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VIEWPOINT > Monday. January 15. 1990 The Gamecock Holiday State, university sh to honor the great It is a sad fact that many people day; as the first day of classes, as the nation has an opportunity to hoi and influential men in history ? tl ? but many people won't realize institutions (USC included) do noi recognition of this federal holiday, will hold special programs to celebi students and faculty will be unabl and other university-oriented obliga Unfortunately, celebration of thi unlike most other federal holidays While workers at all federal govei quired to work on Jan. 15, each s not their public schools and local recognition of King. The same thing will happen wii Abraham Lincoln holidays. While i not shut down to observe every gi day, it is necessary to recognize t impact on our country; George W; and one of the founding fathers of the president who educated himsel country and declare the emancipatii King Jr. ? the man who promote oppression and wanted equality for his particular race or sex. Take a moment or two today to Jr. and on the way he promoted pe nip. and take nart in the Black Facu ciation's "Help Somebody" campai and, in the words of the man himsi risk his position, his prestige and others." <SREET ' >*p Tko Clo jl 11v vj u Robert D. Thomas Editor-in-Chief jeff wilson, News Editor Ke scott pruden, Carolina Life Edit teddy lepp, Photo Editor ro robb lane, Gra Lynn Gibson Assistant News Editor Elizabeth Lynch Assistant Carolina Life Editor Deborah Ryan Assistant Photo Editor Kristin Francis Graduate Assistant ED Bonza Director of Student Media Ray Burgos Assistant Production Manager Jeffrey B. Thompson Assistant Advertsing Manager Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try t be, at maximum, 250 to 300 words loi professional title if a USC employee c major if a student. An address and phi sent. The Gamecock reserves the right 1 case of space limitations. The newspa circumstance. 9 ould take time men of history i will see today as just another a cold and windv dav. Todav. nor one of the most memorable ie Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. it, because a large number of ; see fit to cease operations in Some university organizations rate the King holiday, but many e to attend because of classes lions. 3 Martin Luther King holiday, , is subject to state discretion, mment installations are not retate may determine whether or offices receive the day off in th the George Washington and it is obvious that the nation can reat man's (or woman's) birth- "J he people who have had great ashington ? the first president the U.S., Abraham Lincoln ? ^ f and then went on to lead his terc on of slaves, and Martin Luther see id peace in the face of violent Chc all people, not just for those of nia hea reflect on Martin Luther King I ace and love. Follow his exam- at f lty and Professional Staff Asso- 1011 ign. It need only take a minute, P?s elf, " . . .The true neighbor will 316 even his life for the welfare of to dec IN<SS len IttfY I if Pfl mecock ? kathy blackwell ? Managing Editor illy C. Thomas, Viewpoint Editor 9 or jeff nichols, Sports Editor 'byn thompson, Copy Desk Chief phicstComics Editor Lucy Soto | assistant News tailor Brant Long t( Assistant Sports Editor Sharon Williamson p) Assistant Copy Desk Chief ac si Erik Collins d< Faculty Adviser re laura S. day Production Manager renee atkinson ff Advertising Manager ^ Carolyn Griffin Business Manager ^ _. R( o print all letters received. Letters should ng. The writer must included full name, >r South Carolina resident, or year and 1S one number are required with all letters to edit letters for style, possible libel or in [per will not withhold names under any J* 990- freedon rhe 1990s have arrived, and with them an insting turn of events. Countries that have not n the light of true freedom in years ? Czeislovakia, East Germany, Poland and Roma? are breaking their Communist bonds and ding for democracy. 7or the first time in decades, they are looking ree expression, free enterprise, governmental h and a chance to grow in ways never before sible. It is all still a long way off ? but they hopeful. I rhe United States, on the other hand, seems be turning to ideas of oppression and at :eption. Sh lawmakers are voting on issues that chal- or ge the freedom of the American people. nj rhe American people are looking at laws that w trict the rights of women to control their own lies, that outlaw protests including desecra- fl. a of the flag, that restrain freedom of ex- w ssion in the arts, and that control the display ha religion in our country. ^ fhese issues are not factual issues ? they SI moral issues, affected by the opinions of th ividuals. th Whether or not a woman should have an CI Television rel Television. Its programs reflect the values, interests and oblems faced by generations gone by. Its programs are what I normally stereotype that decade. One such example is "The Brady Bunch." I nnot help but think that all families in the late 60s and early 1970s were similar to Marsha, n, (Jinay, ureg, reier ana tsoooy. Their problems were ? and still are in my ind ? typical to the problems that that gener- ion encountered. "Leave it to Beaver," "I Love Lucy" and ather Knows Best" are some of the programs stereotype to the 1950s. There must have been a lot of crime in the 70s because I remember the dozens of crime/ tion shows that filled the airwaves then. But, now we come to the 1980s, my genera?n. I wonder what television programs will e on into the 1990s and beyond in reruns and ndication. The 1980s were a unique period to me and obably most USC students because we grew 3 in that decade. After all, I was only in the fth grade when the decade ushered in, and I i IT Q pttfrq Hi Ebb I I EillWr pflQn O THE EDITOR cndn To the editoi - - - From the uury miuwcu ? mmaturity ISr , Block Com 3 the editor: flaw in our I think your lack of judgment in to emerge, i nblishing Rep. Mike Fair's years of h( :ademic grades is so immature. It been reachc iows that students, in many cases, Cold War e d not know how to handle the wrong d sponsibility. countries oi unhindered I military bu How many of you, or your ahead of th< iends, would like your academic dustrializati ireer discussed in the newspaper? America is c Why don't some of you who are ment's inter ) irresponsible with a university j^g milil jwspaper see if you can get a job ith the National Enquirer? That ?f our cour more your speed. come. The been destro Ann W. Huggins Communist 1040 County Club Road economy, t Blackville, S. C. with toe Un 118 Brep RabHi 4f|j " \&k ^ i for some, wh ^ lion 4r lowc M kelly c. Thomas j* - % -*% "" ~?r " f Y\ j 1?i pare that lortion is not the question. The question is v som ould she have the freedom to choose whether if not she should. Her freedom and personal g0ir ;hts should not be controlled by a law. Other- in p ise, where is the freedom? belo While I do not agree with those who burn gov igs to protest what they feel are governmental plea rong-doings, do we, in "the land of the free," is ive the right to tell them they can't do it? peai here is the freedom in that? set lould lawmakers be able to tell people what ver) ey can and cannot include in their art? Should drift e ideas of a few people who want to stop som hristmas caroling, as well as any sort of men- "on< fleets lifestyles gr son ?| 1 wei i m m r robert hig j,. Thomas ^ ran sue was a junior in college when it faded away into the historv. der A lot of things happened during that time. I We discovered there was a world out there full thii of hunger, sorrow, poverty, struggles, drugs, al- say cohol and an enormous array of other problems, bas Whether you like him or not, when you think dec of presidents you cannot help but think of Ro- I nald Reagan. After all, Reagan was president tele for eight years of this decade, the decade we fle< become aware of the good and not-so-good a I president can do. Bn in All of the networks' '80s retrospective prog- grc rams during winter break thought Madonna's len <shoillH tary build-up. So the two powers have emerged fr< g0 Cold War as two hollow i Both countries appear to be n because of the strength of t late 1940's to the early spective military, but the fac country has focused economies of both countrit resources on the threat been damaged by this unj ism. In the face of the tive competition, ilures of the Eastern _ ,, ., , munist countries, the The Problem with the t foreign policy beeins of military hardware is you As the pinnacle of our a"y aono1 "f " ~l "> jpc and strategy has lhat wcre ?h,lflcd and 'hc A it looks as if our genoeused l0,crea? !hls fforts were focused in mcnl has ^ 'f- ay' ircction. Japan and the V"*5? have ** ?unh Iar8f f the Asian Triangle, ?ry. ln the 1world- and d" by the West's massive factlons 'n dlat counuT ,dia ild-ups, have pushed f? unul entire world t e United States in in- I1 co"lro1- To conquer th< on and modernizing. in a m,htaO' fash,on takes, tripplcd by the govern- aI"ou"1 ?f resources, w! tse interest in supply- ^'itVEve'S pla" ary industrial complex ,r P v tack is different this time, ai itry with continued in- target is the world economy Russian economy has yed, not only by their The economy of the ideas about running an States is at a critical stage. >ut also by competing enter the 1990's, it is of the ited States in this mili- importance for the governi at for U.S.? i I i of any religion in public schools, be alxl to restrict the freedom of these people to ship or celebrate their religion as they se? Is this our idea of freedom? [any people have already started linking the ! today with 1933 Nazi Germany. Two of [ first things the Nazis did were to outlaw I tion and flag desecration. Did we call that iom? don't think we should go so far as to com1990 U.S. with 1933 Germany, but the fact some people are making that comparison is ; ewhat alarming. we continue to head in the direction we are ; ig, where will the average U.S. citizen stand vcnty years? How much of his/her life will ; ng to him/her, and how much will be under . crnment control? The thought is not sant ; this the type of freedom the Eastern Euro- i i nations are looking for? Are we going to an example of freedom by restricting that ! r freedom we boast? It seems the U.S. is ! ling downstream in an upstream current, and ' ething must be done if we are to remain , 5 nation .. .with liberty and justice for all." t ** * \ i i i i of the day ] I g "Material Girl" exemplified what the '80s ; e about: a time of people striving and yeamfor material possessions. 1 * 1 - i : i rcmeiuocr mosi people ai my junior anu ; h schools also wanting to have the right; is (designer, of course), the right shirt (Izod, J a Polo), the right shoes (docksiders, then ks) and, of course, the right car to get you to; ;re you were going. f the networks' observations were correct,, i the decade's highest-rated television progis confirmed the materialistic fact Progran^; h as "Dallas" and "Dynasty" consistently hit, top of the ratings charts throughout the ade. iveryone who claims to see into the future or lk they have the knowledge to. forecast it, the 1990s will be a time we get back to lie issues and get away from the "me" :ade. f this turns out to be true, I' wonder what ivision programs will hit the airwaves to rc:l these renewed values, t is odd to note that, later this year, "The idy Bunch" will come back to the airwaves new one-hour episodes. The family is all wn-up, but are now, hopefully, facing probis typical to the 1990s. Super- shift* and even cut, spending oh Dm the non-productive military hardware, figures JaPan directly spends money on the development of high technoli, strong oGy. In the United States, the best heir re- our highly skilled engineers are ;t is the developing far-fetched ideas such is have as Wars. It is true that certain Droduc- amounts of technology trickle down into our industrial base from these programs; but compared to >uilding Japanese methods our successes gener- are minute. sources It -s time for America to stop foinle.1_ cusing on its wars; the War on equip- Communism, War on Poverty and mill *he ^ar on J^rugs- In die last forty s years, the government has been foj ?re a, cused in the wrong direction. As n . the tax base of our country shrinks , .. and the national debt swells, I; hruv thf? nffirials in Washington a --- O ") lich is sec nec<1 10 shift 0ur economM World away fr?m research and dcve-{ 1 of at loPmcnt militafy hardware. I? rid their ^cy not' 111011 Japanese will soon own the United States Army. J * > l United As we utmost John Thomas Lites Jr. nent to History senior