Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Edl BOB S Mausig E~er CARL NAYLOR Advertisin ARTF1 AlIeegh the GAMECOCK is a pubication Carolina, it Is not an official publication o herein do not necessarily represent those of star" members of the GAMECOCK. Ameri( Ed.-The past ten years have i confused. A disastrous war in So assasinations, environmental ti corruption, mushrooming inflation, have all badly affected the nation's being of our country depends on he for. To do this, we ought to reach ba see where we have come from. As America begins its 200th year, should exainine what the present ho Below, is a speech given several director of the nationwide People' Why Us? We always paid our taxes, supported our families, and stood by our country in good times and bad. We always believed that hard work would pay off. We never took charity. If we didn't have everything we wanted, at least we had everything we needed to make ends meet. Now we watch helplessly as our hard-earned savings are devoured by sky-rocketing food bills and medical costs. We sit up late at night wondering if we will be able to meet our next mortgage payment. We look on in disbelief as our freinds and neighbors lose their jobs and are forced into unemployment lines. We sense an eerie mood of desperation as those around us are moved from hope to cynicism, from self-reliance to dependency, from commitment to escape, from moral purpose to expediency. We are no longer sure of what to believe in and who to trust. We know that something very wrong is happening in our country, but aren't quite sure what it is. We feel as if a conspiracy has eaten its way into the soul of America and is threatening to destroy the spiritual life of our nation. Bankruptcies; foreclosures; unemployment lines...The reports worsen. The hopes and promises dim. We carry on seemingly composed, yet half waiting for some ultimate mom'ient of truth to confirm our worst fears of what lies ahead. Still, no banner headlines, no Black Fridays, no market crashes. Only the methodical and un compromising march of economic statistics to convince us that some ominous force has fatally pierced the economic foundation of our country. Who's Next? Meanwhile, we each wait in silence as those around us fall victim to the spreading economic paralysis. We sense that our turn is coming, but we hold our breath, as if somehow expecting to be passed by. We watch the clock and eount the ter AKER News Editor MARION ELLIOTT Manager tANK of the students of the University of South the University. The opinions expressed the University, the student body or all the 6 :a's Ful t millions of us bewildered and ,utheast Asia, race riots, political auma, urban decay, political and the resignation of a President psyche. Frankly, the future well w we define what America stands ck to the origins of the Republic to it only seems appropriate that we Ids in store for future generations. months ago by Jeremy Rifkin, i Bicentennial Commission. days. Our individual calendari i-u longer read "to succeed" but only "to survive." We have become a nation of tribes, each frantically digging our own shelters, hoping to buy a precious extra moment for ourselves, while abandoning any thought of bold and decisive action together... History Repeats Self ...Our plight today is not unlike the ugly mood of frustration and bitterness that gripped the 13 colonies just 200 years ago. Americans were disenchanted with their government - from the lowliest tax collector to the King himself. They were dissatisfied with the economic system - with un warranted taxes, with the mer chants who hoarded goods for a profit, with wealthy aristocrats, with giant corporations like the East India Company. Individual politicians had been opposed, and sometimes defeated, but nothing really changed. Thousands of pounds of tea had been destroyed in Boston, and still the East India Company remained strong and invincible. An ominous cloud of cynicism and despair hung over the country. Claim Your Rights A few, like Sam Adams,con tinued to hope and work for a new America. Others gave in to fear and uncertainty, fleeing to the western wilderness where they could try to live free from the current problems. Many reluc tantly concluded that America would never again be as good a place to live in as it had been. Most just sat back and wallowed in helplessness and confusion, longing for a better tomorrow, but filled with too much timidity and fear to act decisively. This was America as 177$ dawned. Never had the affairs of the country been in such disarray. Never had the future looked darker. Never had Americans gazed with less hope on tomorrow. Yet, just one and a half years later, American patriots would 'f Leti Natatorium Again TO THE EDITOR: Iwaite this letter to offer my congratulations to the University of South Carolina, Mr. Jimmy Cooper, and all his staff at the Sol Blatt Physical Education Center on their effort and achievement in making last Friday's opening of the Natatorium very enjoyable. I must admit I approached the pool site with some apprehension after reading the letter and report in the Gamecock. It appeared there would be rule after rule to follow and hassle after hassle so that west Editorie 'ure Dej announce to the world that a new order of ages ("novus ordo seclorum") had arrived. In that short span of 18 months, the collected aspirations and dreams of centuries of recorded history were summoned up as a new breed of apostles spread the age-old gospel of self-evident truths. God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and a vision of a social order based on justice and equality between people took the center stage as patriots raised themselves frofn their despair, their fears and frustrations to meet one of the greatest challenges in the annals of history. In that brief and fleeting moment of time, suspended between cen turies of oppression, a people united with a single-minded faith and determination to be equal and free in the eyes of God and before all mackind. On July 4th, 1776, the American people proclaimed their in dependence and issued in the first great popular revolution in modern times... Those voices of two centures past are calling us forth once again to reclaim our birthrights as a people. New Monarchy? A new monarchy has grown up in America. Today's royalists - America's giant corporations - make King George look like a petty tyrant. Their massive power pervades every aspect of American life - from the aisles of the supermarket to the halls of Congress. Their enormous wealth almost defies description. Con sider the facts: 200 giant cor porations control two thirds of the manufacturing assets of our nation. Of the 200 largest money powers in the world, 36 of them aren't even countries - they're corporate giants like GM, Exxon and ITT. AT&T alone has net assets of $65 billion. And that means power. Profits Corrupt Power to reap windfall profits for a handful of super-rich stockholders while American consumers and workers face skyrocketing inflation and unemployment. Power to finance their own .cand'idates for political office and to place their own representatives on key government agencies and commissions. Power to exploit and despoil the resources of the earth in the name of corporate growth and expansion. And most Im portantly, power to direct the decisions and policies of our er To The Edi there would be no way to enjoy our latest addition to the Carolina Community. To my pleasant surprise the reports were all wrong. No hassles, and not that many rules. Sure you pay 25 cents for a locker but this includes a lock and a towel for your convenience, as well as a suit so that all you need is yourself. If you don't want to wear their suit, don't fret, take your own. Just remember no cut offs and nothing extreme. (By the way, bikinis apparently are ac ceptable as long as they are worn with good taste.) The pool itself is clean, cool, well attended, and big. 2ends ( government in both domestic and foreign affairs. Privileged Class Rules At this very moment, millions of our fellow citizens are walking the streets jobless and hungry, having been cast off by an economic system dominated by this self serving cabal of powerful financial institutions and privileged families. The rest of us find ourselves on the brink of economic ruin, while our families and communities wait anxiously, but with little hope, for deliverance from the spiritual and economic crisis that has descended on this once strong and powerful nation. Even as the crisis deepends, some of our fellow citizens sit idly by in hopes that those in power will decide to show mercy. Still others pray for a savior or a miracle to right the wrongs. Meanwhile, individual pleas for help go unnoticed and unanswered, amidst the barrage of lies and deceits emanating from the boardrooms of Wall Street and the political corridors of Washington. Listen, America. Who's country is this? Exxon's or the peoples'? Who do we swear allegience to? ITT or the Declaration of In dependence? Who do we work for? America's super rich stockholders or our own families? Listen, America. Are we going to continue stan ding in unemployment lines like docile sheep, or are we going to stand up once and for all for our God-given rights? Are we going to continue fighting among ourselves - Black and white, young and old - for the leftovers of the Corporate system, or are we going to join together in a united crusade to reclaim control over our economic destiny? Listen, America. There is only one way to insure our individual freedoms. We must all have a voice in the economic decisions that affect our lives. It's Circulation Manager GREG TOWERY Entertainment Editor Sports BR ENDA BELL BILLY E Contributors DUNCAN MANSFIFLt' R. VANCE BUTT JOHN SHARKEY BRENDA EASTE SANDY SHAIN JACK SAINE GENEHOODMARK DILLARD SUSAN CATE VIVIAN DAVIS BLPRATT KAREN PETIT ManTOM C mOONE m DON WHITNEY tor The staff is pleasant and always open for suggestions and I recommend the use of the pool by all. If you are married or have dependents you need not pay guest fees every time you attend because special arrangements can be made in the office at the center. I could continue about the pleasantries but I won't, instead I merely say try it yourself. Forget the not so accurate picture painted in the paper and go for a cool swim. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Once again, my congratulations and thanks for a much needed,much to be used facility. LARRY CRANE )n Us ! time to challenge the stranglehold that the Corporate giants exert over the affairs of our families, our communities and our nation. Two hundred years ago, our founders applied democratic principles to the rule of govern ment. It is now time for us tO apply democratic principles to the economic institutions of our country. Participation Counts There is no reason why we can't democratically participate in the very offices and factories in which we work. There is no reason why we can't replace corporate management, which is accountable to absentee owners, with elected management, whhich is accountable to the people who work in the company. There is no reason why we can't replace profit that now goes to a small minority of privileged stockholders with profit that goes directly to the workers themselves. Moment Is Now Show me an American who does not want to share in the ownership of the company that he works in and I'll show you a fool. Show me an American who is opposed to having a voice in the decisions that affect him at the workplace, and I'll show you an ass. Show me an American who believes that his God-given rights and democratic beliefs should be exercised inside the economic enterprise that he lives under eight hours a day, and I'll show you a patriot and a worthy heir to the Spirit of '76. Listen America. History has cast our generation in fthe second act of the great drama of the American Revolution. The challenge is clear. The moment is now. iick O'taff Production Manager TERRY COON Editor Photography Editor lAKER DANE EDENS Production RLING G.REG IOWERY KATHY EDWARDS ROBERT HARDEE BETSY WILCOX BECKY CROWE.