The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 21, 1982, Page 4, Image 5
-opinion
Riirififtt amendment I
rhetorical gesture
On Monday, President Reagan urged a group
of spectators on the Captiol steps to support a
constitutional amendment balancing the budget. 1
The crowd, estimated at 25,000, was en- [j
thusiastic about the idea of a balanced budget. It 1
should have been, since according to news jl
reports, the rally was organized by tne wnite
House and admission was controlled.
"I have said before, balancing the budget is a
little like protecting your virtue: you just have to
learn to say 'no;'' Reagan said.
Evidently, Reagan also needs to learn to say
no. He has found himself responsible for budgets '
with record deficits. But will a constitutional
amendment to balance the budget help this
president or future ones say 4no? '
Mot arrnrdinff to news reoorts, which said
Congress could decide to have a deficit if it felt
one was needed. Also, a great deal of doubt exists
about whether such an amendment can be
passed by the required number of states for it to
become part of the Constitution.
Added to this are dire predictions of the consequences
a balanced budget could have on the
economy. .
Reagan's call for a balanced budget amendment
amounts to little more than election-year
propaganda. The mood of the country is one of
restraint so, as he has done in the past, Reagan is
merely playing to his audience in calling for the
amendment. Concrete actions are needed to help
the economy, not symbolic gestures.
Oil conservation
still a necessity
It wasn't so long ago that America was suffering
from the effects of the Arab oil embargo.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries' control of oil prices and supply
threatened the freedom of the western world.
Today, OPEC is in disarray. At a recent
meeting of OPEC, the oil ministers squabbled
over production limits. They reached no
agreement.
Poor economic conditions and calls for conservation
in the western world have resulted in
declining gasoline consumption. The gasoline
supply is up, and fuel prices are not as painful as
in the past.
OPEC feels the pinch now, not the United
States. But just as the situation turned against
OPEC, it could reverse again, putting the United
States in a bind.
Unfortunately, one of the byproducts of the oil
glut is the decision by many oil companies to
discontinue work on alternative fuel projects.
Both consumers and oil companies must
realize research and conservation are still
necessary, or the United States could find itself a
slave to OPEC.
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-letters
Administratii
Editor:
So many events yet so little comment.
This dilemma is of critical
importance to each of us, yet there is
no input. Even when there are 15,000
pius siuueiius uiiaaiuny uciuuig uku
way through the system like so many
sheep, the voice of a few don't begin to
touch the issues?major or minor. So
much for the free flow of ideas in the
free world.
Let me take this opportunity to
enlighten Lfie sheep. Something wry
dangerous is breeding in the nation's
capita), and that something is labeled
"teamwork" by the press and administration
alike. Every day the
corporate elite of the Republican
Party strikes another blow against
your freedom and mine. Your
freedom is your concern. I voice
mine, NOW!
Not long ago a very fine man
resigned from government service
because he was sharp enough to see
that the illness that is labeled
"teamwork" is so powerful and so
malignant that he had to pack his
trash and ?flt out of Dnricrp hofnrA it
ate what self-respect he had left. This
man, one that packs the grit of a
Student obse
By Liz Chandler help in th<
The war in the Falklands , ..
and news of the Queen's ?enej"a 10
intruding vistor have untrfyJ
heightened America's in- . eir
terest in events in Great in many
Britain. A natural reporter's ^ou ?
instinct overtook me when I
met a young British student nnKirjg
at a recent social event. ye^' .
I cornered her in a booth Saying
for a while and started ineqi
asking questions. women 1
Linda Newman, a Briton
attending USC, is young, not 11
one of an older British sexes ha?
generation, which she said otal ^
still thinks Americans are woman o
cocky. has t0 **
y ONE T
THE POST-World War II ?urP[,ses
generation in England still England
influences the country's ?bsessioi
opinion of America and after
all these years, many of ground i
them hold a grudge because ^ 0 .a
Americans went "over Kussi^ii
there" with the attitude that Paran01G
"you were there to save the rea % . '
world," she said. countrie
"The older generation (in red,ue "
England) also hasn't
forgiven you for taking our no lin*>
women while you were there a.r.0, ff
either." she said, admitting o??ero!t.
that her country did need our "Well,
US MOOD CONG
>
& A. if?
% ask
OTO
QMVZJ
on's teamworl
cowboy and the savvy of an Indian
fighter is known to the world as A1
Haig. The current regime had no
greater savant despite the manicured
appearance of its corporate puppets.
When A1 split, the wind left the sail of
the ship of state.
Let me'give you a big nickel's worth
of advice concerning Gen. Haig. He
was the glue that held together
American foreign policy. His years as
a military man were spent protecting
the Cfinsfffnfinn
You see, a military man has no real
politics of which to speak. He works
for the people and stands as a bulwark
against those politicos or miscreants
that conspire to negate your freedom.
11AIG IS all the "right stuff." His
knowledge of global matters makes
him an invaluable American asset.
His ability to soothe the nerves of our
shakey North Atlantic Treaty
Organization allies and his staunch
anti-communist attitude confounded
the Soviets.
Haig worked for the Republicans
because they have a sense for the
global. The Democrats can only see as
far as our sandy shores. If there was
n _i~
ivcs Drmsn op
the younger guest edito
us in the mother .
lake little heed of any7ayl?,?I as*f: w
.ers' attitudes and pride a little ruffled.
ways parallel the . saw ?r. sl?n.?.
generations in her eyes, and I could
Yes, they do start whlt'yc
before age 18, and , YOU GET what y<
y do smoke, pot. "r,he^' ,she *al,d,
, . that she planned to
she was amazed at America & makc her
lahty of men and ft studying at us,
n America, Linda 1,^,1
1 that there was no everybody fits
l^r'^ri'rrhieveri nUnued and 1 smi'
3 already achieved . .
jality, and for a the thought of wli
f 22 to sav that she var,ous e(tual rlKhts
ieve it would have t0 say abc
' t ..... 4 4 Amoripint' kntt,
turvu sne said tnat VI IVUIIO IIOVI
all generations in special patriotic <
is America's always loyal to
i with Russia. government/' she sai
the Americans) sit a8ain I smirked
inti work yourself th?ught of all the V
panic over the draft registers a
s. You're so Vietnam vets who
she said, "It's but bitterly hate and
id for the smaller the government for tl
s because they them in*o that ri(
iat you two are the w^r
/ers, and they have ' Suess you're jp
etter to do but wait because America w;
, ... . 11 uui me spir
for you lo kill eac patriotism," she sai
always been a way ol
why are you here you here. Right
iRESMN I
)u have to
hovfnwch
can't afford
^ II! I
kdangerous
an in-between where a strone
? ? o
American (domestically) could help a
shattered alliance (abroad), then I
am sure Haig would be sailing on that
ship.
He is an American who has the
welfare of his country as his primary
concern. Anyone that follows the
lethargic elephant or the mindless
jackass will never see above the dung
that each defecates.
INDIVIDUALISM IS the American
keystone. Didn't your daddy ever say
"Stand up and be counted as an individual?"
Do you feel slighted when
you're not part of the team? Is it alJ
that important to conform to group
norms even when it comes down to
your opinions?
You can always tell the company
man by the brown on his nose and the
dung on his shoes. It doesn't put
money in the bank to ride alone and
live with your decision, but at least
you won't fall into disgrace like the
players of the infamous Nixon, et al.,
squad. That was some team. Have we
been fooled again?
Mark B. Ellis
Journalism Student
linion of U.S.
| ~ England is the most patriotic
t'icll it has been in a long time,"
rith mv s^e added, "because of the
war in the Falklands."
rjash in Observing that America's
tell she beliefs are basically sound,
she said that one reason
>u work many countries have a
adding negative view of capitalists
stay in *s because they don't hear
fortune alxmt the welfare programs
q that provide for the unrtunitv
derprivileged. And again I
.? s|^ had to hold back a snicker,
rked at linking of the budget cuts
lat the are down,
groups aimcu ciL wuiitfi C.
B^that ONE BIG REASON Linda
uualitv sa"* s^e *'ked America is the
their weather.
id and It s always 8ray and
at the overcast ?n Britain, sort of
Vietnam omino"s," she said, as our
nd of conversation wound down.
served "What do the English
I resent think about the revolution?"
nrowin^ I asked, grimacing at the
liculous tr'te rebellious sound of
the question.
atriotic "Well, frankly," she said,
as born ' We don't think about it that
it of much any more."
"It's The author is a senior in
f life for USC's College of Jour
now, nalism.