Editorial
Year of Peace may
be wishful thinking
The United Nations christened 1986 the Year of Peace.
And on the first day of the new year, both President Reagan
and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev pledged devotion to
peace and disarmament.
But in terms of real progress between the United States
and the Soviet Union, the United Nations' declaration ap
pears to be little more than wishful thinking.
True, the potential for achieving peace has been
bolstered. The New Year's Day speeches by Reagan and Gor
bachev were characterized largely by optimism. And the
November Reagan-Gorbachev summit meeting defrosted the
lines of communication between the superpower chiefs and
opened the door to cultural exchanges and future meetings.
But the world will not find peace simply by paying
homage to it. Positive thinking and inspirational ceremonies
are useless if not buttressed with concrete actions. And in
terms of tangible moves, the world has not progressed
toward peace. Instead, it has lost ground.
The passage of 1985 saw the expiration of the Salt 11
treaty and of the Soviet moratorium on nuclear tests. And
the primary barrier separating the world from peace stands
strong. The United States remains undaunted in its support
of the Strategic Defense Initiative, commonly called "Star
Wars.”
SDI is a ridiculous fantasy. The project's price t.ag- is
estimated at $1 trillion and even ardent supporters admit it'
would not intercept every missile aimed at it. • • ’• ••
Scores of reputable scientists assert the. system is '
mechanically impossible. In' December. • columnist Flora
Lewis reported startling evidence suggesting the results bf
reportedly “successful” SDI tests have been flagrantly,
misrepresented by the government.
SDI has placed arms agreements squarely between'.a
rock and a hard place. The.Soviets insist U.S. support of Star
Wars will sabotage arms talks, and the United States refuses
to relinquish the program. ...
•f%* Even the New Year’s Day exchange of greetings, intend
ed to express goodwill, did not escape references to SDI by
both Reagan and Gorbachev.
In a clear reference to SDI, Reagan fold" Spviet citizens
he hopes the world will eventually rely on "defense systems
that threaten no one,” He said the United States and the.!
Soviet Union are conducting research on a new defense
technology and said his dream, is that the technology could
“one day free us all from the threat of nuclear destruction.”
Gorbachev directly referred to the system in his address
to Americans with the statement, “ ... ,it is senseless to seek
greater security for oneself through new types of weapons”
and a call for “keeping outer space peaceful.”
By keeping the dream of Star Wars alive, the administra
tion has forgone the Soviet offer to cut its nuclear arsenal in
half in exchange for U.S. abandonment of the program. And
recent agreements with Great Britain and West Germany to
aid SDI research have aggravated the problem by fortifying
SDI’s credibility and broadening its base of support.
Arms talks between the United States and the Soviet
Union are scheduled to resume jan. 16. If 1986 has any
chance of living up to its designated title, the United States
and the Soviet Union will have to find mutual ground con
cerning Star Wars.
Personal choice
I have- a couple of random
: reactions to the story (OUfc.Jan
' 6') about . the . Marijuana In
,. itiative,. and to.some of the opi
nions voiced therein.
• *1. About* the* only argument
'folks like -John Williams have
against legalization of mari
juana ia'"WHy make it legal for'
• no- good reason? It 's dangerous
to public'health, anyway.” This'
• completely ignores the fact that
marijuana -was '(Harrison Nar
cotics- Apt of .'1924, etc.)"
• originally made illegal for no*'
.goo.d‘ reason dt- .all. All' that
legalization -Would, be is the
removal, q.f a. completely
pojntless. law. .The question of -
public health is absurd ~ if'we
outlaw alj menaces to public
health, we .have to cut o.ut
alcohol, nicotine, automobiles ,
(people. ge.t 0run over)",' •
pesticides, etc. The law is sup
posed to protect reasonable peo
ple from unreasonable dangers,
not protect everybody' from
everything;
2. Mr. Page’s. Ill-considered •
comment that. ‘ 'Had people
been more informed about-what
effect alcohol would have on
our society, they may hot have
repealed Prohibition;” is
laughable. The effects of
alcohol were rampant during,
and as a result of. Prohibition
(blindings from bathtub gin,
speakeasies, etc.). All we see in
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Prohibition is proof positive
that laws don't make substance
abuse problems go away.
3. Since when is the law a.
substitute for cqnjmon sense?
Alcohol and nicotine are legal
because sensible ; people .can
■deal with them sensibly* If:the,
law -is*meant to cause sensibili
ty. we'll have' to legislate '
‘against' day-time ‘TVN a'nd
rollerskating _ • • • .
fonathan Zweig
'■ o Math Major »
:• Hypocrisy
• It was heartening to sint Olen .
S a-c k s .p i e r.c e *1 h e ; n ej6 -‘. •
conservative*, chic of 'Afghan .
adulation (ODE;' Dec-. 12)* The
neo-conservatives' cldimthay
are ‘the.oqly ^reliable’trustees of •
Western* values and. tradition’
Yet, they, -delete the . Mission ..
contributions' to' the- .Western
heritage jwhile s jobber! ng, over
Afghan barbarisih,. TJt>. ’me,°.
praise oj such'barbarians has an
'aspect of 'decadence;
1 am -deepjy. sorry that the
Russians.behaveas true humans
by- ldttjng themselves;be. pro
voked into, atrocities.’by. Afghan
baroarism. Howeve'r.. what- en-°
titles Americans to th.row'the
first stone?. The Vietnam war
perhaps? Furthermore, it seems
to mei Americans should re-".
mind .themselves every day:
Here but for the grace, of God go
we.-, since apprehension; ' that
Mexico may • become our
Afghanistan is not so farfetch- •
ed-. Surely, the neo
conservatives of all people
would not want the United
States to stand idly by if Mexico
were raked by civil war.
There is indeed one Western
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letters to the editor must be
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trait tho neo-conservative* seem
to have a monopoly on —
hypocrisy. I don’t envy them.
■Indeed, whenever 1 read their
voice ori campus. The Commen
tator, I have to pause frequently
’• because ’its. mixtu.re of hot sauce .
and whipped cream sickens me.. ’ ’
,.o ‘ -A%E. Bretlauer
■ " A Eugene
Copiersolution
■ • tor•tlip.se 'oY us" with substan
tial/.re search'needs,0 chej;k-oiit
time „at ”the lJQ Library, with
more than "one. or two books is a
■ .farpe.• ljnt\l such, ti/rie as- funds
■ become available for 9 computer
system-.to*replace the cjirrentar?
chair, One, something 'must be
dune' about .the °copy machines
that" represent the major alter
• native Has. anypne else grown
weary of the 75 percent dow n
,timu' of °thelibrary's antiquated
. 'machines.', and the lines of
nickef-ladon students Six deep
at fhp ope .or two that may Ik;
working? :
•”If the firm that proyidesthe
current gear cannot, or will.not,
hack “its product with reliable
service,;then find one thatwill.
. There are plenty !of organize- °
; tidns that would be happy to iri
. stall a number of "high-quality
and technologically advanced °
copiers. Additionally, berth' the.:
number and location of
machines in the library should
be increased as two at each
stairwell entrance in insuffi- .
cient, especially when neither
is working. Finally, reduce the
cost — 5 cents for each copy is
too high and shows signs of
monopolistic advantage.
Perhaps what the library
needs is a little competitive
pressure. I suggest that the
several copy stores in Eugene be
allowed to bid on handling the
library. An innovate approach
might Ire to set up a small copy
center within the library with
efficient machines and staff to
handle student copy needs.
This would be especially
helpful for materials not allow
ed to leave the library.
Tracy R. Ellis
Graduate Student, IS:1P
Tuesdav. lanuarv 7. 10BH