vol_2_no_2

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~TI©OOTI@£li\TI We seek the truth, and will endure the consequences.

Vol. 2, No.2

Ann Arbor, MI

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Paul Dykewicz STATE CAPITAL CORRESPONDENT

Blanchard Rotates His Crops LANSING - Both Democrats and Republi ca ns say Gov . James J. Blanchard bungled his attempt to maneuver· his personal choice, John Hertel, into the position of State Agriculture Director, The forced resignation of outgoing Agriculture Director Dean Pridseon resulted as the replacement. Blanchard's office expressed dissatisfaction that the Agriculture Commission, composed of three Republicans and two Democrats, failed to name Hertel as the successor :, "The basic issue is that. 40 years ago they took the Department of Agriculture out of politics," said Pridgeon.

"They set up a commission. The commission is supposed to be non-political.

"It's a pretty good system. The governor failed to accept the commission system. He didn't realize that the commission is an institution within the agriculture department." ''I'm not surprised Hertel didn't get selected, " said Sen. Jerome Hart, D-Saginaw . "Governor Blanchard should cnalk it up as a defeat and leave it alone . I'm certain it won't be the only time he has a defeat. He should accept it gracefully."

"I think it was a mistake for the executive office ," said Sen. James A. Barcia. "I did think it was rather silly and foolish that the governor's staff would encourage Dean Pridgeon to be ousted before they gained control of the commission. I think they got what they deserve."

See Page 10

Military Research STAFF REPORT

The recent take over of a University of Michigan research laboratory has resurrected the controyersy over the issue of military research on campus .

On November 7, 27 members of the "Progressive Student Network" sei~~~c0D:trot of . the IClborC!to~y 91 Thomas Senior, a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and remained inside for 48 110urs.

The occupation disrupted research activities in the radiation laboratory and prevented the University students employed there from continuing their work.

After a48-hour stay, the protestors left the laboratory, chanting "we showed them" as they marched out of the East Engineering building. Within a few hours, the lab was cleaned up and work resumed.

The occupation of the Engineering Radiation Laboratory is only the most recent event in the long history of debate oyer military research on campus. The issue first became prominent in the late 1960's when student activist groups such as the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) began to protest Department of Defense sponsored research.

The controversy became more heated and the protests more violent as the University moved into the 1970's. According to Professor Senior, "during 1972, it was not possible to carryon a rational discussion."

That same year, largely in response to student demands, the Regents passed a set of guidelines for classified research which have remained to this day. The guidelines stipulate

and the PSN that classified research shall not be tion of military research on campus. conducted if such research could The PSN is aided in its efforts by result in the injury or death of the moral and financial support of human beings. the Michigan Student Assembly.

When the SDS and student actiMany (though not all) of the assembly's members are part of the Provism faded in the late 1970's, interest in the military research issue disgressive Student Network, or sympasolvf:!q w.iJh. t,h,~mt · ~,h~.. 9?~.t~!,?.Y.~r~Y:·· ,..... U!~!:~~. ,.J~L.i~,...ca~<...~.,~eiU;._j;A!;:..... ,. . did- not resurface until 1981, when MSA contributed $294 to the PSN the Michigan Student Assembly and this year they endorsed the Netappointed Brett Eynon to make a critwork's "Peace Vigil" in late ical assesment of weapons research September.

There is very little active support on campus. At the same time, some faculty members were becoming for DOD-sponsored research on camquite vocal and requested a study of pus. Last year, a group of engineerunclassified research on campus. ing students did speak up in support After Eynon completed his study, of the research and, according to Professor Senior, "the fact that they the MSA then hired writer/actor Roger Kerson to continue the study. spoke up to show that there is an He left the University's employ at the opposite viewpoint helped the issue." end of last year and is presently a But today, the PSN's claims go legislative aid to Perry Bullard. largely unanswered. Professor Senior The issue was once again brought is almost alone in his battle to protect before the Regents in the spring of nonclassified research. "Fortunately," 1983. They voted down a resolution he said, "we have the freedom of that would have extended classified choice to make our own decision reresearch guidelines to non-classified garding research. I oppose those who research. The anti-research activists would limit this academic freedom ." were apparently defeated. But the At present, the Progressive Student debate has not ended.

Network and its supporters constiToday, opposition to military tute only a vocal minority of Univerresearch on campus is led by the Prosity of Michigan students. When gressive Student Network, a iocal asked what he thought a PSN victory chapter ' of a national network of would mean, Professor Senior replied: "If the University made a uniradical student groups. The organization claims to be nonhierarchical, lateral decision 'to ban military researoh, the Ohio States, Northwesalthough MSA budget researcher Tom Marx is clearly the group's terns, and Illinois of this world spokesman, The PSN is committed to would rub their hands with glee. One "programmatic unity"- meaning that Uni\T~rsity can cut its own throat ... . its members are willing to suppress If this was done nationwide, it would their individual political beliefs in . cripple the United States in less than the interest of achieving certain a decade." ~ definable goals, such as the preven-

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DECEMBER, 1983

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

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In Review Alexander Haig, former Secretary of State and NATO Commander, spoke here on October 20.

Mr. Haig, now a private citizen, was harassed during his speech by students who chose to heckle rather than listen. Afterwards, demonstrators at East Quad raised such a racket that Haig was forced to leave the guest suite and move to a hoteL Now we wouldn't want to accuse leftist students of supporting free speech only for those who agree with them, but we wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Haig feels that way.

** Perhaps"we shouldn't be surprised at Haig's treatment. It seems some students are unable to actually listen to a person holding different views.

** Hats off to the MSA and the MSA News in particular for the doctored picture of AI Haig on the back plfge of their Oct. 21 issue. The MSA News has surpassed even our expectations of their unrivalled crudity and supreme ability to em'barrass the entire U of M student body.

** 1

IF YOU DON'T SUCCEED AT FIRST ... DEPARTMENT: George McGovern, former U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential nominee, was in town last month.

In the 1972 presidential election McGovern was crushed 61 % to 38%, carrying only Massachusetts and the Distrist of Columbia, failing to even carry his home state of South Dakota. In 1980 the voters of that state decided they didn't even want him to be their senator, and he suffered a 58% to 39% beating in his reelection bid. Now, 11 years after national humiliation and three years after home state rejection, McGovern is running for president again. Some guys just can't read the writing on the wall.

** Joan Baez, singer, guitarist, and former radical activist performed a concert here in October. We understand the concert was well received - except by a few liberal commentators who would not

we'll pass. We can do without bombs and guns and terrorists who kill little children and other innocent people with a businessas-usual attitude.

forgive Ms. Baez for/the sin of political moderation. Middle age, it seems, introduced Baez to the real world. Her liberal admonishers have a few years to go yet.

** Think back to the beginning of the fall semester when the Soviet Union shot down Korean Flight 007 killing 269 people. Following the massacre, politicians, writers, and everyday citizens rushed to condemn the Sovietr for such a brutal act. In one of its rare moods of agreement the House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the Soviets. We have learned, however, that two congressmen refused to vote for condemnation. The two happen to be Michigan Congressmen John Conyers and George Crockett.

Their refusal to condemn the Soviet action is a true indication of their real political beliefs. Such approval of the Soviets murder of 269 innocent people by Conyers and Croc:;k¢ttis repulsive, to say the least. The service of such men in .the Hou~e of Representatives is a disgrace to the state of Michigan and our entire nation. (Rep. John Conyers, (313) 226-7022; Rep. George Crockett, (313) 874-4900.)

** In an August 31 letter to Lucille Mair, secretary-general of the U.N. International Conference on the question of Palestine, Michigan Representative John Conyers stated: "I send you special greetings today in the spirit of peace ... I would further like to extend my greetings to the Palestine Libera- . tion Organization, to (the--PLO's) United Nations Ambassador Zehdi Terzi, Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddouni, and Chairman Yassir Arafat .... " "I urge you to continue your struggle on behalf of peace, and to remember that there are those of us within the United States who represent a broad coalition which supports you. We represent another America, a rainbow coalition dedicated to changing the direction of our country."

No thanks, Rep. Conyers. If your idea of redirecting our country is anything like the PLO or your support of it and the Soviet Union,

** BACK TO BASICS DEPARTMENT: An arithmetic class is in order for some Michigan Daily, reporters. A November 8 article stated that 150 demonstrators attended the PSN's November 7 rally supporting the laboratory sit-in. In fact, no more than 95 students were present. On November 13 the Daily reported that "over 50,000 demonstrators" participated in the November 12 March on Washington. !I.S. Park Police estimated the crowd at 20,000 demonstrators. Now mistakes are one thing, but these are pretty large discrepancies. Whatever happened to accuracy in journalism?

** Students who enjoy humor were the victims of fraud this fall when many of them purchased phony copies of Gargoyle, a magazine of collegiate humor: Unwitting purchasers of the journal became 'awaH""~ the'''slmnrfWh~Jfr"''tlpon'

reading it, the issue failed to elicit a single laugh or smile. We look forward to the publication of the genuine Gargoyle.

** In a "U.S. Out of Grenada" rally held only one day after American troops landed, campus radicals demonstrated their favorite dance step, the "knee jerk."

** Protesters at the rally heaped great criticism on the American intervention in that small nation. It appears the protesters' chief complaint was that U.S. intervention denied the Grenadian citizens the "self-determination" they had under the Cubans (and the Bulgarians, North Koreans, and Soviets).

** Much commotion has been raised

by PSN leader Tom Marx and Michigan Daily editorial writers about the recent dismissal of a PSN member from a Department of Defense project by an engineering professor. The student was fired after he revealed his antimilitary beliefs by participating in a PSN sponsored protest. He also abused his position as an em-

ployee by using his key to allow a fellow PSN member and· a Daily reporter to enter the East Engineering Building during the PSN's sit-in at the radiation lab. Tom Marx and the Daily writers seem to think that an employee's feelings for his work and his ability to perform his work are completely unrelated. And they conveniently forget about the student's misuse of his key - another factor in his dismissal.

** Congratulations to the staff of Consider, a new weekly publication, for providing " much needed and excellent forum for debate at U of M.

** In the weeks following the Beirut and Grenada military experiences the University of Michigan was plagued by marches, rallies, sitins, and anti-American rhetoric.

Meanwhile, 200 miles to the south at Big 10 rival Purdue University, the students held a candlelight memorial for the men who died in Lebanon and Grenada. The support was so great that over 1,000 studentS·,··",'Pack.a;".·,·the"",ha.~·'·+,-·'''''''''/w~-''.~

arena to express their sorrow and

give tribute to the men who lost their lives in service to our nation's Armed Forces. No comment is necessary, in this case actions speak louder than words.

** IN MEMORIAM: It is a sad commentary on our nation whenever our citizens greet the death of American service men in combat with scorn or deprecation. Our troops in Beirut and Grenada gave the greatest sacrifice possible for _ the highest ideals of liberty and justice. It is our duty as citizens to pay them the honor commensurate with their sacrifices and the ideals for which they died. It would be a tragedy for us to do any less. It would be an injustice for us to rebuke these ideals and have it be that they died in vain.

IN REVIEW is written by the staff of

The Michigan Review.

"[ think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.

Thomas Jefferson /I

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THE

SPECIAL FEATURE

MICHIGAN

Oxfam

REVIEW

Mark Vanzant PUBLISHER Douglas A. Mathieson EDITOR·I N-CH IEF Theodore H. Barnett EXECUTIVE EDITOR James P. Frego CAMPUS AFFAIRS EDITOR Brent Haynes STAFF: Dawn Anagnoston, Jon Asmundsson, Christine Dobday, Denllis Harrington, Sue Hoffman, Mark Kulkis, Joe McCullum, Rosemarry Montgomery, Raj Patel, Mike Perullo, Hemant Pradhan, William Smith, Alok Somani, Mark Vanzant, Jennifer Yaw CONTRIBUTORS: Vivian Byrd, Mark Edward Crane, Paul Dykewicz, Peter Ensminger, Steve Kelley

PUBLICITY: Dawn Otten, Jean Lesha HONORARY ADVISORY BOARD:

Il a mMcoCIburn , Petser Flhetcher, ~.au",,/IIW . c rac ken, tep en J.

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Third World. Poverty. Leftist militarism. Often the combination of these three terms is considered natural and logical, thus Americans tend to distrust organizations and individuals who make it their business to become involved with poverty in the Third World. The superficial assumption that aid in Third World nations supports leftist military efforts is tossed like a blanket over any private dealings in these areas of the world. Oxfam, the international relief agency, is one of the objects of such suspicions. All of its work is carried on in the Third World in the pursuit of the eradication of hunger and poverty, leading people to concoct a scenario of wildeyed radicals doling out money to Latinos outfitted in baggy green fatigues, .45's on their hips, and Das Kapital in thier pockets. Some claim that 60% of Oxfam aid supports military efforts and training.

Charges that Oxfam money and supplies have been channelled to ..

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operates in approximately thirty countries. Four other separate Oxfam organizations exist in' Montreal, Ottawa, Australia, and Belgium.

Both OA and Oxfam UK operate in a similar manner. Individual projects, proposed and administered by non-governmental agencies, are studied for feasibility and visited by project directors of Oxfam. If approved, ongoing audits and site visitations monitor the projects to ensure that the money is being properly spent. Oxfam is aware that money can be funneled away from its intended purpose and takes every precaution to guard against this event. Development projects such as agicultural training, loans, water development, or equipment purchases comprise the bulk of activity, with the remainder geared toward emergency relief. OA Public Information Officer Mark Zanger claims that the aim of Oxfam is to foster independence of recipients of aid from that aid. Most of OA's work is performed in rural areas, so that emphasis is placed on teaching and aiding the people in becoming selfsupporting. It is Zanger's contention ..

.. .

At the University of Michigan, the Committee Concerned with World Hunger, chaired by Jean Cilik, carries the banner of Oxfam and Cilik echoes the sentiments of nonpoliticism, stating that hunger relief should not be tied to political causes.

Despite the insistence on its neutrality, Oxfam does foray into the political arena when it deems that to do so is consistent with its aims. In 1979, Oxfam UK was accused of "political dabbling," a wrongdoing under British law, by the Charity Commissioners in Great Britain. In addition, OA has called for cessation of U.S. military and economic aid to El Salvador. The rationale for this proclamation is that more than enough food to feed its people is being sent to the government of El Salvador. Then, Oxfam argues, the Salvadoran regime can draft people from the fields to populate the army, sell the excess food and use the income to purchase military goods. These activities, according to Zanger, perpetuate the war and the dependence of the people on the government. Mr. Zanger defends Oxfam aid from this same charge by

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T o n s o f " " " ;c,.,"~~"'p~~;,J<w.¥#tt'~~"'~~,~1l!f)",~,••I.'1l~.8c.Q',)*.__ 11.,8 a uated by government accusations agriculture, many of the poor who SUPPORTERS: and implications, since Oxfam's left the nonproducing farms can Gerald R. Ford, Russel Kirk, Irving inception in 1942. During World War return, thereby alleviating poverty Kristol, R. Emmet Tyrrell II, the British government forced and unemployment elsewhere in the Oxfam to cease relief projects in region and enhancing economic SPECIAL THANKS TO: Nazi-occupied Greece upon the pred- stability.

The American News Service; H&Z Typesetting, Ann Arbor; The Foun· ication that supplies were finding Oxfam, both in the U.S. and Great dation for Econom~ Education; The their way to Nazi troops. More Britain, is rather adamant in its Heritage Foundation; The Leadrecently, the U.S. State Department proclamation of political neutrality. ership Institute; The Reason charged several relief agencies, "We aid people, not governments," Foundation Oxfam among them, with contribut- states Zanger in summary of the The Michigan Review welcomes ing either intentionally or inad- policy that hunger knows no politics. and appreciates letters from readvertently to leftist military activities Historically, Oxfam has been known ers. Letters for publication must in· in El Salvador through a front, for its disregard of political elude the writer's name, address known as CESAH, set up by leftist sentiments of the rulers of recipient and telephone number. rebels.

Oxfam has dismissed the nations, and in some instances has We also welcome the submission of articles. All work will be reviewed been able to work where other agenlatter accusation as inaccurate. by the editorial staft' and considWhat is Oxfam? Is the directorate cies have failed, such as Kampuchea ered in light of its structure and composed of rabble-rousing Marxist (Cambodia) in 1979 and 1980. Zanger content. revolutionaries decrying the United further states that "Oxfam is very All articles and letters must be States and all for which it stands? To sensitive to the politicization of aid," double·spaced. We regret that we answer these questions, and to deal and attempts to avoid any political are unable to acknowledge or return any unpublished material. Those in· with the issue of militarism, a de- ties. OA goes so far as to' refuse any terested in submitting letters or ar· scription of Oxfam is necessary. government aid to maintain its indeticles should send them to: Oxfam was founded in Oxford, pendence. Despite its own autonEngland in 1942 as the Oxford Com- omy, OA goes so far as to refuse any The Michigan Review mittee for Famine Relief. It was government aid to maintain its Suite One established in response to reports of independence. Despite its own 911 North University Ann Arbor, MI 48109 famine in Nazi-occupied Greece but autonomy, Oxfam makes no claims continued operations after World as to the neutrality of its aid recipThe Michigan Review is an indepen· War II as members came to realize ients, who do adopt political ideolodent student·run journal at the Unithat people throughout the world gies. "The cliche of the passive recipversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The Review is in no way representative could benefit from the type of aid ient is not true," says Zanger, "People of the policies or opinions of the that Oxfam was designed to distrib- in the third world do have political administration, and accepts no ute. In 1970 Oxfam America (OA), an opinions and they may help support money from the University. autonomous but allied organization, guerillas." This has no bearing on was founded. Today Oxfam UK (based determination of need of Oxfam aid Copyright ~ 1983 by The Michigan in Great Britain) oversees projects in and Oxfam has no control over such Review, Inc. more than seventy nations while OA sentiments.

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food, rather it only provides the tools and education necessary for the poor to support themselves, necessitating time and committment on the part of the aid recipient.

As adamant as Oxfam is in its proclamations of neutrality, it is even more vehement in its denunciation of military pursuits. Oxfam UK literature states, "Oxfam is aware from its experience overseas that high arms expenditures is a major factor influencing adversely the lives and futures of millions of poor people around the world. We therefore support the principle of general world disarmament ... " As to the charge of supporting leftist rebels in El Salvador, Zanger says that the supposed leftist front, CESAH, never existed. Oxfam has, however, contributed to a group known as ASESAH (Salvadoran Ecumenical Association for Services and Humanitarian Assistance), now restructured as DIACONIA (Coordination of Churches and Christian-Based Institutions for Humanitarian Services). Oxfam officials have been quite confident that Oxfam money has not gone to the support of leftist rebels and cite sev-

See OXFAM, page 10 Mark Vanzant holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and is currently a graduate student in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan.

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THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

DECEMBER, 1983

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II

Laissez Faire!

Ted Barnett

The Mail Monopoly You Call This Service?

Dear President Reagan: During your campaign for the presidency, you warmly embraced the principles of free enterprise. And yet, three years after your inauguration, a glaring example of state intervention continues to prosper. I am referring to the United States Postal "Service," and I hope to convince you that this bureaucratic dinosaur must no longer be protected. ... And protected it is. The USPS continued its inefficient operations only because of the protection afforded it by the ill-named "Private Express Statutes." These statutes forbid the delivery of first-class mail for less than the u.s. Postal Service. In other words, President Reagan, I could be arrested and prosecuted in Federal court for charging my friends a nickel to deliver a letter across town!

I believe that the Private Express Statutes should be abolished as soon as possible. There is no legitimate reason to maintain by statist directives a bureaucratic monstrosity on the scale of the U.S. Postal Service. The continued existence of the Private Express Statutes is a slap in the face of the principles you claim to uphold, and a denial of the civil rights you are empowered to protect.

In a free society, an individual must be free to transact business of any kind with a fellow citizen - providing, of course, that this business does not involve the use of coercion against any member of the society. In other words, trade "between consenting adults" is not restricted in a free society. The Private Express Statutes, however, are an obvious obstacle to an individual's right to transact business. For that reason alone, they should be abolished.

But the Statutes are not only immoral, they are impractical as well. They do not serve the good of society in any way. This is not to say that the Postal Service does not serve society.

Rather, i,t can be shown that the maintenance of a Postal monopoly is detrimental to our standard of living. Efficient and inexpensive service can only be expected of a company operating in a competitive environment. The Postal Monopoly, because it is protected from competition, has no real incentive to provide quality service to its "customers." The facts have borne this out.

For the past 20 years, both federal subsidies to the Postal Service (Le., tax money) and postage rates have risen exponentially. It is important to remember that the price of a 20q: stamp does not reflect the cost of first class mail delivery. The U.S. Postal Service's huge annual deficits are underwritten (and covered up) by massive federal subsidies. In 1982, for example, a payment of $1.119 billion was "borrowed" from the U.S. Treasury to finance the USPS's deficit. In other words, some percen-

tage of our federal taxes are used to pay for the delivery of each letter. A private business would have no such opportunity to practice fraud.

Why then, have the Private Express Statutes remained on the books? Practically speaking, the answer is simple: the Postal Workers' Union, one of the country's largest, has opposed repeal of the legislation for decades.

Their motives are obvious-the introduction of competition would quickly destroy the Postal Monopoly, and the union's power would be lost.

But let us consider instead two of the rational arguments for the maintenance of a Postal Monopoly. The inertia and power-lust of a few union leaders cannot suffice as a defense for such an obvious injustice.

Some argue that postal delivery is a so-called "natural monopoly" - meaning that it is most efficiently carried out by one agent - and must therefore be protected by law. This kind of reasoning is only useful, however to statist apologists. It is not a sound economic defense.

If the USPS is indeed a "natural monopoly," then lettts eliminate the Prlvate"BXpress Statutes, and await the verdict of the free market. Will the Postal Service survive competition? I think not. If any shred of American enterprise remains, I expect that the Postal Monopoly would be replaced by scores of more efficient, less costly private alternatives within two years.

It is also argued that if postal delivery were turned over to private hands, persons in remote areas would no longer be provided

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adequate service. What this defense is implying, then, is that the federal government presently maintains (at the taxpayer's expense) a gigantic legislative white elephant and outlaws free competition so as to subsidize those living in out-of-the-way places!

I fail to see the logic behind such an arrangement. Why should one not be charged more for delivery to a remote site? Besides, chances are very good that in a competitive environment, prices would be so much lower that farmers and lighthouse keepers would still pay less to receive their maiL In any case, if the USPS is no more than a massive subsidization scheme, then it ought to be advertised as such.

Why should an apartment dweller in the inner city subsidize mail delivery for a wealthy suburbanite?

There is no sound defense for the maintenance of the Federal Postal Monopoly, President Reagan. If nothing else, consider the thousands of jobs that would be provided by the creation of a postal industry. Think of the innQvations in mail delivery technology that would result. Think of the diverse services . andgw,u'antees. thatwouldoo.adveTtised.·;$tlt,· if you practice what you preach, Mr. President, consider instead the most compelling argument for the elimination of the Private Express Statutes: respect for individual liberty.

Ted Barnett is a senior in Computer Engineering and Editor-ill-Chief of The Michigan Review.

F~(E \T, LADY.I. FA)T,

EFF\(\ENT, RELIABLE

mCE COSTS MONEY.

TRUE. BUT WHAT'S THE POST OFFICE'S

EXCUSE?

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Broken Earth ariti Shattered Dreams Peter Ensminger

We are all by now pretty much aware of the story of John ,Reed, the journalist who became disaffected with this country and saw a burgeoning utopia in Stalin's Russia even though that country was in the midst of its most repressive period. John Reed had looked through glasses which were tinted by the redness of communisms's promise of an ideal society. In many respects. the social environment of America during John Reed's time was similar to the social environment in the U.S. during the early 1970s when China was opened to the West. Both eras led Americans and intellectuals in particular to search for political or even religious alternatives. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, with the onset of the Great Depression, John Reed and others chose Russia as an alternative.

In the early 1970s,as the oloaeof.the Vietnam War led to a disenchantment with American life, Mao's China became the subject of many favorable portrayals by writers such as Maria Macciocchi. Dr. Benjamin Spock, and Jan Myrdal.

As a preface to their favorable portrayals of China, sympathetic China watchers would otten say that it is improper to judge China by Western standards. In her book, Daily Life in Revolutionary China, the Italian journalist Maria Macciocchi said that "The traveler who judges China by Western standards will understand nothing and be at a complete loss."

Even Harvard's John K. Fairbank, the dean of American sinology, used a relativist perspective to paint his picture of China. He stated in the preface of China Perceived that "Valued in the Chinese peasants' terms, the revolution has been a magnificent achievement, a victory not only for Mao Tse-tung, but also for several hundreds of millions of the Chinese people." But it is only in light of Western standards of justice and equality that Westerners could even conceivably admire another society. By insisting on using a relativist view to judge China, writers like Fairbank allow themselves to use double standards - one set of criteria for their own society and another for China. This, in turn, allows them to use the example of China as support for their own preformed ideologies and biased political preferences.

The highly critical account of Chinese rural life in Steven Mosher's Broken Earth distinguishes it from most other contemporaneous books on China. One reason for Mosher's much enlightened view is that he is one' of the few Americans to have been allowed to spend extended periods of time in rural China for the first time since the revolution.

Mosher's documentation of the absence of freedom in nearly all phases of rural life in China has so upset the Chinese government that it branded him a spy. This book's message of repression in China is one which will shock many people. I too y.ras shocked but not because of Mosher's documentation of repression Simon Leys recorded this in 1977 with his excellent book:, Chinese Shadows. I was surprised beGause of the storm of controversy which has surrounded Mosher and his book. It seems that Westerners actually believed the fantastic tales of China's progress as told by the Chinese

would drive people to labor for the common good. Yet, since there was no Confucian, Taoist, or Buddhist work ethic, the rural Chinese could not e(,1sily adapt to the collectives.

Throughout China's history, the goal had always been to accumulate land and to hire others to do the farming.

This ethic was the one deeply imbedded in the collective conscience of the Chinese peasants.

Mosher provides us with a new account of the counterproductive collectives. In the commune he lived in, the workers arrived an hour late to work and when they finally did set to work, it was at a very leisurely pace.

The work team broke for lunch at 10:30 a.m. and many of the workers did not return to work at all in the afternoon. Mosher's description of the lack of motivation on communal farms in China makes it easy for us to understand why collectivist societies themselves are so unproductive.

Yet, the recent land reform program of Deng Xaioping which per-

the bedroom where it is the govemment which decides whether a coupIe will have a child. This wasn't always the case. Mao originally ,believed the overpopulation of China was merely a symptom of its capitalist system was overthrown and replaced with a Marxist one the problems of overpopulation would disappear. Mao argued that China's growing population was' an asset which would aid economic progress and national defense. Only after the great famine in the early 1960s did Mao abandon his Marxist opposition to population control and embrace a 'more pragmatic approach. To this day, China has followed a strict policy of population control.

While none can argue with China's present goal to reduce its population, the means which they employ to pursue this end are beyond contempt.

Strict laws mandate the termination of any illegitimate pregnancy as soon as it is discovered. Many unwed pregnant women, fearful of abortion,

r;~:~:;se~~;G~;~!t~~~~~~~~'}" ·······~~~~~!t~~~H:u~~,,~·\i~·~~!f;tfo~fl$\~~j.~;&~!"·'C,·,·c.···,· . ·. . tion of Solzhenitzyn's writings on the Russian gulag; for Solzhenitzyn's documentation of repression in Russia, like Mosher's documentation of repression in China, was not new.

The facts had long been there for all to see. None of us ought to be shocked by Mosher's message but we all ought to be shocked by how long it took for this message to sink in.

Mosher begins his book by describing Mao, like Lenin, as a rebel first and a Marxist second. And Mao, like other Marxist revolutionaries, used land reform as a primary rationale for his revolution. Mosher reminds us that immediately following the three years of Mao's agricultural reforms, a famine killed twenty to thirty million Chinese. Mosher then goes on to document the productivity problems of the agricultural collectives since then. Primary evidence of the failure of China's agricultural collectives comes from the Chinese government itself. Mosher quotes them as saying that per capita grain consumption (a rough barometer of rural well-being) has only in the past two years attained pre-revolutionary levels. And yet, the nutrition of the rural Chinese (80% of China's population) is worse than in pre-revolutionary days because there is now much less crop diversity.

A productivity problem exists in China because, in setting up the agricultural collectives, MilO had apparently assumed that a work ethic

Chinese are not inherently lazy peopIe. For after they have put in their allotted time on the communal farm, the peasants proceed to their own private land where they work very hard. This observation is borne out by the statistic that the' mere 5% of China's land which has been provided for private use is responsible for 20% of its agricultural output. It is at least questionable whether Deng's modest liberalization of Mao's agricultural policies will be sufficient to avoid a recurrence of the famine which befell China in the early

state often forces these unwed women to abort their children when they are quite late in term. Birth control laws also mandate abortions for married women whom the state believes have already had enough children. These forced abortions are frequently performed on women who' have been pregnant eight months or more. Of course, there is no criticism of the government's abortion policy within China itself because the media there is highly censored.

Several other myths of Mao's revolution promulgated by the Chinese 1 qf'\O" government are all shattered by While the labor practices of the Steven Mosher's Broken Earth: Mao's educational reform in 1966 manland owners in pre-revolutionary days were at times less than admirifested itself as a giant book burning. able, Mosher reports that the cadres A law exists which grants women (leaders) of today's agricultural comequality with men in political, ecorrlunes more frequently abuse their nomic, cultural, educational, and authority than did the old village social aspects of life, but by most heads. In the words of one peasant accounts, women are less liberated who had lived through both periods, now than they were before the revo"The brigade cadres now have much lution. With the newly-imposed remore power to control people than strictions on 'family size coupled to the old village leaders. Now they can the longstanding cultural tradition of fine you, or struggle [brainwash] you, " preferring sons to daughters, rural or assign you to a difficult task. Now parents often kill their newly-born you even have to have their permisgirls with the hope that their next sion on a travel permit to leave the child will be a male. county or spend the night outside the See BROKEN EARTH . brigade. They decide everything for page 11 their own benefit, even though they say it is for the people."

But the repression of the Chinese Peter Ensminger has a B.S. (rom government is not confined to the Rutgers University and is currently a communal farms; it also extends into graduate student in biology at U. of M.

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THE MICHIGAN REVIEW ~

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THE MICHIGAN

REVIEW Blockading' Academic Freedom "If they do not arrest us, we have freedom 'to do more. If they do arrest us, they have more publicity than they want.

PSN Member /I

In the months to come, Progressive Student Network members promise us that there will be many more laboratory take overs to endure. Apparently, the organization has settled on this form of expression as their preferred mode of communication.

This is unfortunate. By choosing aggression as a tactic, the PSN eliminates the possibility of rational discussion and lowers the 'level of debate to a physical confrontation.

Professor Thomas Senioc the target of many PSN accusations, has repeatedly expressed his desire to discuss the issues openly. And yet the take overs occur.

Why? The Network's members are vague on this poi,1 ft,put their intentions are clear. Civil disobedience may not ' be appropriate in this case, but it is undeniably effective.

By the simple act of occupying a University laboratory, the PSN was able to focus attention on an essentially dead issue and make local headlines for days. The students wanted publicity and they got pUblicity.

There is a time and a place for civil disobedience. But when that disobedience takes the form of aggression and disrupts the lives a'p.d property of others, it is unacceptable in a free society.

No doubt the PSN members' interest in the issue is sincere.

They consider military research an intolerable evil- but not everyop.e feels this way.

The Progressive Student Network holds no monopoly on truth. Professor Senior and other campus researchers are equally adamant in their belief that military research is essential to our national security.

If the PSN is genuinely interested in a resolution of this conflict, then they must be willing to discuss the issues openly.

Professor Senior should not be expected to yield to demands made while his laboratory is held hostage.

The opinions expressed in this editorial represent the unanimous opinion of the editors.

letters To the Editors of the Michigan Review: As a History major , it is gratifying to see that there are still places in America where one can go to see life as it once was. I am not, of course, speaking of Greenfield Village, but rather, of the University of Michigan's Diag. I found it interesting that with essentially no information, a group of 70's style protestors saw fit to verbally abuse the President of the United States and dedicated young men and women in the University's Reserve Officer Training Corp. over the rescue mission in Grenada.

It had been my impression that students had come out of the age of protest into an age of pseudo-enlightment. But how can anyone claim enlightenment about any issue, be it nuclear weapons, foreign policy, or human rights, when, with bigoted, knee-jerk precision, they grab a piece of poster board and a black felt pen and appear in the streets hurling protests and insults regarding an issue that hasn't yet been fully explained.

One protestor suggested the invasion occurred because President Reagan was frustrated with foreign policy.

Perhaps it is they who are frustrated with current events andean find no more intelligent or effective way to voice their feelings.

As has been borne out by the facts on Grenada, the Cubans and Soviets were building the island up as a military base. The violence of the two weeks preceding the rescue mission on this. tiny island, and the huge caches of arms found there, are only

more testament to the terrible future. that was averted by timely action by the President, in conjunction with leaders of both houses of Congress, While protest is a viable alternative to effective action, the protestors who hurled barbs at America's leaders for their actions on Grenada must be roundly berated for the' actions they tQok. WHhoutthoughtor .. the fa~ts, the'y t~ok it upon themselves to voice an opinion as if the entire community supported them.

In the future, I think they should just stay home.

Sincerely, Karl J. Edelmann

What a pleasant surprise it was to find your newspaper on the steps of Angell Hall between classes! I'd never seen your paper around before (not that I looked), but I'm sorry for that now. Y011 really shouldn't, in your ads, compare yourself to the Daily as there really is no basis for comparison (one shouldn't compare a fish with a sea anemone and say that the fish is an "alternative" species.)

One problem, however, I think you've taken on the task of becoming "more than a 'thinkpiece'" a might too seriously. You forgot to mention where one should send contributions for subscriptions and how much, or better still, what constitutes a "contribution." Please let me know!

Thanks, John W. Merline Ann Arbor, MI

"No Santa Claus! Thank God, he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the ; heart of childhood. " Francis P. Church

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page 7 THE MICHIGAN REVIEW DECEMBER, 1983 ..................................•.........................•...........•.........•....•••....•..•.............•.•...•.•.•....•..•.................•.••.....•........•..•••...

Commentary 4

"V

Who Elected the PSN? Brent Haynes Much has been written and said about the November 7 take over of a University laboratory by the Progressive Student Network, but three important points remain undiscussed or, even worse, tacitly accepted.

The first consideration relates to the nature of the PSN's action. The group has been applauded by some for its "bold" step in forcibly taking control of a working laboratory- but who has actually considered the method itself? What the PSN did was force its way into a professor's workplace and seize control of it. This, some say , was a non-violent act of civil disobedience, but this ignores the fact that the PSN used physical force to gain control of the premises, and the threat of force to maintain it.

The absence of personal injury or damaged equipment does not qualify the act " as either peaceful or an acceptable form of civil ·disobedience. The PSN committed an illegal

action based solely on aggression.

We live in a free society. The PSN, however, did not work within the system but against it. They claim the take over was necessary because they had previously worked within the system and found it "unresponsive." This questionable argument will be considered later.

The PSN occupied the lab because they seek to ban military research on campus. Accordingly , once they gained control of the laboratory they issued a set of "demandS;" including the extension of classified research guidelines to nonclassified research and the prohibition of such research.

We must not overlook the fact that the PSN chose to present their wishes in the form of demands - not requests, not reasonable dialogue.

Rational people in a free society do not make demands, terrorists do. The PSN members forcibly took control of a professor's workplace and stopped ".,:scientific , r e~(;!,ilfch .. ,';i~~lp~¥.." because they disagreed with his

projects. What they are trying to do broader campaign when state and nais force their views on all students, tional voters elected political leaders all faculty, and anyone else engaged who support such research. In a way, in academic inquiry.

PSN members are like little children The PSN's attempted justification - they didn't get their way so they for their demands is the same as their threw a temper tantrum. justification for the laboratory take Who does the PSN represent? The over. Last year, says the PSN, it, group has tried to fOIst upon the along with the faculty senate and University and the public the idea that it speaks for vast numbers of stuUniversity administration, supported military research restrictions, but the dents on this campus. The media is Regents voted "no." The obvious guilty of perpetuating this myth. The PSN, with its overwhelming "memimplication is that the Regents subbership" of 30, hardly represents a verted the will of the people. But who elected the PSN? The PSN memsignificant portion of the student bers (all 30 of them!), beholden to no body. In fact, it is clear that large segone but themselves, intend to tell the ments of the University population rest of us what to do, regardless of support military research, not to other considerations and without ramention the citizens who pay the tional dialogue. bills and elect leaders to set such The Regents ate elected by the policies. In short, PSN members are voters of the entire state (who attempting to arrogate the power of finance much of this University). dictating University, national, and Thus, the persons accountable to the foreign policies in order to force electorate decided the issue of upon everyone else their own moralresearch restrictions, not some selfity anci.view of the world. appointed group of academic censors.

Despite their claims, the system was not "unresponsive" - it's just that B . . LS&A . ren t H aynes, a Junzor In , IS the PSN lost. It lost the local campus Campus Af( ' Ed flazrs l"tor. " J:>aJt.J, ~,;:"", ," ,,¥the p,e"p" ,"trt~", J,~,~~~~Xi'?"'" \=,9 "'.j""'""': against restrictions, :, and. " X :8~,the · ··· """" ' "'.'" '"'" "'""'."" . ,.. . ~..

Facing the Nuclear Question James P. F(ego In the aftermath of ABC's The Day After, America breathes a collective sigh of relief. Yes, it was only a story and at 10:30 P.M., the world was just the same as we had left it 2Vz hours earlier. Across our country, Americans re-awoke from the' nightmare of nuclear war. One observant commentator compared the situation to Scrooge's awakening on Christmas morning in Charles Dickens's famous novel. Was it a dream or wasn't it?

Did we see a picture of how our future will be, or how it might be? It was a time for us to reflect. Since that night, we've seen many demonstrations and marches in protest of the policies · of the Reagan administration. But let us take a real look at the issue.

First, if the intention of the movie is an avenue for rational dialogue, I should extend my gratitude to ABC. The problem, however, is that I recognize The Day After as an attempt to start a national movement. Indeed, its writer has publicly acknQwledged that he "would like people to ques-

tion defending this country with a nuclear arsenal." A very dangerous precedent has been set - network programs should not be a medium through which political statements are made.

The Nuclear Freeze movementwell-intentioned as it is - simply does not address the heart of the problem, i.e., the avoidance of nuclear war. I feel it may be a good first step, but that is the sole purpose of the freeze.

Consider this though: if we do get a nuclear freeze, the next logical step is reduction of existing weaponry. How about naming it something catchy like Strategic Arms Reduction Talks - or START for short. Sound familiar? It should, for the START talks are currently going on in Geneva, bypassing the nuclear freeze step. Even so, a freeze must be bilaterall and verifiable. Here lie the two major problems with any nuclear arms agreement. If we stop, what's to make the Soviets stop? Are we going to rely on their goodwill to go .along with us? No. The mind of the Soviet government thinks much differently than ours. They always will act in

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their own interests and only when they think they are getting the better part of the deal. The Soviets respond\ to strength. It is the only language they truly understand. In addition, history has shown that they are untrustworthy - witness the fact that they have broken every major agreement they have ever signed with us (SALT 1, the Helsinki Accords, etc.)

The deployment of the MX missile is very important in light of the above facts. We need to keep them at the negotiating table - and the MX is

just the tool to accomplish the task. I don't want the MX- but I realize the need for it. It would be to the advantage of the U.S.S.R. to be' certain that this multi~warhead missile is not deployed. They can have a direct voice in it by participating in arms reduction talks. To underline this point, Soviet dissident and father of the

See Question,

Page 8

James Frego, a junior in the College of LS&A, is Executive Editor.

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page 8 THE MICHIGAN REVIEW DECEMBER, 1983 •.••................•......••....•••.•....•..•........................•..............••..........••...•..••........•..•....•....••....•..........•..•..•.•••••.........•.•.• -

MSA Watch

Question,

, ~~ ,f

William Smith The Michigan Student Assembly voted to endorse both the recent Laboratory blockade and the demands of the Progressive Student Network at its November 8 meeting.

The vote followed a discussion of whether or not MsA should endorse the PSN action separately from that group's demands.

Some MSA members felt that before making any motion of support, more information was necessary. One member requested that Professor Senior, head of the project being blockaded, present his position to the Assembly. Vice President Jono Soglin questioned the usefulness of such a presentation because Professor Senior might not tell the truth.

Some members felt that more time should be taken to discover the opinions of student voters; others felt that MSA members ought to vote according to their individual feelings.

One member said that student influence should not pressure the final decision.

The motion to separate endorsement of the PSN's action from support of that group's demands failed 9-15-3. The original motion to endorse both passed overwhelmingly: 18-6-4. The MSA then decided that their endorsement would take the form of a letter to the editor of The Michigan Daily. ~ William A. Smith is a senior English major preparing for Law Sc~ool.

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Soviet nuclear arsenal Andrei Sakharov said that he hopes the U.S. will continue with its plans for the missile. This is, he claims, necessary to force them to negotiate. There are other problems to be addressed, however.

Among these are the importance of not letting ourselves be psychologically disarmed. We must never allow the Soviets or ourselves to operate under the assumption that we will not use our weapons. Once weare mentally disarmed, we are beaten. To this point, President Reagan has said that "No one, of course, wants to use these weapons but the enemy should never be told we won't." Some Americans already show the defeatist attitude we seek to avoid. Pentagon programs which decrease the impact of a nuclear exchange are protested and, in some cases, not enacted because of the flawed logic that a decreased impact would increase the chances of war.

Consider High Frontier or conventional anti-ballistic missiles for two classic examples. If the unspeakable 9Qe§h~pPAtlI wewQwd be in worSe trouble than necessary-just because we were beaten by our own pessimistic attitude. President Reagan seeks to make nuclear weapons obsolete with the proposed High Frontier - a space-age deterrence system using lasers and particle beam' accelerators mounted in satellites.

The major criticism is that many people, some scientists included, feel that it is impossible to do. I disagree.

Our technology is our major strength. As supported by our landing a man on the moon, I argue that anything we set our minds to is possible - High Frontier included.

Another problem, though in the long run, is nuclear proliferation.

How many more countries can we allow to join the nuclear club? What would a Khadafy or Khomeini do

with such a device? The answer is sadly apparent. With this in mind, we must do everything we can to ensure nuclear non-proliferationlest we pay for our delay in human blood.

In addition, there is a serious problem in America concerning public awareness. Granted, no one likes to talk about nuclear war, but the public must be educated. For examplewhat is the Emergency Broadcasting System in your area? How dangerous is exposure to the fallout of a bomb?

How long should a person stay underground after a detonation?'

What food would be safe to eat? The questions go on and on. There is a definite need for more information . ; . and the more the better.

Finally, we must all be shown how real the problem is. In Kalamazoo, WUHQ-TV 41 chose to show reruns of M* A*S*H at 11 :00 instead of the continuation of ABC's Viewpoint panel discussion on nuclear war.

Their priorities seem pretty dim here. What we need is rational dialogue on the nuclear question, emotional arguments must be set aside. There's more at stake here than merely winning an argument; if people cannot debate logically without inserting emotIonal, weak points into the discussi9n, then perhaps they'hadbeftei' withdraw themselves and try listening for a change.

Many people seem unable or unwilling to concede that no sane individual wants thermonuclear war. We are not debating whether it is acceptable, we are looking for ways to avoid it. From that thought we should proceed to find the best way to avoid war, leaving behind unnecessary jabs aimed at the political left or the political right. This is a vital issue -let's put aside "politics as usual" and combine the wealth of resources America has to finding a solution to this grave problem which looms over our head every day. Perhaps then we can discover that we can indeed change our future by seeking to avoid what we have seen in our nightmares. ~

Dawn Anagnoston The Greek system at the University of Michigan is much more than just social events. This fall, fraternities and sororities held various fundraising· events for charity. Chi Psi and Delta Delta Delta held a two-day teeter-totter-a-thon November 9-11 in the diag. Continuing night and day, the volunteers faced everything from mild sunshine to cold rain and chilling winds. Proceeds went to the Children'S Cancer Fund at Mott Hospital. At Halloween, the men of Phi Kappa Psi turned their three-

story house into a haunting experience for over thirty children from the Peace Neighborhood Center.

Earlier in October, using their front yard as a barbecue pit, Theta Chi fraternity roasted an ox to raise money for the March of Dimes.

Theta Chi hopes to make the roast an annual event.

The Panhellenic Association, the governing body for undergraduate sororities, holds annual plant sales in September. This year, over $4,000 was earned for the Children'S Leukemia f'und and the Ann Arbor Women's Crisis Center. ~

"

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Never-Never Land

by Mark Kulkis The Peter Pan Syndrome, the new best-selling book by well-known psychologist Dr. Dan Kiley, is an immensely interesting book which attempts to define and explain "a serious social-psychological phenomenon besetting American males." As Dr. Kiley states in his preface, a syndrome is a collection of symptoms expressed by some type of social pattern. The symptoms of the Peter Pan Syndrome (referred to throughout this book as PPS) are, as might be expected, those personality traits exhibited by the fictional charijcter Peter Pan. These symptoms are: irresponsibility, anxiety, loneliness, a sex role conflict, narcissism, and chauvinism. If you are like myself, a person who saw the movie "Peter Pan" as a child, but who has never actually read the book, you are probI ably thinking to yourself, "1 can understand the irresponsibility and even narcissism but what is this about Peter Pan being a chauvinist, plagued by anxiety and loneliness?

And with a sex role conflict to top it off?"

Amazingly though, from the quotes that Kiley inserts at the beginning of each chapter, it seems 'that the jolly little fellow really is lonely and anxious. His gaiety is not genuine, but rather forced out of himself for the sake of being "likable". One sees that, deep down, Peter is a pitiful person struggling against oppressive feelings of rejection and worthlessness. His only relief from these feelings is to flee from reality, to escape to Never Never Land, a place where he doesn't have to endure those bad feelings, and a place in which he is capable of most anything, even flight.

But how did Peter ever get into such a situation? What are the causes of such intense feelings of rejection?

The answer to that question is taken up primarily in "Anxiety", one of six chapters (each one describing one of the six symptoms of the PPS listed above) which comprise a major part

R

E

Zelig - More of the same

Living in

The Peter Pan Syndrome

by Dr. Dan Kiley 281 pp. New York Dodd, Mead & Company

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of the book. Such feelings begin, Kiley says, when a child is made to feel responsible for the animosity between his parents. The child receives such blame from the parents themselves, through what Kiley labels "covert messages": subtle ways that the parents have of (unconsciously) channelling the aggressions each feels toward the other through the child.

To fully appreciate the impact these covert messages make upon a child, you must imagine a situation like this one, taken from an example in the book: A young boy of about thirteen years blows into the kitchen after an afternoon of play, demanding to know when dinner will be ready. His mother, a working woman, is angry with the boy because he hasn't remembere<;i t9 tha», tht:!. rpeat . . for dinner, 'and she ~o\v faces the prospect of having to "whip something up" for the evening meal. Because of the combined frustrations of her job and her strained marriage, she blows up at the child, condemning him for being lazy and irresponsible. The child claims he didn't know he was supposed to take the meat out of the freezer.

The father respond's to the child's plea of innocence with the first covert message: "Don't talk back to your mother, son. She's trying to fix dinner and you're only hurting her.

Now stop it!"

The mother stomps off to her bedroom to change out of her work clothes. Meanwhile, dear old Dad takes his boy under his wing and says, "Son, you have to learn to understand women. Your mom can't take working all day and then having you be mean to her." Ignoring his son's assertion that he honestly meant no harm, the father states, lOy ou gotta remember that your mom doesn't understand boys. So watch it."

The boy wanders upstairs, where he is met by a repentant mother who is now sorry she yelled at him so harshly. She gently explains, "I know I really got upset with you and I shouldn't have. It's just that when I see you acting like your father, I really get scared. Daddy is very busy with his work and doesn't have time to help. I don't want you to be like that.

You're not like your father; you have

Vivian Byrd Woody Allen fans can celebrate; his latest film is funny. And sad. And touching.

Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen) is a 1920s medical phenomenon, a human chameleon. He changes his physical appearance, mannerisms, etc. to become whomever he happens to be with. For instance: standing between two fat men, Zelig balloons to a matching size. That ability makes him a celebrity/curiosity of the Jazz Age. Zelig is exploited and exhibited by the medical community and by his relatives. Only Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow), a psychiatrist involved in Zelig's treatment, is concerned with helping him recover.

There are lots of laughs along the way to that recovery, sight gags as well as outrageous twists in the plot, in the usual Allen style. For most of the film!. the pac;.eis fairly . brisk, though it drags a little about threequarters of the way through. It picks up again, however, and ends with a good laugh.

Early in the first half, the laughs are occasionally interrupted by brief serious sequences between Zelig and Dr. Fletcher which remind us that he is ill, and pull our heartstrings as well when we discover the origin of the illness and, seeing its extent in his symptoms, understand the depth of his need/wish to be liked, to be safe. , During the second half, longer sequences between these two chronicle his recovery, as well as their discovery of each other.

The film's documentary style supports the idea that such a person as

tender feelings. I want you to show them and not be so cruel. Right now, Dad's work is more important than his family. You just have to accept that. Someday, he'll care about us.

But until then, I need you to heir me."

In essence, the mother is saying, "Don't be close to your father," while the father is saying, "Your mother is a weakling and you're hurting her."

How would anyone feel if they were receiving such contradictory messages at the same time? That's where the anxiety and loneliness come from.

There is a tremendous need for the PPS victim to escape from this loneliness. One consequence of this is the

Zelig actually existed and counters the impossibility of the physical gimmick. Old newsreel footage, used extensively, merges skillfully and smoothly with new scenes, some in that same black-and-white, jerky movement familiar from early film.

Often Zelig or Dr. Fletcher is inserted into the old footage, which gives the impression of their actually having been present when it was originally filmed.

Lively Jazz Age songs borrowed directly from the twenties and original songs written in that same style have a frantic quality which sets a hectic pace.

Several interviews interspersed throughout the film, in color as well as a calmer mood, provide some relief from the frantic pace. The interviews are with an older Dr. Fletcher and others who supposedly either had known or written about Zelig, among them Susan Sontag and Saul Bellow, botp. writers with sl,lbstantial reputations.

These interviews heighten the documentary tone. They also serve as a pointer to indicate that the story of Zelig should not be dismissed as a superficial comedy about a freak.

Apparently, or so the interviews suggest, some heavy thinkers have probed the story of Zelig, and perhaps the film audience should as well.

Or, more likely, Allen is kidding us all, particularly the modern filmgoer's insistence on seeing depths of meaning in every film. He plays with that and offers us tidbits to chew on, but they don't hang together, except as part of a work whose main purpose is to make us laugh. Which this one does. ~

PPS victim's desperate need for a feeling of love and belonging. There is literally no measure a PPS victim will not go to in order to obtain the love (artificial or not) to fill his hollow ego.

What essentially happens is this: because of their parents, the PPS victims get the idea that they are "bad. They do everything in their power to escape from this bad feeling, including shutting out reality by what Kiley calls "magical thinking."

They become narcissists because If

See Peter Pan, page 10

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Dykewicz Peter Pan,

From page 1

From page 9 out of him." Some of Kileys advice, however, seems ridiculous, especially when you imagine applying it to someone as thick-headed as a PPS vic~im is likely to be. Kiley oversteps his bounds when he goes so far as to include guidelines for wives and lovers to help them decide when to separate or divorce thier PPS lover/husband!

Though this is a high-quality book, be warned that it is the type of book that sounds good when being read, but sounds almost silly when you try to explain it or read parts of it to friends. It is probable that you'll get the response, "That's ridiculous!" when you try to explain to a friend that someone you both know may be a victim of the "Peter Pan Syndrome."

Because of this, you have to take this book with a grain of salt. As Kiley himself admits, the textbook symptoms that he describes rarely occurthey are bound .to show up in different degrees in different people.

Taken as a whole, this is a good book and recommended reading.

Unfortunately for children everywhere, P:ter Pan will never be t~ same agam.

41

they will not allow any flaw in their own character to make them feel bad. They become chauvinists because finding fault in others is an efficient way of shifting the blame for mistakes from themselves to others, thus preserving their perfect image of themselves. They are irresponsible precisely because they will not (cannot, if the fragile shield which protects them from the "reality" of their feelings of rejection is to survive) accept responsibility for anything that doesn't turn out right.

Their sex role conflict comes from an inflexibility of character resulting from a fear of trying anything new (because they might possibly fail).

Thus the PPS victim's entire life is spent in an effort to convince themselves that they are "good."

Many of the things Kiley writes ring true because of their familiarity to us. After all, we're all acquainted with the local loser, a person who, in his haste to make friends, is forever saying or doing the wrong things, whose laughter is prolonged and silly, and whose vulgarities are forced and inept. "He goes to extremes in word and deed, all for the Mark KulklS is a freshman majoring in sake of approval." It is almost imposComputer Engineering. sible to resist rating one's friends and relatives (and oneself, if you happen to be a male) with the test Kiley presents at the beginning of the book.

The test is a series of twenty quesFrom page 3 tions which, according to how high one rates on each question, is supposed to reveal' whether the person eral possibilities for the reasons being tested is a PPS victim, and if behind the accusations. One of these so, then to what degree. The test is is that the rebel guerillas were planvery similar to those which appear ning to form the front but were frequently in the likes of Ladies Home exposed and cancelled their plans. founza!.

Another possibility given is that the Kileys "fictional" case-histories, U.S. government was attempting to which he uses as examples to illuslink the World Council of Churches, trate the many facets of the PPS, are also a contributor to ASESAH, to the probably the best part of the book. revolutionary movement. The final They are lively and interesting; surmise is that the El Salvardoran indeed, they really are "upbeat and government, who, according to immediately readable," as the inside Zanger, is strongly opposed to the cover of the book asserts. They serve relief agencies at work in El to bring together into an understandSalvador, invented the whole affair able whole the concepts presented in as a smear campaign to reduce to the book. credibility of the relief agencies.

The last part of the book, which Perhaps the automatic connection offers advice to those close to PPS of Third World poverty relief to leftvictims, is at times very good. A couist militarism should not be so autople of his tips are simply golden: "For matic. At least in the case of Oxfam, Parents: To reduce peer pressure in organization officials are not attemptyour child's life is to control it in ing to contrive the overthrow of this yours. Do you refer to other children or any other government. Furtherwhen trying to influence your child's more, the charges of military support behavior?" And then there's the one are apparently unfounded and are for wive and lovers, which really has based almost entirely upon the universal application, and which I assumption that to disperse aid in the completely agree with: "Don't ever Third World means to disperse compush your emotions beyond your real munist revolution, a simplistic and feelings, hoping to finally get a rise

OXFAM

In the state House, local representatives echo the bi-partisal disapproval of Pridgeon's departure.

"The governor jumped the gun," said Rep. Michael Hayes, R-Midland. "He would have had the votes in January.

He ended up with egg on his face."

"It's the game of politics," said Rep. Dick Allen, R-Fairgrove. "The governor wanted his man in, whoever it may eventually turn out to be. I fear that Mr. Kindinger might well be the second casualty. I hope that does not occur because I think he has excellent qualifications."

"Had the governor waited until January of 1984, the problem he had on this wouldn't have come up," said Rep. Tom Hickner, D-Bay City. "It's unfortunate the system is set up the way it is. I think the governor should have the power to make the appointment."

Pridgeon reluctantly resigned under pressure. "I liked it here and I would have liked to stay here," said Pridgeon. "All I wanted to do' was serve agriculture."

"I think my record is good here. I'm leaving at a time when no one is criticizing me."

Democrats praised Pridgeon's perfQrmancea&tAe dtr(il<;;tQ,f.p( ~gripul~ ture, despite his identification with the Republican Party.

"He did some very good things," said Hart. "He had some very good ideas and the commission should have left him there."

"Pridgeon was a gentleman and I thought he did a fine job," said Barcia. "He did spend a considerable amount of time in the thumb area.

He related well to the farmers because of his background as a farmer."

Hayes said Pridgeon heard of

Reflections Among the most eloquent testimonials on the U.S. action in Grenada are the comments of people who started out on one side and ended up on the other.

A 14-member congressional delegation, including a number of wellknown "doves," came back from Grenada saying the U. S. action had been uninformed outlook.

Criticism of Oxfam, however, is not completely undeserved. Neutrality, although emphasized, is loosely defined.

Political proclamations throw into question the neutrality of the organization and undoubtedly inspire many of the accusations made.

:to!

Blanchard's wishes for him to leave the agriculture department while att~nding the Midland County Fair on August 17th.

"The farming community had a lot of support for Pridgeon," said Hayes.

'Tm sorry to see Dean leave."

"Dean Pridgeon is one of the nicest people and probably gained as much respect as anyone around here," said _ Allen. "He's the unfair victim of politics."

No one offered any negative opinions about the incoming director. Some legislators said they were already familiar with Kindinger.

"I've met him on several occasions," said Hickner. "He seems to be a pretty nice man who was knowledgeable on the issues of agriculture.

In terms of competency, I'm sure he's very capable." ''I'm very comfortable with him," said Hayes. "I think he'll do a good job."

"Paul has a strong background in agricultural economics," said Barcia.

"I think he'll now quickly try to establish himself as agriculture director."

Kindinger, 36, worked for the state Agriculture Department from 197981, eventually serving as Pridgeon's top assistant. Since then, Kindinger was the assistant director of the Cooperative ExtensiGll Semceat, Michigan State University.

"His background speaks for itself," said Allen. "Yet, I am realistic enough to know, after the first of the year when the agriculture commission will be controlled by Democrats, the situation may well change." ~

Paul Dykewicz is a graduate of the University of Michigan and is presently enrolled in graduate school at Michigan State University.

justified. Rep. Thomas Foley (D.-Wash.) said "Our forces were welcomed by the people of Grenada. There was popular support for the invasion."

In similar vein were the comments of Jeff Geller, one of the American medical students rescued from the island: "Before this experience, I had held liberal political views which were not always sympathetic to the position of the American military. . .. Let me say that I have learned a lot from this experiencethere's one thing to view an American military operation from afar and quite another to be rescued by one."

Kind of says it all, doesn't it?

American News Service

"We seek peace, but not at the cost of freedom. We seek peace and freedom."

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

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Broken Earth From page 5 While Steven Mosher researched his book in 1979-1980, before many of Deng Xaioping's recent reforms, these reforms may still not be enough . It is likely that only wholesale changes in China's system can prevent an ensuing catastrophe.

More importantly, we should realize that repression in China is not merely an exception among collectivist societies. Rather, it is a necessary consequence of such systems.

China and Russia and Cuba would not exist unless their intellectuals and individualists were confined . In the words of Bernard Henri Levy, "no classless society without its terrorist truth."

Revolutions may occasionally be necessary to awaken societies to the modern world. However, there are fundamental differences between democratic revolutions, such as the one on this continent in 1776, which culminate in a republican government, and anti-democratic revolutions, such as Mao's in China, which seek to install totalitarian rule.

Let us all listen to what Steven Mosher has to say and beware of any country whose leaders attempt to restore the good name of Marxism with a revolution which is fundamentally anti-democratic and which results in the abnegation of the most basic of human liberties. ~

eLI 8

Corp(}f,ate Taxes Total taxes on major corporations have climbed to an appalling 212% of their 1982 net earnings, according to Carl Olson of Alexandria, Va ., Chairman of Stockholders Against the Government Burden.

"The government's tax bite has jumped so alarmingly that it is now taking over twice as much from America's corporations as their owners get, the 30 million stockholders of America," Olson observed.

"Considering that the tax burden was 'only' 153% of net earnings in the 1979 survey, the so-called tax cuts of recent years have not produced result~ for America's major businesses, nor for the stockholders who depend upon them for reliable income."

Tax burdens in 1982 ranged from 2018% for Aluminum Company of America to 14% for First Atlanta Corporation. The 212% average took into consideration a ~urvey of 81 corporations that adequately disclosed the necessary tax information. The total tax burden of these 81 companies was $ 79.4 billion - nearly one billion dollars per company. These' figures, moreover, do not include any taxes that companies collect from their customers " or employeestsuch~-' as excise tax, sales tax, "windfall" crude oil tax, payroll withholding, etc.), nor do they include the taxes embodied in the price of goods purchased.

"The 212% figure definitely is ~ low estimate, since corporate tax accounting is still in the dark ages, and many

80 RDt

taxes are often overlooked by corporate accountants," Olson noted. Additionally, the survey found another 17 corporations which paid a, total of $1.34 billion in taxes, but sustained a total of $4.75 billion in net losses for 1982.

Quite notable in their total tax presentations were the corporations which calculated the taxes per share, including General Motors, Melville Corp., Standard Oil Co. (Indiana).

The Standard Oil Co. (Ohio), Standard Oil Co. of Calif., Flowers Industries, Dart & Kraft, and Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. Alcoa produced an "overall tax rate" on its total tax bill versus its net earnings plus total taxes.

Winn-Dixie Stores has been a longtime standout in tax burden presentation. Its annual report front cover carries both the taxes per share and the earnings per share. The front cover for 1982 added the Social Security tax load which for WinnDixie and its employees totaled $104.6 million, or $1.1 million more than the entire het earnings.

Energy-based companies dominated the most heavily taxed businesses, accounting for eight of the top 13, ranging from 510% for Peoples" Energy to 264% for Phillips Petroleum. Interestingly, two of the lowest percent firms were the only two banks found in the survey, The Chase Manhattan Corp. at 47% and First Atlanta Corp. at 14%. By way of explanation, Chase stated in addition to the effects of tax-exempt bond purchases: "Chase and other banks in effect are subject to an indirect federal tax which is not applicable to other types of business enterprises. Chase is

required to maintain interest-free reserves with Federal Reserve Banks. . .. This should be regarded as a special tax on banks .... " Only about 15% of major corporations tell their stockholders what the total tax burden is, though the percentage has been increasing over the years. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which surveys the 'reporting practices of 600 corporations each year, found that the number of corporations. which disclosed amounts of taxes other than income taxes rose from 53 in 1975 to a high of 103 in 1981 and fell in 1982 to 100. .The failure to report is not solely the fault of corporate management.

The SEC's rules encourage ambiguous and incomplete disclosure. In particular the SEC doesn't require total taxes to be shown in income statements, and the information called for in supplementary financial notes for the income statements leaves out all payroll taxes and any taxes that are less than 1% of revenues.

To correct these accounting gaps, two proposed amendments to the regulations have been submitted to the SEC and will be considered shortly. One would replace the expense category "taxes other than income and payroll taxes" with the more informative "taxes other than income taxes./I The other amendment would spell out the imperative that all taxes must be accounted for and reported to stockholders, not just those amounting to more than 1% of revenue.

American News Service "Whenever there is a human being, I see God-given rights inherent in that being, whatever may be the sex or complexion."

William Lloyd Garrison

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9Jappy ffioQiday9

"This won't be the last such demonstration this term. We won't be satisfied until military research is completely off the campus." ".'

PSN member Tom Kaeding On the subject of Michigan Student Assembly funding ...

"If indeed they are so valuable, I believe they should be able to get by without a compulsory assessment .. . . Because it's a compulsory fee, that carries with it a responsibility to represent all students . . .. From the point of view of representing all students; tht:! MSA does not have a good record."

me

Professor Thomas Senior "Though the people support the government, the government should not support the people ."

Grover Cleveland

vUichigan CRelliew

"The function of socialism is to raise suffering to a higher level."

Norman Mailer "Anybody that knocks money either has no sense, or no dollars and cents, or too many dollars and no sense."

Malcolm Forbes

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Brickbats

It's apparently illegal in Wisconsin to fix your own septic tank .

Melvin Vest had the audacity to rent a back hoe, clean a clogged pipe, put in new gravel, and fill the hole. Dane County officials are suing this notorious scofflaw for $32,000 plus $200 a day for each day he uses his bathroom until tbe septic system is repaired by a licensed plumber. Of course, Vest's house isn't .even worth $32,000, and he expeds the county to own it soon because he's not giving in .

"Why should I pay a plumber to dig the thing up and do the same thing I did?" he asks. Tell it to the state's licensed plumbers, Mr. Vest.

In these days of ever-nsmg prices, at least the air is free, right?

Not in Rhode Island. The state tax department says air is taxable at the six-percent rate applied to all other "tangible properties that can be measured , felt and weighed ."

The state told Henry and Judith Russo, the owners of a small company that fills air tanks for scuba divers and fire departments, that they owe $2,300 in back taxes for the "sale" of air. Of course, the Russos don't buy air at wholesale to sell at retail. The air is simply taken from the atmosphere and mechanically compressed into tanks. If the tax department ruling is upheld, what next? A tax on airconditioned air? The nation's littlest state has some of the

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world's biggest airheads running the asylum.

Key West, Florida, officials fenced themselves in when they tried to ban nude sunbathing. A new ordinance bans sunbathing in the nude except on private property where warning signs and a six-foot-high fence will be required. The Catch is that another zoning ordinance already on the books bans fences over four feet high. The naked truth is that establishing yet another victimless crime is harder than it used to be.

You can sit down for your rights in Pennsylvania . A defendant who said, "I only stand up for what is right" and twice refused to rise when the judge entered the courtroom has been cleared of contempt charges. The state Supreme Court ruled 5 to 2 that the law requiring all persons to rise is deemed broken only when the failure to rise creates a disruption of the legal proceedings in progress. In this case, the court held that the only disruption was to the ego of

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Mark Edward Crane

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This bulletin just in from Saint Bonaventure University in New York . Researchers found that when a man and a. woman are seated next to each other on an airliner, the man is more likely to use the armrest, and that younger men are more likely than older ones to get angry when the arm of the woman gets there first.

Gratefully, this was a private study. But it's obvious that the researchers have a bright future in government work.

the presiding judge.

New Hampshire lawmakers had better be more careful about the way they phrase new laws. A judge there dismissed charges against a suspected child rapist because he turned himself in. The judge cited the law, which states that immunity is granted to. persons who report child abuse. Since the defendant reported the crime in the first place, he's off the hook.

But some folks in New Hampshire would like to abuse the judge for his lack of brain power in determining the obvious intent of the law.

Leave it to those innovative Bolsheviks to devise a foolproof method of identifying dissidents, parasites, and other ne'er-do-wells.

Denunciation by mail is just what the commissar ordered to keep the proletariat in line. The Soviet Union now encourages citizens to inform on their neighbors by sending in anonymous postcards to the local police station. The preprinted ca.r ds have boxes for all of the usual offenses against state and humanity, such as alcoholism, malingering, and failure to pay alimony. But maybe there's hope for dissidents and other counterrevolutionaries: If the Soviet mails are run anything like the US Postal Service, all "criminals" will have plenty of time to emigrate before the poisoned-pen letter arrives.

Porter Leighton quit his $60,000a-year job as the acting New England director of the General Services Administration, because he refused to approve the 路construction of a $70 million federal office building in Boston. There was simply no need for the building, and that bothered Leighton's conscience. Existing space in three other federal buildings in and around Boston was more than adequate for the number of federal workers there, and a new federal office building in nearby Fitchburg is only half full, \he found.

The building is going up anyhow, with or without Leighton. This edifice to governmental waste is to be named after House Speaker Tip O'Neill.

Reprinted, with permlsszon, from REASON magazine. Copyright 漏 1983 by the Reason Foundation, Box 40105, Santa Barbara, CA 93103

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