Editorial
Democracy needed
in South Korea
In response to 13 days of raging violence between
students and riol police, the* South Korean president held a
meeting Tuesday with an opposition leader, a step that will
curb violence and may lead to compromise in this strife-torn
region.
President Chun Doo-hawn. who previously refused to
meet with the opposition until after the 198B Olympic
Games, should be commended for meriting with opposition
leader Kim Young Sam.
Communication between South Korea's government
and the opposition forces of the Reunification Democratic
Party is the first step toward restoring order and implemen
ting democratic reform.
Communication, however, is not enough. The students
of Seoul are not protesting for communication, but for
democracy, and it is likey that the violence will continue un
til their objective is achieved.
In the days forthcoming, the opposition party will be
pressing the government to amend the constitution in favor
of free elections. Under the present constitution, the new
president is chosen in an indirect election, ensuring that
Chun can hand pick his successor.
The opposition rightly refuses to accept this rigged
transfer of power that would continue the military dictator
ship. If President Chun does not commit to free elections,
the students are justified in continuing their protests.
Considering the largo amount of U.S. economic and
military aid to South Korea and the presence of 41.500 U.S.
troops there, the Reagan administration is in a position to in
tervene in South Korea's political affairs and push for
democratic reforms.
If the South Korean government does not respond to
diplomatic pressure, then, at the suggestion of Senate and
Mouse democrats, measures to curb South Korea's favored
trade status should be employed until the military dictator
ship permits free elections.
Testimony under hypnosis
enhances judicial process
The Supreme Court acknowledged the benefits of hyp
notically enhanced testimony Tuesday when it struck down
Arkansas’s absolute ban on testimony aided by hypnosis.
Although the ruling only applies to the testimonies ol
criminal defendants, the decision emphasizes the right of
defendants to testify on their behalf and the reliability of
testimony under hypnosis.
Many states currently ban hypnotically enhanced
testimony, of defendants as well as witnesses, because they
deem it unreliable. A person under hypnosis is more suscep
tible to suggestions and can have problems distinguishing
between fantasy and reality.
But under supervised and regulated hypnosis sessions
these dangers can Iks reduced. The testimony presented can
also Iks double checked by other known facts. The Court
recognized this in its ruling.
It also recognized the importance of defendants having
the opportunity to present their side of the case. In the Rook
v. Arkansas decision. Ms. Rock only remembered detail of
the murder she was accused of when she was hypnotized.
Her version was confirmed by examining the handgun.
The Court limited hypnotically enhanced testimony to
criminal defendants which is good. Kye witness testimony
under hypnosis can be wrong and is not always necessary.
In this ruling the Court has respected the rights of the defen
dant and provided the means for fair and well-informed
trials.
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Exchanging ideas purpose of letters
It seems to me that the letters
section of a newspaper
represents an enormously
valuable thing Within an ad
mittedly restricted format (250
words or less), we can Ire expos
ed to viewpoints concerning a
wide variety of topics from an
even wider variety of people.
The opportunity exists to ex
amine. (|uestion and evaluate
these points of view, to compure
them with our own and to see
which views best fit or explain
the issues surrounding a given
topic.
William Moore
Graduate, Music
We are also able, if we are
willing to take the risk, to ex
pose our own ideas and values
for other people to consider and
question, and thereby gain the
additional perspective that their
comments or objections can
bring
Sadly, the letter section can
be used for less worthy pur
poses, as well, such as an arena
for personal combat, for pro
pagandising, or for champion
ing causes for what often seem
to be puposes of self-display.
hnough animosity and bit
terness are generated as a result
of such writing as to amply
demonstrate some of the
reasons for the fact that we seem
to be on the brink of destroying
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(jleitory 1
The Warrior ('.lass
Rather than seeking to in
crease my understanding of
what others believe and why.
and to gain from their insights,
it is possible for me to use the
letters column as a battlefield.
I simply look for someone
stupid enough to hold an opi
nion contrary to one of my own
pot theories. Once I have
selected a target. I then attack in
an attempt to injure or destroy
that writer by humiliating and
belittling him or her.
I may indeed be able to make
my opponent look foolish and
pathetically inferior, and to
cause myself to appear to be
clever and vastly superior by
comparison, but I do so at great
cost.
I am also quite likely to make
my own ideas and values look
ugly and malevolent by
demonstrating to people how
poorly I treat those with whom I
disagree.
Category 2
*T’m Right Because I'm Me”
Another type of writer whose
letters appear frequently is the
one whose support for
arguments seems to consist
solely of the unspoken assertion
that their ideas are true simply
because they are their ideas.
I do not think it is inap
propriate to seek to persuade
others of the rightness of belie
veing a certain way. That per
suation. however, ought to have
enough content to it so that
analysis and evaluation of its
ideas can take place, rather than
stating a point of view and
seeming to expect other people
to agree on the strength of their
being certain of being right
I think most of us "leer'
right, and we can easily take
that feeling of certainty as some
sort of irrefutable proof that we
are right Unless we recognize
the built-in trap of believing
that "because I feel right. 1 am
right," we are likely to hold
what is. quite frankly, a
foolishly high regard for our
own assumptions and opinions.
Category 3
The "In-crowd” Supporters
The final category of letter
writers that I wish to consider
here are those who seem to
adopt and argue for currently fa
sionable ideas and moral issues
for what appear to be no better
than that they are currently
fashionable.
I suspect that these people
often attach themselves to
ready made ideals and then pro
ceed to parrot the "party line"
of the particular cause they
wish to be identified with,
because they see a personal cost
involved in actually becoming
one.
It is much easier (and a much
surer way to gain public ac
claim) to pick up a popular ban
ner and wave it than it is to
think through complex issues of
life from ourselves and then res
pond appropriately.
Intellectual integrity involves
a genuine willingness to seek to
understand a thing, to look at
my own assumptions and ideas
as if they weren't "mine," to try
to evaluate their worth fairly,
using the same standards that I
would use in evaluating
another's viewpoint.
It also involves. I think, a
willingness to follow my
understanding of the truth,
regardless of the direction It
leads me. and regardless of how
it might make me appear in the
eyes of others.
Our use of the letters column
reflects the kind of people we
are as well as what we believe
and value.
My hope is that we can come
to recognize and take advantage
of the poetential that exists in
openly exchanging ideas in an
atmosphere where courtesy and
respect are expected and given
among people who differ and
where words and ideas are used
as tools with which to inquire
and build and enrich, instead of
as weapons to injure and
destroy.