nebulous term. But pollution, weath
erization, bicycling, conservation, endangered
species, alternative energy — these are all con
crete concepts being discussed this week.
It’s a week of interesting people, interesting
Being human
I was at the EMU the other day
watching the space shuttle land safely
after orbiting the earth 36 times. It was a
truly exhilarating experience and it
brought back fond memories of previous
American manned space flights.
I remember vividly when John Glenn
went up for the first time in 1962, I was
allowed to stay home from school so I
could watch the launch on television.
Indeed, I can openly admit that I am
vicariously rewarded every time we make
a new inroad into space. Humanity has
certainly come a long way in its quest for
the stars.
However, something happened at the
moment the shuttle touched down that
sullied the spirit of the occassion for me.
That something, that momentary break in
the beauty of the instant was a shout of
“lets see the Russians top that!”. . a
sentiment I am sure was echoed across
our nation. But does anyone realize that
when we espouse this competitive spirit
and whip up our nationalistic fervor we
are just defeating ourselves as human
beings? What we are doing is transmut
ing our collective humanity into nothing
more than higher (higher?) organisms
competing for the upper rung of the
social ladder. Are we really a nation of
mere social climbers?
Perhaps the person who voiced this
sentiment is only inexperienced in this
world we live in. Maybe he has never
seen a real live Russian. He may think (as
a current Secretary of State believes)
that Russians live under rocks and one
needs only to turn over the nearest stone
to see just how close they are to taking
over our great nation state. He could
think that because they live under rocks
they have similar physiologies to snakes,
with scales and no feet and as such don’t
deserve to be thought of as human be
ings
Well citizens of this great and glorious
democracy, I have a surprise for you,
yes. you quessed it. Russians are
people too. This may surprise you, but
many of those creatures with names
such as whites, blacks, Jews, Christians,
gays, straights and, yes, even "jocks"
are really human beings.
So maybe, just maybe, we could turn to
one of these “humans” one day and not
say "lets see you top that,” but instead
say, "would you like to work together on
this”?
Bradley Passenger
Sophomore, psychology
Ignored patriotism
The letter by Jerry Peyton prompts me
to hop onto the "let’s discuss America"
bandwagon Peyton cries out against the
"David Isenberg types" (his quotes, not
mine), those who criticize this country
and the capitalistic society in which we
live.
presentations, interesting discussions. We’ve had
Rolling Thunder and Cecil Andrus and Galen
Rowell. We’ve seen cheetahs and gorillas and
slide shows.
We applaud the Survival’s Center’s efforts to
make “environmental consicousness” so much
fun. They've done a good job.
But it’s also a week for serious contemplation
■
about where humanity is — and where it’s going.
Writing your congressman, weatherizing your
home, conserving energy, saving sea turtles —
these are the things the sponsors, are encourag
ing. And they're worth encouraging.
The Millrace cleanup is the best example of
iwareness that leads to action, tacn year, tne
3reeks drain and clean the Millrace. It happens
his afternoon, and all are invited to participate.
Surviving the last decades of this century will
De more than a matter of luck. The hapless ob
livion humans have exercised will not be easily
reversed. In many cases, it cannot be reversed.
It will take more than one Earthweek a year. It
/vill take constant awareness of every human
action, and its influence upon the future of earth —
:he future of humanity.
But Earthweek is a good start.
We can’t let it stop here. Maybe, someday,
seople will be aware of their responsibilities as
people. And being kind to the earth and our fellow
lumans — secretaries included -r- will be more
than something we do once a year.
VC X Jl b
Well Jerry, I’m just as qualified by your
terms to talk of my working experience,
my jobs in high school to keep me in
clothes and supplies kept me out until
the wee hours of the morning six night a
week. I also served in the Navy (just like
Dave Isenberg) and, miracle of miracles,
I even saw some action off the coast of
Vietnam. During my education in college,
I have held various jobs involving both
labor and intelligence, in fact, I hold two
right now that require my attention dur
ing the week and the weekends.
I guess this makes me qualified to
discuss this country as well. You see,
Jerry, I love this country. Yep, I’m one of
those guys who signed on for military
service because of a blind patriotic
feeling toward doing what’s right. Unfor
tunately, the love I’ve given has been
ignored.
I don’t feel as good anymore when I
hear somebody say we are ’’the greatest
country in the world.” If this country is so
great, then why are we supporting a
government that insists on killing it’s
people for practicing freedom of
speech? I would think we'd be helping
the people of El Salvador against an
oppressive government instead of the
other way around.
Another thing, Jerry, is if this country is
so great, why is so much of the American
budget going to defense when we have
the capability to destroy all enemies
(both foreign and domestic) a dozen
times over? Why isn’t this country trying
to help its people cope with the rampant
inflation and unemployment? I guess it’s
easier to let people starve and freeze
than to give them a free lunch, right
Jerry?
One more thing, Jerry, I may not agree
with all that the "vociferous liberals” (my
quotes) like Dave Isenberg may say, but
I’ll defend to the death their right to say
whatever they feel. After all, its part of
being an American to defend free
speech, right Jerry?
Michael Riley
Senior, sociology
Campus traffic
Apparently, several pedestrians on the
University of Oregon campus have been
hit by bikes and injured. Obviously,
something has to be done. The
transportation subcommittee of the
Campus Planning Committee held an
open meeting April 17 to discuss a
proposed amendment that would ban
bike-riding from practically all campus
sidewalks. I regret that my privilege of
sharing campus walkways is threatened
by the careless riding of a small minority
of fellow bicyclists. As I said at the meet
ing, there are probably less restrictive
alternatives (that haven’t been tried yet)
to facilitate pedestrian-bicyclist
cooperation
I suggest a campaign to publicize the
problem and to educate the public in
how to alleviate it. First, everyone should
realize that pedestrians have the right of
way over bikes on sidewalks. This city
regulation should be made more salient
to University students and extended to
campus. Bicyclists should also: ride
cautiously around corners in case a
pedestrian is coming the other way; rea
lize that a relatively slow riding speed
around campus is necessary to reduce
accidents; limit riding to paved areas so
costly repairs for bike ruts can’t be used
as a reason for stricter bike-riding
regulation.
Pedestrians, for their part, could make
room for bikes on sidewalks as they do
for fellow pedestrians. Also, pedestrians
should avoid crossing in front of bikes on
the major bike thoroughfares (like 13th
and 15th Avenues). Pedestrians usually
don’t consciously step in the path of
motor vehicles on the roads They should
show bicyclists similar respect on the
roads and bike paths.
I call on student transportation groups
and appropriate University committees
to publicize the pedestrian-bicyclist
problem and to educate the public in the
simple courtesies that could defuse this
problem. I call on the local newspapers
and electronic media to report con
sequential pedestrian-bicyclist
accidents and any efforts to reduce the
frequency of such accidents. I call on
campus bicyclists and pedestrians to
show the University community that we
can cooperate without the restrictive
proposed amendment.
Bill White
Graduate, special education