.. 5.
Seventy-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Where Opinions Are Free, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH.
Truth Will Prevail
NEWs PHONE: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 1968
NIGHT EDITOR: JILL CRABTREE
Draft Resistance*
Crisis of Conscience
NEXT WEDNESDAY afternoon several
University students will publicly sever
their ties with the Selective Service Sys-
tem. These courageous and conscientious
young men deserve the active support of
every concerned person on this campus.
As the war in Vietnam continues to
grow and its effects at home become
more clear as the cities rise up in rebel-
lion, the horror and the immorality of the
war comer increasingly to impinge on the
consciences of young men throughout the
country. Participation with Selective Ser-
vice, through carrying a. draft card,' is
seen as complicity with the war, and with
the racist and imperialistic governmental
policies that that war represents. Turn-
ing in the card that ties you to the sys-
tem often becomes the only viable al-
ternative by which the individual can
divorce himself from the machine to
which he is opposed.
Most college students are too com-
placent and too secure in their middle
class positions to embark on such a ra-
dical course of action. And yet, every-
where that Resistance has spoken on
campus, the reaction is the same: . "Re-
sistance is a great thing for those people
who are conscientiously opposed to the
draft, but I wouldn't do it myself."
SUCH A SENTIMENT was embodied re-
cently in a resolution passed by Grad-
uate Assembly expressing "support" for
draft resistance. While this may repre-
sent a significant step for students who
have never even considered protest as
a valuable activity, it is in fact nothing
more than a pat on the back for those'
who are actually putting their lives and
their careers on the line. Platitudes are
not what the resistance movement needs.
The time for statements of support
has long since passed. Inaction can only
be seen as tacit approval of the war. If
a person is going to stop being a com-
plicitor in the government's illegitimate
policies, he must become a complicitor of
the young men who are actively opposing
those policies.
The German people were condemned
at Nuremberg for their inactivity while
their government committed war crimes
in their name. The Nuremberg doctrine
was signed by the United States, and as
such constitutes federal as well as in-
ternational law. Thus, all those Ameri-
cans who feel that atrocities are being
committed by the government in their
name have a duty, under law, to stand
up and oppose the government's actions
as illegitimate. This opposition-and this
alone-is legitimate.
ONE OF THE WAYS of accomplishing
this is by "aiding and abetting" the
men who are turning in their cards. Op-
portunities' will be provided Wed-
nesday for those who are sincerely
interested in taking this action to in-
volve themselves in the turning-in cere-
mony by handling the cards during a
procession to the draft board.. In this
way, adults and females can place them-
selves alongside the non-cooperators in
direct opposition to Selective Service.
Other concerned individuals who do
not feel prepared to take such a drastic
step should, at least, attend the rally
and demonstrate their support for the re-
sisters and their opposition to the draft.
Whatever one may think of the ef-
fectiveness of resistance as a tactic, there
can be no doubt that the resisters them-
selves are sincere in their convictions. Re-
sistance is a seious act, growing out of
deep-seated beliefs about the nature of
human life and human dignity. Unless
we are to make a travesty of the very
ideals we, as Americans, profess to hold,
these men must be actively supported.
-DAVID DUBOFF
"Mr. President, have you decided on a replacement
for Gen. Westmoreland?"
Coming of Age in
War saw
More Like Berkeley Than udapest, Student Uprisings
Show Residues of Stalin isn Polarizing the Poles
An. Open Letter
DEAR Councilman Riecker:
I noticed with no small pride in an ad
in yesterday's Daily your reprinting of
my editorial of October 21, 1966. In that
editorial I commended you and four
of your colleagues on council for being
"especially responsive to student affairs."
At that time it seemed to me that
some of your other colleagues on council
were especially irresponsive - even hos-
tile - to student and University affairs.
Your degree of concern, under those cir-
cumstances, was relatively substantial
but by not means ideal.
For example, it seemed back in 1966
that the man you defeated for council,
Dean Douthat, was far more concerned
than you. Additionally, I noticed in 1966
an -attempt in your campaign to offset
student voting power.
But this is not to say that Daily en-
dorsements necessarily go to candidates
NoComment
BRADLEY UNRUH, son of California
assembly speaker, Jesse Unruh, one of
the most powerful men in California
politics, has been arrested on two felony
charges for possession and transporta-
tion of marijuana.
Bill Yorty, son of the notorious mayor
of Los Angeles, Sam Yorty, has joined
the Peace and Freedom Party.
The son of the former baseball star
Jackie Robinson was arrested in New
York on a narcotics charge. The older
Robinson, a business executive, is an
aide to New York Governor Nelson
Rockefeller.
But, Christian Hayden, son of actor
Sterling Hayden, himself firmly anti-
war, burned his induction papers in Los
Angeles.
-Liberation News Service.
Honor thy father and thy mother.
who promise the most to students. Per-
haps it would be most useful to recall
my editorial of April 3, 1966:
"James Riecker, lacks sensitivity to
needs. He seems to know where cominun-
ity problems lie but has not formulated
any answers of his own ..."
This is somewhat reminiscent of an
editorial comment just Friday:
"JAMES RIECKER ... is a. conservative
incumbent who has cohtinually op-
posed reform measures. He does not favor
treating all students as equal Ann Arbor
citizens, and naively contends the city
has done an effective job in enforcing its
building codes.
"Riecker's lack of conecern regarding
police-community relations is astound-
ing. His worn-out rhetoric can contribute
nothing to city government."
In conclusion, Councilman Riecker,
I'm somewhat pleased to see you quoting
my prose on the relation of students to
the city. But I hardly feel this is a ticket
for your re-election, especially when you
consider other things The Daily has said
about your candidacy, past and present.
-NEAL BRUSS
Magazine Editor
J'Accuse,
IN MADISON, Wis., Wednesday Attorneyj
General Ramsey Clark, stumping thej
state for President Johnson in Tuesday's
primary, "calmly accepted draft cards
from two war protesters," according to
wire service reports.
The Justice Department, which Clark
heads, currently has under indictment
Dr. Benjamin Spock, Rev. William Cof-
fin and three others for conspiracy to
counsel young men to violate the draft
laws. But Clark, by taking the cards will-
ingly, has actively assisted two men in
violating Selective Service laws requir-
ing draft-age males to have cards in
their possession at all time.
Why is Ramsey Clark not under indict-
ment?
C.M.
I CPPR l
By BILL LAVELY
U PON HEARING of an anti-
government demonstration in
a Communist country, it is per-
haps an instinctive American rea-
ction to picture the demonstra-
tors as a group of embattled, free-
dom-seeking patriots attempting
to throw off the cruel bonds of
Communism.
But this was hardly the case last
week as students all over Poland
ended three weeks of mass pro-
tests. Instead, it was a demonstra-
tion of frustrated liberals, seeking
freedom to be sure, but no less
committed to the principles of
Communism.
What was being protested were
the outmoded policies of the Po-
lish government. Stalinist repres-
sion has lived on into the late
sixties in Poland. A conservative
party leadership has been unable
and unwilling to examine its tra-
ditional conception of repression
in the light of modern trends.
The conflict is the natural out-
growth of liberal questioningby
youth and intellectuals old, un-
questioned doctrines.
Thedemonstrations were set
off when the government closed a
classical Polish play because of its
anti-Russian lines. These lines
had been particularly enjoyed by
theatregoers, who shared the tra-
ditional Polish dislike of Russia.
In response to the closing, stu-
dents held a protest march to the
playwright's statue.
Perhaps expecting more trouble
the government reacted by send-
ing in large numbers of riot po-
lice to quell the disorder. Not
surprisingly, the police succeded
only in further enflaming the sit-
uation. The familiar charges of
police brutality brought more stu-
dents into the streets, and the
protests swiftly spread to college
campuses across Poland.
As the students became more
organized, and their demands
were listed, it became obvious that
more was at issue than the closing
of a play. The students wanted
public trials for arrested students,
publication of their greviances,
and most importanly, "democrati-
zation" of Poland on the style of
neighboring Czechoslovakia,
THE CALL for democracy should
not be confused with any reject-
ion of Communist doctrine. The
liberalization in Czechoslovakia
has affirmed that personal liberty
and Communism are not mutually
exclusive. What students reject is
repression as an outmoded de-
vice of Communism in Poland.
Behind this repression, to a
large part, is party leader Wlady-
saw Gomulka. Gomulka, who spent
several years in prison learning
that it did not pay to disagree
with Stalin, certainly cannot bc
called a Stalinist. Yet his cau-
tious,, pragmatic view of Com-
munism has lead him to keep a
more than firm grip on every as-
pect of Polish life.
And where the restrictions are
tightest are where they are most
resented. Nothing can be printed
without approval of government
censors. All art-drama, films.
fiction, painting - must undergo
the scrutiny of the censor before
it can be viewed by the public.
These restrictions hit hardest
the academic community of col-
lege campuses. But although only
students demonstrated, the pro-
men in power are simply too in-
competent to handle the large
problems which beset Poland.
THESE PROBLEMS stem partly
from the modern technology which
has burgeoned in Poland since
1955. Polish industry has become
too complex to be run by a cen-
tralized bureaucracy which pays
little heed to the advice of train-
ed professionals. Besides, the in-
tellectuals consider the repressive
policies a hindrance to economic
progress. Yet, the Polish govern-
ment continues to employ polices
from the early fifties.
Technology,' however, is only
one aspect of a larger problem.
The entire question of the extent
to which the government should
or needs to interfere in the life
of the private individual is being
reviewed by intellectuals through-
out Eastern Europe..
Most notably, this examination
The response to those demon-
strations has come from virulent
anti-intellectual attacks fr o m
factions within the party. In an
attempt to hold the line against
dissent. Polish officials accused
Jews, Zionists, and hoodlums of
instigating the turmoil. This was
a ploy to turn the Polish people
against the demonstrators, but
it also represented the tempor-
ary ascendancy of anti-semitic
factions within the party.
These factions, extreme right-
wing holdovers from the days of
Stalin, and even a group of ex-
Nazis, equate Jewishness with in-
tellectualism, and vice versa. The
"zionism" which they fear is the
liberal world-view that threatens
their own position.
By last week, as the demonstra-
tions died out ,the government was
taking a much more moderate tone
toward the protesters. Gomulka,
whose wife is Jewish, assured the
.WALTERSHAPIRO-
Radical Apathy:
Key to the Future?
" AIRPORTS HAVE BECOME the real 'melting pots' of our mobile
society."
This sentence taken from a recent magazine article reminded
me of a rare encounter I had with the real world en route to New
York several weeks ago. Once airborne I alternated between being
transfixed by my own personal copy of The American Way and
glancing through the latest issue of Ramparts.
My seatmate, a small semi-faceless man of about 35, busied
himself by pouring over a large red magazine on the order of Gas or
Iron Age, recently extracted from his ever-present briefcase.
While reading how the CIA engineered last year's coup in Greece,
T was interrupted by the voice of my greysh seatmate, peering over his
diagrams of pipe-fittings.
"Pardon me," he said, "there's a question I always like to ask
students. What is it you people want?"
I was somewhat taken aback by the stereotyped question. After
pausing for a few seconds, I muttered something about peace in
Vietnam and the end of the draft and then attempted to escape by
merging into the psychodelic backcover ad of Ramparts.
But he wasn't satisfied. "Isn't there something you're for, or are
you just against everything?"
I tried to talk about world peace a little more and the end of the
arms race, but it was evident from his expression that this wasn't
what he wanted. I finally ended the relatively embarrassing conver-
sation by retreating to the men's room.
THIS TECHNICIAN in transit inadvertently hit upon a theme
which many others have probably mulled over without being aware
of its significance.
Currently the role of the radical students is to challenge the master-
plans of others, the self-deceptions of the ideologues, without formula-
ting cogent solutions of their own.
While the right periodically revels In decrying the nihilism of the
student left, their venom has obscured the underlying meaning of
this phenomenon.
For the student left has on the basis of personal experience r-
jected both prevailing American ideologies-liberalism and conservatism.
And this rejection process has been painful, for most students were
once believers.
The course of events in this disappointing decade have convinced
many that these world views and grand designs for action are no
longer relevant. Without a corresponding counter-ideology providing a
substitute program, there is really little point in taking an active in-
terest in politics. For without a strong belief in positive action, there is
little incentive to embark on political crusades.
All this potential political apathy is masked beneath the militance
of student opposition to the Vietnam war and he draft. But what
the students are, protesting is the attempt to justify a basic destruction
of freedom-the draft-which is based solely the authority of the
government. For the first time in recent history, the government
appears to the student as a destroyer of freedom, without any con-
structive justifications.
YET THIS UNDERLYING political passivity of students results
from the fact that most are offspring of a semi-millenialistic world
view that failed-American liberalism. And for those who underwent
the alternate political upbringing, the discovery of the underlying
emptiness of materialism has destroyed the basic props of conserva-
tism.
Students with liberal back rounds became politically conscious
during the recent heyday of liberal idealism. The lack of power during
the Eisenhower Administration and Congressional intransigence during
the Kennedy ascendency, imbued students with the faith that if
liberal programs ever prevailed, major problems would begin to be
resolved.
Domestically students grew up with and participated in the civil
rights movement and were profoundly shaken by the destruction of its
deep and all-consuming idealism. The failure of governmental action
to significantly change the northern ghetto created the pessimistic
conviction that integration from above is not possible.
Black Power brought, with it an Understandable feeling of help-
lessness on the part of once. idealistic whites. And the acceptance by
many of the lessons of black militants led to a widespread conviction
that Federal paternalism, even if aided by vast sums of money, can-
not solve the problems of the ghetto. And once ghetto problems are
insoluble, then there is a strong question as to precisely what the
government can do domestically.
More importantly direct personal experience with the temples of
affluence created in the suburbs convinced youth of the fundamental
spiritual and intellectual emptiness of materialism as a way of life.
And once this belief in materialism and financial success as a
meaningful personal goal was destroyed, the relevance of conservatism,
the basic defense of the propertied class, lost all possible relevance.
WHILE STUDENTS no longer have faith in either liberalism or
conservatism, these two dogmas still hold sway over what constitutes
American political thought.
Thfey are caught between ideologies they rightfully spurn and the
emptiness of having no alternate world view, but they cannot totally
reject their political heritage because they have nothing else left.
Consequently this confusion has generated various hybrid poll-
tical arrangements which only survive because no one seems able to
create anything better.
For example, Martin Luther King's much-heralded Freedom Bud-
get is merely the extension to higher amounts of the traditional lib-
eral axiom that money will solve urban problems. Conversely those,
white apostles of black separtism and ghetto independence cling tena-
ciously to this extreme extension of Black Power primarily because
they have no other answers.
Since the old approaches have failed and there are few ideas on
any issue-except Vietnam-to capture the public attention, the in-
escapable conclusion is that problems are either insoluble or their
amelioration will be a long and gradual process.
Perhaps this is a mature, sophisticated and highly realistic ap-
proach to politics. Perhaps the prime lesson of this age is that there
are no shortcuts and that any belief structure which claims to have
the answers is basically demagogical and overly simplistic.
THE INESCAPABLE RESULT of this new attitude will be a de-
creasing interest among the young in political activity. For few will
take the time and trouble to make politics the focus-or at least a
major interest-of their lives, if they do not believe that political
action will bring dramatic solutions to world problems.
As recent political events have shown, these politically apathetic
students are not interested in government as an agent of good, but in
preventing the state from actively doing harm. Yet it must be stressed
that there are some strong limitations on the amount of interest this
watchdog role will engender.
For the Vietnam war remains to many students-save those who
have friends or relatives over there-as a relatively abstract issue.
Consequently with the ending of graduate deferments, it is the per-
sonal nature of the draft which is largely impelling students toward
anti-war political activity.
Fudging from this example, it is likely that student politicization
will occur only over issues in which the government visibly tramples
on their freedoms and those of others.
BARRING THE DEVELOPMENT of a new ideological outlook to
replace liberalism, the end of the war in Vietnam will mark the crea-
tion of a politically aware, but disinterested, group which will turn
away from the public sphere as the relevant arena for individual and
mroo action
*
The call for democracy should not be con-
fused with any rejection of Communist doc-
trine. The liberalization in Czechoslovakia has
affirmed that personal liberty and Commu-
nism are not mutually exclusive. What stu-
dents reject is repression as an outmoded
device of Communism in Poland.
0'
4
of the role of the modern Com-
munist government has taken
place in Czechoslovakia, where
recent months have brought
sweeping liberalizations.
As in Poland, intellectuals
wanted liberatlization of govern-
ment policies. But the clash that
occured in Czechoslovakia took
place within the silent workings
of the party. For in Czechosovak-
ia, the academic community has,
over the years, made great in-
roads into Czech politics. The
struggle for democracy there en-
tirely within the party fortress.
This contrasts vividly with the
same struggle as it is being fought
in Poland. Polish intellectuals have
either been systematically exclu-
ded from party membership, or
they have simply declined to join.
The result has been intellectual
scrutiny of government policy
from the outside. For the same
reasons, dissent from policy has
taken the only road open .to it:
public demonstrations.
Jews that they were quite safe.
The newspapers published student
declarations and government com-
ment was conciliatory.
THUS,iFOR THE MOMENT,
the conflict has again submerged.
But the struggle between the lib-
eral approach to Communism and
the prevailing Stalinist interpre-
tation is far from settled. The
younger generation of Poland will
no doubt further press its dissent
against the unbending conserva-
tive policies of the government.,
The men who make these polices
are, in effect, old line "party
hacks" who are unable and un-
willing to adapt to the conditions
of highly changed world. Today,
their main preoccupation is to
protect their positions against lib-
eralizing pressures. The ideology
they represent is no longer a rev-
olutionionary or utopian doctrine,
but a handful of meaningless
clinches in defense of the status
quo.
AL
"Everything's Coming Up Roses"
14
'
-C.M.
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