editorial
We must all respect
one-parent families
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a report
outlining the growth of America’s one-parent households.
According to the report, there are 8.5 million single-parent
families in the United States, with 90 percent of them head
ed by women.
Single-parent white families have doubled since 1970,
to comprise a total of 20 percent of all American white
families, while the total for black families has increased 24
percent to an astounding 59 percent of all black American
families.
The report goes on to say that in two-parent and patriar
chal families, 13.4 percent of these familes were below the
poverty level in 1983. But 55 percent of the matriarchal
families lived below the poverty line that same year.
Of the 7.6 million women nationwide who head-up a
family, 3.2 million are divorced, 2.1 million have never
been married, 1.8 million are married but are separated from
their husbands, and about 500,000 are widows.
What do these figures mean?
Syndicated columnist Carl Rowan wrote an outlandish
analysis of these numbers, which appeared in Wednesday’s
Oregonian. He said: “This is a tragedy that reaches far
beyond the loss of the idyllic American notion that a family
consists of a man and woman with a couple of kids, living in
a cottage covered in roses. The most deprived, abused,
hopeless children in this land live in some of these one
parent familes.” Rowan went on to portray these families as
a moral aberration that should shame every American.
Single-parent families are not a moral outrage, instead it
is Rowan’s analysis that is.
Many single parents attend the University and suc
cessfully balance the responsibilities of parenting with be
ing good students. These people are dedicated to their
children and improving their children’s lives, as well as
their own. Similarly, hundreds of thousands of single
parents nationwide successfully balance work and family
life.
'1 While these families may not represent the “traditional
American family,” they constitute no more or no less a
legitimate part of American society than any two-parent
family.
To suggest that children are “abused” simply because
they live in a single-parent family ignores reality. (The over
whelming majority of child abuse cases occurs in traditonal
two-parent families.)
And to say that children are “deprived” because they
have only one parent, discounts the love and quality time
that these children may receive from that single parent. Con
versely, there are millions of traditional American families
that provide very little quality time or attention to their
offspring.
Of all the stresses placed on single- and two-parent
families, economic stresses may be the greatest. Certainly,
single-parent families generally have a much lower earning
potential than their two-parent counterparts. But the Reagan
administration, through its economic and social policies,
has done little to aid these families. Instead Reagan, who
was once a single parent, has done his best to destroy single
parent households, in order to return to Rowan’s “idyllic”
model.
The single-parent family is a new phenomenon in
American life. But this does not mean we should consider it
to be an example of America’s moral degeneration. Instead,
we should examine every American family on an individual
basis and observe the quality of life experienced by all in
that household.
'FUKTTHE WMEEL,NOWH(IS —THinSS AREGemn&OUTOf HAND!'
letters
Destructive
I applaud the Emerald’s
editorial viewpoint concerning
the impact that publications
like Playboy (and the
philosophy behind them) have
on our society. Ultimately, such
philosophy leads to the treat
ment of women as objects in
stead of persons.
The reasoning used to sup
port your view was quite good,
although I would like to add
another point.
The image of ideal sexuality
as portrayed by the
Playboy/Madison Avenue
philosophy presents youth and
physical beauty as being essen
tial ingredients for true love and
fulfillment. Also implied is the
idea that permanent, caring
relationships based on mutual
respect and commitment are
old-fashioned and stifling,
whereas freedom and happiness
come from being skilled or
clever enough to attract and
seduce large numbers of
beautiful young women while
carefully avoiding
entanglement.
What happens to relation
ships based on such values and
ideals when the beauty and
youth fade (as they certainly
will) or when health is gone or
sexual desire grows less? What
happens to those people who
are used and abandoned by
those who confuse love with
lust? Is love more than a tem
porary physical act?
The apostle Paul, in a letter to
the Corinthian church, discuss
ed what love is: “Love is pa
tient, love is kind, and is not
Oregon doily
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jealous; love does not brag and
is not arrogant, does not act
unbecomingly; it does not re
joice in unrighteousness, but re
joices with the truth; bears all
things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures ail
things. Love never fails.”
Love gives, builds and heals,
while lust demands, takes and
destroys.
William Moore
Eugene
Heathens
South Africa’s government
segregates against the races. A
boycott will surely end this.
Paul Olum said so, a man in a
De Beers t-shirt said so, so it
must be true.
But why stop there? Let’s join
forces and combat racism
everywhere. Boycott Egypt,
Libya, Algeria, Morocco and
Tunisia because they have ex
pelled over 250,000 Jews and
ghettoized the remaining few.
Racist heathens!
We must cut off all trade with
Malawi, Zambia and Bostwana
who have failed to cut off their
trade with South Africa or have
failed to prevent black workers
from migrating to the Rand.
South African imperialist
cronies, they are.
And what about Zimbabwe?
Robert Mugabe makes lan Smith
look like the Martin Luther King
of African politics. Mugabe has
killed off hundreds of former
co-revolutionaries who are now
in the opposition because they
belong to different tribes.
Mugabe is black, his followers
are black, and his foes are black.
Is Mugabe innocent of wrong
doing because he oppresses his
own people, or is it wrong only
if one race oppresses another
race?
And what about these Euro
peans. My God, even the
enlightened Swedes use under
paid Ottomans for less
epicurian tasks. The English
hate the Gypsies, nor are they
too fond of Irish Catholics. Lock
up their trade and throw away
the key.
The Soviets have more than
four million people in slave
work camps, everyone knows
about Cambodia, and Idaho has
neo-Nazis.
Boycott the world, I say (ex
cept for Iceland, they're nice).
Dan Goulet
Eugene
Thy Enemy
I consider the pictures in
Playboy closer to art than
pornography.
Women — know your enemy.
If you are concerned about
negative stereotypical portrayal
or violence against your sex.
protest against magazines such
as “Front Page Detective."
which typically combines
violence against women with
males coming to their rescue
with more violence. Or if the
idea of being portrayed as a
blonde bimbo turns you off —
protest against television pro
gramming such as “Three's
Company.”
But Playboy is a quality
publication with a thoughtful
and sensitive editorial staff. It
raises issues that concern not
only sexual dynamics but also
our relation to the 20th-century
society. It publishes first-rate
fiction and dynamic interviews
with world figures, as well as
articles and columns on
technology, law, art, music and
book reviews.
Girls — are you only looking
at the pictures?
Alexander Balogh
Journalism
Letters Policy
The Emerald will attempt to print all letters con
taining fair comment on topics of interest to the
University community.
Letters to the editor must be limited to 250
words, typed, signed and the identification of the
writer must be verified when the letter is turned in.
I he Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for
length or style. Letters to the editor should be turned
into the Emerald office. Suite 300, EMU.