editorial
Arms control failure
The recent Reagan-Gromyko meeting in the White
House served its purpose well: campaign publicity for
Reagan. There was just one problem. Reagan hoped to go in
to the meeting and come out of it showing that his “get
tough” policy with the Soviets has worked. It hasn’t.
The only thing Reagan’s “get tough” policy has proven
so far is how “tough” it is for Reagan to reach any kind of
arms control agreement with the Kremlin. During his
presidency, he has made repeated nasty verbal attacks
against the Russians. He has called them “evil,” “godless,”
and even gone so far as to joke about bombing Russia off the
face of the earth.
While such name-calling may be fun among children it
is hardly the way for a head of state to act. Name-calling
does not achieve arms control.
Reagan has had four years to prove his intent to bring
nuclear peace between the United States and the Soviet
Union. Instead of serious negotiations toward peace, he has
spent his time fighting for increases in nuclear weapons and
defense systems such as his now famous “Star Wars ” idea.
With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that Reagan’s
meeting with Gromyko on Friday produced nothing solid
toward arms control. Gromyko’s request that there be a
freeze on the development of space weapons systems was
met with a firm “get tough” response: First there must be
full-scale negotiations and then maybe the United States
will consider the freeze idea.
Reagan says that his new space defense system will
enable America to out-distance the Russians in military
technology and to close the “window of vulnerability.” The
Russians, however, disagree. They have stated repeatedly
that the Soviet Union will never permit the United States to
dominate them with nuclear weapons. They have history to
prove this.
Those who voted for Reagan in 1980 because they
wanted a president who would get tough with the Soviet
Union should be happy. Those who voted for Reagan
because they thought he would promote nuclear peace bet
ween the two superpowers have a lot to be upset about. The
world is not a safer place today than it was four years ago.
Hunting is a dangerous
sport for the careless
Once again it has happened. On opening day of deer
hunting season in Oregon a hunter was shot and killed. Tom
Hogg, a graduate of the University and assistant dean of
research at Oregon State University apparently was
mistaken for a deer when he was shot Saturday. The three
men hunting with Hogg at the time all said they shot in his
direction while chasing a deer.
Considering that thousands of hunters take to the woods
on opening day of hunting season, the apparent accidental
killing of one hunter should not come as a surprise. But it is
still a terrible tragedy.
Hunting season is not only a time of fear for the animals
that roam Oregon’s wilderness areas, it also is a time of fear
for those individuals who love the wilds but don’t hunt.
All week long before opening day, radio and television
are filled with warnings: Don’t go out into the woods.
Almost everywhere there is the sound of gunfire, and
everything that moves becomes a potential target of careless
hunters’ guns.
Perhaps it is the excitement of killing that makes some
hunters careless. But if hunters want the respect that they
claim their sport deserves then they must earn it. The three
men who thought Tom Hogg was a deer and shot in his
direction Saturday should have known never to pull the trig
ger without being sure of the target. It is a tragic lesson to
learn.
r
letters
Council jive
In reference to the Register
Guard article “City votes to op
pose ballot measures” (Sept.
27), I have a few questions for
our elected City Council people.
Whom do you represent? Don’t
you think that the people of this
city have a responsibility to
ourselves, to our children, to
our grandchildren, to provide a
safe, healthy, environmentally
aesthetic community?
Mr. Bail, you say that the
public should be actively in
volved throughout the planning
process, but we shouldn’t have
a veto opportunity at the last in
stant. Do you mean being in
volved as in the red ink amoun
ting to $150,000 more than tax
payers originally agreed to pay
in a 1978 election for the con
struction of the Hult Center and
parking garage? (see Register
Guard, 1/15/84).
Is that what you mean? Or do
you mean all the people like
myself who attended the public
hearing concerning the street
widening? We the people who
created our government are
ultimately responsible, like a
parent is for its child. On Mon
day Jan. 23, 1984, we parents
came forward to speak with our
child, the City Council. We
tried reason, anger, and even
begging, but like spoiled
children you wouldn’t listen.
You fidgeted in your chairs,
playing with your pencils and
stared off into oblivion as if we
weren’t even there. As a parent,
Mr. Ball, should we have a veto
over a non-obedient child?
And you, Mr. Obie, exactly
how difficult is it to build in
Eugene? It doesn’t take a wizard
Oregon doily
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to follow whose emerald city is
being built at the end of the
yellow brick road.
Richard Gold
Eugene
Realpolitik
It would appear that endless
opinion polls, a general Na
tional Enquirer mentality, and a
candidate's ability to use the
greatest number of “All
American’* platitudes per
speech will determine the win
ner of the upcoming election.
We, the comatose, media
enthralled public, eat it right
up.
When is this country going to
look beneath the surface of
token phrases and rhetorical im
agery? Let’s take a look at the
excessively used buzzword
“patriotism.” Does patriotism
mean waving a flag, frothing at
the mouth, screaming U.S.A.?
What needs to be realized is that
patriotism, if not rooted in some
of the higher ethics of humanity
is meaningless or dangerous.
Hitler instilled fierce patriotism
in the German people.
Now that our "pride” and
“Christian morality” are
stronger under this administra
tion, let’s look at the actions
that are behind these refreshing
compliments to ourselves.
We are now proudly trying to
destroy the government of the
Nicaraguan people. The last
U.S.-installed puppet of that
country murdered 50,000 of his
own people. Other countries
benefitting from our “crusades
for democracy” are El Salvador
(45,000 civilians murdered) and
Guatemala (same fate). Continu
ing on the lines of “Christian"
leadership (“Assistant secretary
of. ..has pledged continued
support of the Ugandan presi
dent despite allegations of mass
murder and torture.. ,200,000
civilians massacred”), is this
the standing-tall spirit
everyone’s been cheering
about?
As your children sit in their
schoolrooms will you be voting
for a man who makes one-liners
r—-—
about bombing the Soviet
Union? As a Christian. I won’t
be jumping on any Moral Ma
jority bandwagon. Beneath the
image I see actions that are
ludicrous and insane.
Surely the city of Eugene and
its merchants earned enough
loot from the Eugene Celebra
tion to fund taxi service for the
many bus riders, including
students, who became stranded
for hours between buses as a
result of the disrupted transpor
tation system.
Cynthia Wooten and other
organizers responsible for set
ting up the 2nd Annual Eugene
Celebration are particularly in
sensitive. The events of the
Celebration made hash out of
the bus service scheduling — an
unhappy and uncalled for
repeat of the 1st Eugene
Celebration.
It may come as a surprise to
these planners that there are
people in Eugene that are totally
dependent on the LTD bus ser
vice to meet critical and impor
tant appointments even on
weekends. Not everyone is able
to drop whatever they are doing
just to celebrate your promo
tional events.
Comments by angry bus
riders and upset, off-schedule
bus drivers indicate that these
kinds of disruptions and resul
tant strandings do nothing
toward promoting the stable im
age of Eugene you wish to pro
ject. In many cases, instead of
scoring with the public, these
events prove to be infuriating.
The least that could be done
during the Eugene Celebration
is to provide transportation
alternatives to the LTD bus ser
vice for people dependent upon
public transportation. I speak
for many Eugeneans and
visitors in saying thanks for a
ruined weekend.
Gerry Rem pel
Eugene
Bad service
Kay Wells
Eugene
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