editorial
“Lesser evil” policy
means more injustice
In the on-going effort to convince the American people
to support a renewed military build-up and to take pride in
U.S. military intervention overseas, the Reagan administra
tion has had to come to grips with a contradiction in its
political philosophy. Specifically, why does the Reagan ad
ministration support right-wing dictatorships when it
claims that the purpose of U.S. foreign policy is to promote
democracy?
In reality, this kind of U.S. foreign policy has been go
ing on for a long time, but in his quest to re-ignite American
patriotism, Reagan has gone to great lengths to explain why
the United States must support right-wing dictatorships,
even brutal and repressive ones.
The argument goes like this: There is a big difference
between a right-wing repressive dictatorship and a com
munist totalitarian dictatorship. A right-wing dictatorship,
such as that of President Marcos in the Philippines “is a na
tional problem.” A communist dictatorship “is an interna
tional problem.” More specifically, communism is an inter
national threat to democracy, whereas a right-wing dictator
ship is a national problem that does not threaten worldwide
democracy. The idea is that the United States must support
repressive dictatorships as the “lesser evil,” in a struggle
against communism wmcli is tne greater evil.
Using this argument, the Reagan administration
justifies a policy of military support to governments
notorious for human rights violations including Pakistan,
Guatemala, South Korea, El Salvador, and South Africa.
Conservatives around the country, including many pro
Reagan college students have used this argument to criticize
individuals and oganizations which oppose U.S. military in
terventionism and U.S. support for right-wing dictatorships.
The argument, however, is both naive and dangerous.
Hitler was a vehement anti-communist. Should (and
would) the United States have supported the Nazis had they
aimed solely at defeating the Soviet Union? Is fascism the
lesser of two evils? What about South Africa today? In the
name of defeating communism, the United States gives
military and economic support to a nation whose political
philosophy is based upon the concept of racial superiority.
Is it just coincidence that South African prisons are filled
with black political activists who want their people to have
the right to vote in the land of their birth? Should Americans
tell blacks in South Africa that we justifiably support the
white government because it is the “lesser of two evils?”
In Guatemala, thousands of native Indians have been
murdered by government troops because they have struggl
ed for political freedoms. Do Americans have the right to
justify these mass killings because the Guatemalan govern
ment, which the United States supports, is the “lesser of two
evils?”
Should Chileans, South Koreans, Filipinos, Pakistanis,
and Salvadorans who have given their lives in the struggle
for the very freedoms Americans cherish believe that their
government is the lesser of two evils? Should the families of
the thousands murdered by government death squads in El
Salvador feel good because the United States says that the
government who murdered their loved ones is the lesser of
two evils?
Those who struggle against repression wherever it is
found realize that the military police that killed Archbishop
Romero in El Salvador and the military police that killed
Father Popieluszko in Poland have the same origins: They
both were born out of the politics of injustice. In its goal to
defeat the “greater evil” of the world, the United States is
promoting the very thing it says it stands against: injustice
and oppression.
Oregon doily
emerald
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letters
Please help
I need help from the College
Republicans again. I’ve
discovered some wasteful
government spending that I’m
sure our budget-cutting
crusaders will want to deal
with.
Yes, I’ve discovered that the
Marine Corps recruiters who
use the EMU lobby for their tour
of duty are getting paid $11.70
per hour to sign up people just
in case we need more “freedom
fighters” in Central America.
So maybe the College
Republicans could pass on a
suggestion to President
Reagan’s budget cutting depart
ment. How about hiring disabl
ed Vietnam War vets to staff the
recruiting table? They could do
a fine job telling people about
the glories of war. And maybe
the Reagan administration
could hire them for sub
minimum wage?
Roscoe Caron
Eugene
Mutual love
I am a born-again Christian,
and I have a relationship with
God through Jesus Christ. My
relationship with God is based
on mutual love. God loves me.
and I love God. I demonstrate to
God that I love Him by obeying
His commandments. I do not do
this out of duty or because I
“have to.” Obeying rules, per
forming ceremonies, and obser
ving rituals are religion — just
religion. Christianity is not a
religion; Christianity is a per
sonal relationship with God.
Jesus said, “If you love Me,
obey My commandments (John
14:15).” Relating to sex, this
means, “If you love Me, do not
engage in sexual activity out
side of marriage — heterosexual
or homosexual.”
I realize how incredible and
joyous my relationship with
God is, and I know that disobe
dience to Him would only hurt
my union with Him. I am not
married, and I abstain from sex
because of my love relationship
with the Lord. I cannot earn
God’s love by being “good," for
He already loves me infinitely,
but I can please Him by living a
holy, righteous life.
A personal relationship with
God is the brightest, most
fulfilling, most satisfying rela
tionship anyone can ever hope
to experience. It is more gratify
ing than the most intimate sex
ual relationship, whether
heterosexual or homosexual.
God offers you a relationship of
unconditional love that is eter
nal and infinitely fulfilling.
This relationship is free and of
fered to everyone. Like every
relationship, however, it in
volves great committment and
sacrifice. But in a union with
God, to sacrifice is to gain.
Eric Lake
Rhetoric Communication
Scream louder
Why did you choose to devote
most of the front page of your
newspaper to an article about a
man who was beaten (Nov. 11),
whereas you wrote only a cou
ple of paragraphs on the front
page about the assaults upon
two women (Oct. 31)? Are rapes
less important because women
are less significant than men?
Your headlines should scream
our outrage at rape, and scream
loader with each occurance.
Jack Straton
Graduate, Physics
Ridiculous
Ever since women gained the
right to vote, important goals
have been achieved towards
equality. We are finally realiz
ing that discrimination is wrong
and needs to be stopped.
But the EMU board has ven
tured into the realm of the
ridiculous. As the story in the
Nov. 16 issue of the Emerald in
dicates, eleven months were
spent debating whether a sign
with the word “man” on it
should be removed from the
EMU. In the end, they refused
to accept that the word man was
used to indicate humankind.
Such trivial pursuits not only
waste time, but also do nothing
but satisfy the hyperactive
needs of fanatical feminists.
The next step seems to be to
change the word “woman” to
“wo-person”.
Stuart Andrews
Human
Save whales
As the wildlife coordinator
for the ASUO Survival Center, I
would like to raise a vital issue
concerning the fate of the
whales, the planet’s largest liv
ing creatures.
It is not unknown that the
whales face extinction, and in
accordance, the International
Whaling Commission has final
ly voted to enact a ban on whal
ing. Japan, however, has chosen
to defy the mandates imposed
by the IWC, and is currently
preparing for their next hunt. It
is therefore extremely important
that the U.S. not back down in
the face of such a threat. The
Reagan administration has
pledged to invoke the
Packwood-Magnuson and Pelly
Amendments, which would
limit Japanese fishing
allotments in U.S. waters and
ban the sale of Japanese fish
products, if Japan decides to
continue to hunt.
The problem lies in the fact
that such sanctions will do no
good whatsoever unless they
are imposed. If anyone counts
themself as an individual who
truly cares about the tragedy
facing the whales, I hope you
will take the time to write a brief
letter to President Reagan.
Secretary of Commerce
Malcolm Baldrige. and
Secretary of State George Shultz
urging them to follow through
with these sanctions against
Japan should japan persist in
killing the whales.
For more information about
whales and the current situation
concerning the IWC
moratorium, individuals are
welcome to come to the Sur
vival Center to talk with me. To
learn about the whales more
directly, individuals may also
sign up to go whale watching.
Lori Bergquist
AQ1 lO Cumriiral Panlnr