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S eptember 4, 1996 • T ue P ori land O bserver
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Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
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p e r s p e c tiv e s
Thin skin dilemma
by
J ohn P itney
Y hatever their political dif-
U
1 1 1 ,erence9- Bil* Clinton,
*
Bob Dole, Jack Kemp and
Ross Perot all share one prob­
lem— thin skin.
In the blistering atmosphere o f a
presidential contest, hypersensitivi­
ty to criticism can spur a candidate
into disastrous mistakes. Strategists
in each camp are undoubtedly plan­
ning to jangle their opponents’ nerves
and to protect their own candidate
from self-destruction
if the 1996 campaign organiza­
tions follow standard procedure, re­
searchers are studying documents and
videotapes, in search of ways to in­
flame the opposition’s sore spots.
The candidates themselves will large­
ly refrain from making the most per­
sonal comments, leaving the dirty
work to others.
Some attacks will come from “of­
ficial” surrogates — public figures
who openly work with one of the
campaigns. Others will come from
“unofficial” surrogates
suppos­
edly independent pundits who write
op-eds and deliver sound-bites at a
candidate’s behest.
Clinton strategist James Carville
dubs such people “quote sluts.”
Each campaign staff must also
make its candidate aware of his own
vulnerabilities and prepare him for
the assaults that are sure to come.
This is delicate work. Thin-
skinned candidates tend to be sensi­
tive about the charge that they are
thin-skinned. But experience shows
the worst thing a candidate can do is
lose his cool. One blow-up on the
campaign trail can be fatal.
Clinton generally controlled him­
self during the fall campaign of 1992.
Since then, however, America has
witnessed periodic displays of pres­
idential pique under almost constant
sniping from his opponents and the
media.
In 1994, Clinton said. “I don’t
suppose there’s any public figure
that’s ever been subject to any more
violent, personal attacks than I have,
at least in modem history, anybody’s
who’s been president.”
Clinton is especially testy about
charges that he is inconsistent Asked
recently whether he would sign leg­
islation to pay the legal fees o f the
former head of the White House trav­
el office, he contradicted earlier
White House statements and snapped,
“I never gave my word on that.”
When a reporter noted that a pres­
idential spokesman had said other­
wise, Clinton blew up
“He didn’t talk to me before he said
that. I don’t believe we should give
special preference to one group of
people over others. Do you?” he said.
Dole is most likely to take offense
at criticisms of his wife or attacks on
his integrity. In the 1988 primary
season, the rival campaign of then
Vice President George Bush rubbed
these feelings raw by hinting that
both Doles had engaged in improper
financial dealings.
When Bush unexpected ly beat him
in the New Hampshire primary, Dole
uttered the line that has haunted him
ever since: “Stop lying about my
record.”
Dole’s running mate, Jack Kemp,
is just as vulnerable. Hating the ste-
reotype of the "dumb jock,” Kemp
boils at suggestions that he lacks
depth or intelligence.
Y ears ago, when a journal ist asked
about “Bob Forehead,” a vacuous
cartoon character reportedly based
on Kemp, the answer was brusque:
“Joke, laugh, humor. It’s not me. It’s
a caricature.”
Ross Perot is the touchiest of them
all. He is sensitive to harsh attacks.
He is sensitive to mild critiques. He
is even sensitive to figments o f his
own imagination, such as the mythi­
cal 1992 plot to disrupt his daugh­
ter’s wedding.
O f the major figures in the race,
only Vice President Al Gore is im­
mune from such problems. Indeed,
he suffers from an equal and opposite
difficulty — the inability to register
any human emotion at all.
As for the rest, the words of an­
cient Chinese warrior Chang Yu still
apply: “ If the enemy general is obsti­
nate and prone to anger, insult and
enrage him, so that he will be irritat­
ed and confused and without a plan
will recklessly advance against you.”
Getting back to a good education
S tan F arvna
The em phasis on self-esteem
above achievement and midnight
basketball over mid-day math has
not done much for students. They are
still inadequately prepared to deal
with life. Perhaps, they are now worse
off than before. It is often argued that
public schools are exposing children
to the problems of self-indulgence
and self-pity as opposed to the vir­
tues of self-control and accomplish­
ment.
Untutored in these virtues, it
should be no surprise that young
Americans misunderstand the world
and their role in it. It is also no
surprise that high schoolers are un­
able to make good decisions and
execute moral action. Yet these pow­
ers have long been known to be noble
qualities of human nature.
While a tutor at manual Arts High
school in south Central, Los Ange­
les, I observed that those who went
on to college enjoyed a greater self-
confidence than those that were in­
different to an uncertain future. The
college-bound students did not sim-
by
ply feel good about themselves; they
felt good about themselves because
of their achievements. Of course,
they could never have achieved their
accomplishments without self-mas­
tery.
There is no question that learning
more about who we are will help us to
live richer lives. Just so, an education
in self-mastery would improve our
children’s chances of doing well in
the world. Indeed, an education that
teaches self-control seems to be con­
sistent with the mission of public
education. It would provide the in­
formation understanding by which
students might become better citi­
zens and better students.
What would this education entail?
Not more midnight basketball! As
Thomas Sowell might have recom­
mended: midnight math would better
serve students’ needs and their aspi­
rations. Beyond midnight math,
Aristotle’s Ethics makes a good sup­
plement to the three Rs.
More than lOOyears ago, Aristotle
was recognized as an essential part of
true education. Without such an ed­
ucation, one might not have been
admitted to Harvard as late as the
1900’s. In the same tradition, George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and
other famous men were all well-ac­
quainted with Aristotle.
What does Aristotle have to offer
to today’s student? Aristotle’s great
treatise on m oral life, the
“Nichomachean Ethics,” explains in
a clear and understandable manner
that happiness is constituted by liv­
ing and doing well. Though his treat­
ment of moral life does not consider
religious dimensions, it is an excel­
lent foundation in moral education
for both the religious and non-reli­
gious.
While Aristotle is often taught in
college, high school students could
begin to understand themselves in
the years that often seem that most
confusing. After all, high school is a
time when students ask themselves
and others about who they are and
what they are to do in this life.
How can we be truly happy ? How
can we trust in and have respect for
ourselves? How can we merit the
respect and the trust of others? How
can we make good judgments about
what we are to do in both the sense of
a big picture and in everyday life?
There are answers to these questions.
Aristotle explains that if we put our
mind and desires in order, we will be
able to answer these questions for
ourselves. We need only put our­
selves in order.
Virtue is doing what is right. Do­
ing what is right demands making a
good decision about how we will act.
But virtue doesn’t necessarily hap­
pen at once. It demands making a
good decision again and again, Vir­
tue is a special habit in choosing what
is right over what is wrong.
Just as people who have quit smok­
ing often do not stop smoking the
first time they try it, so virtue is
difficult to achieve. It is possible and
the rewards are rich.
Virtue teaches us how we shall
accomplish good things. This is the
kind of thought-provoking and
straight-forw ard education that
high school students seem in need of
most.
better ~Cv 'Che (ScdUcr
Send your letters to the Editor to:
Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208
GOP bill could hurt minority businesses
by
J ennifer A gwunobi ,
S pecial
to the
NNPA
he Republicans are in­
troducing a bill in Con
gress that may set back
minorities and women even fur­
ther.
If passed into law, HR 2128 or the
Equal Opportunities Act of 1996,
will effect minority and women busi­
ness owners, and can have serious
economic consequences for minori­
ty communities -- including higher
unemployment rates. The bill will
eliminate affirmative action programs
in the Federal government by mak­
ing it illegal to consider race or gen­
der when awarding Federal contracts
or subcontracts.
Opponents of the bill say it threat­
ens to turn back the clock for minor­
ities and women because of hidden
provisions that severely weaken ex-
isting anti-discrimination laws which
have long had bi-partisan support
Congress.
This new legislation comes in re­
sponse to Presidential candidate Bob
Dole’s bill which comprehensively
eliminated affirmative action in the
Federal government, including edu­
cation, employment and contracting.
After receiving what the New York
T im es called “continued c riti­
cism” for his party's insensitivity
toward minority groups and women,
Dole withdrew his bill. However, the
Republicans' amended bill singles
out minority business owners and
focuses on eliminating affirmative
action programs in government con­
tracting.
According to data from Ameri­
cans for a Fair Chance, a consortium
of six prominent legal organizations
headed by women, African Ameri-
Death penalty challenged
he execution of Douglas
Wright is wrong because
the death penalty itself
is unjust and criminal.
The powerful and wealthy put to
death those who are poor and power­
less. and disproportionately of color.
Most of those on death row could not
afford to hire a lawyer It proves that
there are two laws in the US, one for
the rich and one for the poor.
Also the death penalty is used
against those that challenge the sta­
tus quo. For instance, in the 1880’s
the Haymarket martyrs, who were
union organizers and radicals, were
murdered by the state of Illinois for
fighting for an eight-hour work day.
In the 1950s the Rosenbergs were
framed as atom spies and executed
for refusing to turn in their fellow
activists when US officials wanted to
crank up the cold war and silence
criticism of capitalism
Douglas Wright should not be ex­
ecuted and the death penalty should
be abolished. It does nothing to re­
duce crime. Instead it is a tool of
violence against the working class.
Sincerely, Adrienne Weller
cans hold less than 2.5 percent of top
jobs in the private sector. Women
hold only three to five percent are
minority women.
The lack of affirmative action pro­
grams tends to diminish contracting
opportunities for women and minor­
ities. For example, when the City of
San Diego was ordered to end its
affirmative action program, its pub­
lic works subcontracts awarded to
minorities plunged from 21.3 per­
cent to a mere two percent. Philadel­
phia abandoned its affirmative ac­
tion program, public works subcon­
tracts awarded to women or minority
firms dropped 97 percent.
“Affirmative action opens the
door and gives me an entree and
chance to bid...I’ve been able to
secure other contracts because I’ve
had this opportunity to demonstrate
the quality of my work," said Judy
DcAngelo, a carpentry contractor
from Chicago.
According to data from the Na­
tional Committee on Pay Equity,
S ubscribe to w
women represent only five percent
of top management in the larges,
U.S. industrial and service firms.
Women earn only 72 cents for each
dollar a man earns. African-Ameri­
can women earn 64 percent and His­
panic women 54 percent of white
men’s earnings.
“I would also point out that with
the truly minuscule amount of con­
tracts le, to women and minorities,
those white male contractors receiv­
ing 98 percent of the work have little
reason to co m p lain ,” said
DeAngelo.
Critics of affirmative action com­
plain that it takes job opportunities
away from white men in favor of
minorities or women.
But the facts show that affirmative
action creates opportunities for white
men.
Millionofwhite men are employed
by America’s minority and women-
owned businesses (which employ
more workers than the Fortune 500
worldwide).
of)bB«>rucr
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The Furture Of Higher
Education: Anywhere!
31
C *"
n this turbulent year,
1996, we have 51 mil-
lion school children
boarding, at some point, that
12-year express hopefully des­
tined for the ivy halls of a higher
education. In a not-overdrawn
metaphor, we state that it is
becoming increasingly difficult
for many to see a light at the
end of the tunnel.
What we are about
here is a determina­
tion of how America's
‘State’ universities
reached their present
state of financial un­
certainty and structur­
al unpredictability. Such a task is
monumental and we do not pre­
sume to give the full answer here.
We can, however, provide a few
benchmarks along a timeline o f a
little over a hundred years. From
there one can follow up on indicat­
ed areas of research.
For openers let us begin with that
classic documentation of fact and
law used by lawyers, judges, re­
searchers and others who find it
useful to confirm their assertions,
beliefs and doctrines before their
peers, and the world: “Documents
of American History”, by Henry
Steele Commager. It's at your pub­
lic library.
This respected historian and re­
searcher has the following to say
about “Document No. 216, the
Morrill Act, July 2, 1982”, (U.S.
Statutes at Large. Vol. XII, p. 503).
This act, granting public land for
the support of industrial and agri­
cultural education is...the most im­
portant piece.of legislation on be­
half of education ever passed. Un­
der the terms o f this act some 13
million acres of the public domain
have been given to the states for the
establishment of mechanical and
agricultural colleges.
It was Abraham Lincoln who
igned into law one of this nation’s
first landmark pieces o f social leg­
islation - popularly known as the
Land Grant Ac,.” The concept of
education for all the people’ fitted
in very well with America’s expan­
sionist views--“Westward Ho!” and
Horatio Alger's, “Go West Young
Man”. These were the times when
the “Populist” movement was be­
ginning -- an unlimited future for
the “common man.”
Incongruously, the all-black 9th
and tenth calvary was assigned the
hard and dangerous job of protect
ing the westward-bound settlers
the builders of the transcontinental
railroads and the telegraph lines
from the Native Americans -- And
then, they were promptly denied
admittance ,0 most of the new land
grant institu
tions. And
on the south
ßy
east coast
Professor
they were
Mcklnley
p ro m p tly
Burt
thrown out
ofschools by
the reinstitution of racial barriers
such as the infamous “ Black
Codes.”
The bill which followed World
War II introduced hordes o f veter
ans to the idea of being the first in
their family to attain a college de­
gree - an opportunity to enter that
land at the end of the rainbow,
Americas middle-class.
But there has been a steady attri­
tion in the where withal that stu
dents/parents can muster for the
ticket ,0 the promised land. When
the original student-loan program
created in 1965 became ruinously
expensive. Congress introduced a
new program in 1992 with interst
payable from day one. At the same
time the nation’s state universities
(including Oregon) are experiment­
ing with some rather inspired eco
nomics under the increasing pres­
sures of faculty and plant costs.
Some state-universities have re­
sponded to the nation-wide phe­
nomenon of budget cuts by simply
reducing the student body and/or
course offerings. Increasingly af­
fected by a “brain drain” are states
like Oregon whose financial and
administrative foot work have left
something to be desired.
An August 23 Oregonian article
by Romel Hernandez states that a
third of Oregons col lege bound stu­
dents left the state last year, com­
pared with just a fifth in 1988 (for 4
year colleges).
And, then, there are the many
who have no route. The happy,
gregarious, up ward-bound throng
of yester-year has become some­
what subdued and pensive. Can you
blame them?
^lortlanh (Ohseruer
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