Editorial
Endorsed illness plan
step in right direction
President Reagan departed from his conservative
political philosophy last week and endorsed a catastrophic
illness plan for the nation's 30 million people on Medicare.
The move is a good one for it will allow those afflicted with
long-term, debilitating illnesses to receive medical care
without facing financial ruin.
The plan, widely supported in Congress, would raise
Medicare premiums by $4.92 and limit out-of-pocket
payments to $2,000 a year — currently there is no limit.
Medicare also would finance an unlimited number of days of
hospital care.
Although the proposal is a step in the right direction, it
could have gone further. Costs of prescription drugs, eye ex
aminations, dental care and nursing home stays are not
covered. These items consume a major portion of medical
costs for the elderly and should have been included in the
plan. Another issue that should have been addressed was
putting a limit on doctors’ fees. Presently, doctors can legal
ly charge fees above levels deemed “reasonable” by the
government.
Critics in the health insurance industry and within the
administration itself charge the catastrophic illness plan
would replace “a competitive private market with a govern
ment monopoly." This is nothing but demagoguery, stemm
ing from the misplaced priority of putting profits over health
care. The proposal, as it stands, is “budget neutral" — the
$4.92 increase in Medicare premiums would net the govern
ment $1.8 billion per year, and this would cover the cost of
the additional Medicare benefits.
Our nation's elderly need the illness plan the president
endorsed, and hopefully it has opened the door for more
comprehensive Medicare proposals in the future.
The Klan's $7 million loss
will be our society's gain
A federal jury’s $7 million award last week to the family
of a black teen-ager whom was brutally slain by members of
the United klans of America comes as proper vindication.
Michael Donald was beaten and strangled in 1981 by six
Klansmen in Mobile, Ala. Although the money will not br
ing him back, his family now can find comfort that justice
has been done.
Klan assets have yet to be determined, but it’s apparent
they have the resources to pay the penalty. Already efforts
are in the works to transfer title of the Klan’s 7,000-square
foot national headquaters building in Tuscaloosa, Ala. over
to the Donald family.
We question why none of the guilty was given a jail
sentence, but Beulah Mae Donald, the victim's mother, was
satisfied with the verdict. Alabama state Sen. Michael
Figures, lawyer for the Donald family, similarly was pleas
ed. He called the court’s decision a “landmark ruling” and
declared that the verdict “would make Donald’s death the
last Klan lynching.”
In our pluralistic society, damnable groups like the Klan
must be tolerated if freedom of expression is to exist. But no
group has the right to commit wanton acts of violence, a law
the Klan historically has violated. Our hope is that the
federal court’s decision will curb future Klan atrocities.
Qccn*y HP**%nr*ct
Letters
Feelings
I passed up the letters on
religion. I also let the grammar
letters go. Unfortunately, I find
myself having to respond to a
very strong statement made by
Mary Sullivan (ODE, Feb. 11) in
her letter concerning abortion.
By making the statement that
men who voice their opinions
on abortion don’t understand
what they are talking about
because they will never ex
perience the feelings surroun
ding an unwanted pregnancy
directly, she has spoken un
wisely. She has slurred the en
tire male sex. It is true no man
will ever experience such feel
ings directly, but men are
capable of empathy. Such a nar
row description of an entire sex
is not just.
Andrew Maxwell
Psychology
Safe sex
On the issue of condoms,
what Surgeon General C.
Everett Koop has actually stated
is that anyone foolish enough
not to become totally
monogamous should use con
doms during sex.
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Remember — condoms are
not 100 percent effective in
preventing AIDS transmission.
To foster an attitude like, “1
don’t have to cut out premarital
sex because I can use a condom
and be totally safe,” would be
as stupid as someone saying, "“I
can get drunk and drive 90 mph
because I wear a seat belt.”
The last paragraph of your
editorial on condoms and AIDS
(ODE. Jan. 30) seemed to take a
dim view on promoting
abstinence prior to marriage.
However, that’s what the
Surgeon General Koop is urg
ing! His recommendations are
also that the main emphasis in
health educaiton in schools
must center on the dangers of
non-monogamous, premarital
sexual behavior. To promote
condoms, and not abstinence,
has been tabled dangerous by
many experts.
Fortunately, a person who
abstains from sex prior to mar
riage, and then marries
someone with similar attitudes,
has nothing to fear from cat
ching AIDS from sex, as long as
neither individual commits
adultery. Such couples can be
as sexually active with each
other as they please with no
need of "safe sex" or condoms.
So much for the "Sexual
Revolution.”
Michael Cross
Political science, history
Justice
In regard to Dan Goulet’s let
ter (ODE. Feb. 11)1 wish to say
one thing: BRAVO!
I thought I was the only per
son on this liberal campus who
believed in justice. If Bissel was
truly a ’’gentleman” he would
have turned himself in im
mediately (or maybe not have
attempted to blow up govern
ment property in the first
place!). The only thing missing
from your editorial was, “He
was always such a quiet
man...”
While our patriots were away
defending f r e e d o m and
democracy, Bissel was trying to
destroy those very foundations
from within.
Mr. Goulet’s insight and
awareness should not only be
applauded, but also deemed a
valuable and necessary part of
our intellectual community.
Gina VanCIeave
Speech, RHCM
Definitions
Professor Rousseve has writ
ten a number of letters to the
ODE recent ly identifying
himself as a “post-Christian
agnostic.” I think some atten
tion to definitions would be
helpful. Dictionaries typically
define a Christian as one who
believes in Jesus as the Christ
(i.e. as devine) and in his
teachings. But that leads us to
defining “believes.” We tend to
use the word quite casually as
in, 1 believe it’s going to rain. A
more useful and substantive
definition is — to have faith in,
to trust and rely upon.
If these definitions are ac
cepted. a person is not a Chris
tian because they grew up in a
Christian home, attended a
Christian church, graduated
from a Christian university or
thought of themselves as a
Christian. As the joke goes, just
because you sleep in the garage
doesn’t mean you are a car.
1 grew up thinking of myself
as a Christian. I went to church
fairly regularly. However, 1
never “believed” in Jesus
Christ. As an undergraduate 1
quickly became an agnostic and
kept to that faith for 15 years.
Shortly after joining the faculty
here, and after an 18-month
“search.” 1 met Jesus Christ and
became a Christian.
To the point: Trying to use
terms properly, 1 would
describe myself as a post
agnostic Christian. From his
own letters, I wonder whether
Professor Rousseve is properly
described as a post-Christian
agnostic? 1 would prefer to hope
that he is a pre-Christian
agnostic.
Jerry Bowman
Associate professor
of accounting