Seventy-Sixth Year
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BOOKS: Lotus
In a Sea of Fire
Edatorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1967
NIGHT EDITOR: AVIVA KEMPNER
T
urning One's E. B.
Up to Mother,
WE'VE BEEN FOLLOWING the meteoric
journalism career of Lynda Bird John-
son with keen interest. An ace feature
writer for McCall's, her warmth and in-
sight has put the final touches on that
magazine's readership victory over The
Ladies Home Journal.
Lynda's first article, dealing with cam-
pus life, had some incredibly perceptive
passages (when her friends came to col-
lege they thought they were so "smart,"
but they soon learned how really "ignor-
ant" they were) and her most recent ar-
ticle, entitled "A Glossary of Campus
Slang," is positively All Time.
Published to "help bridge the ivy gap
between generations," the dictionary is a
must if you want to get into the "in"
sects at any university. But the possi-
bilities extend far beyond everyday
speech.E
THE DAILY has been criticized for many
things, not the least of which has
been its dullness. But here, at last, an
opportunity to liven up the news pages
presents itself. This, week's Middle East
crisis could have been more interestingly
described with a few changes in our style
hanual:
"U Thant, after taking a lot of Flak
from Egypt for a number of years, and
really hung up about Vietnam anyway,
decided to pull his troops out of the area
and let them hand their E. B. Up to Moth-
er. Gamal Abdel Nasser, regarded as a
Goose by the Israelis, and feeling the
same way about Levi Eshkol, then pro-
ceeded to Blow His Mind. He Flipped A
U-Ey(or U-Boy) with his foreign policy,
sending soldiers to the border of Israel
and blockading the Gulf of Aqaba.
"President Johnson, still Catching Z's
when this was going on (due to the time
difference), had been Flapped by Viet-
nam, and still regarded the Middle East
as the Boonies. And the Israeli officials,
who usually Stayed Loose, now had a real
Bear on their hands.
"U Thant told everybody to Cool It and
then Bugged Out to Egypt; President
Johnson, who still wanted to Seek the
Great White Biscuit anyway, was forced
to put the Straight Skinny to Egypt and
told it to Bug Off; and Nasser Soaked
Rays while waiting for U Thant.
"Meantime, Sen. Wayne Morse's state-
ment on U.S. intervention worried those
of us afraid that American policy was
going to Hang a Right as it did in Viet-
nam."
INCIDENTALLY, the grapevine has it
that Lyndon Johnson himself has been
boning up on this new lingo. Reliable
sources had him whisper to Lynda at her
bedside: "Your Old Man may go down
in history as the Cat who Tubed the
World's Peace."
-STEPHEN FIRSHEIN
Letters to the Editor
Love-Hate elaioship
ANN ARBOR MERCHANTS have always
maintained an ambiguous relationship
with students. They like taking our mon-
ey, and usually do it by chargzng out-
rageously high prices. But even in these
exchanges, businessmen have often ex-
pressed hostility.
The several incidents that have occur-
red at Flick's Bar this week exemplify
this love-hate relationship. In the past,
students have frequented the bar without
trouble. As a result of recent practices,
however, a number of them have filed
charges of discrimination, assault and
larceny against it.
These charges are presently under po-
lice investigation. Discrimination of this
type is forbidden by the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, which states that all persons can
be served in public accommodations.
BUT THE INCIDENTS did not only in-
volve a struggle with the local mer-
chant; the students also allege that on-
duty policemen repeatedly ignored their
complaints about the practices of the
bar and that one in particular commit-
ted larceny.
THESE CHARGES have been referred
to the community relations police of-
ficer. Whether he can make an objective
study of the claims is questionable.
These confrontations with local mer-
chants and policemen are obvious exam-
ples of the treatment that we receive
while living in a college town. Although
the city needs us financially, they often
resent our presence. And when any con-
flict does arise, the police force appears
to be against the student from the start.
-AVIVA KEMPNER
Fulbright
Senator Fulbright's r e c e n t
speech, as recorded in The Daily,
asks the question, "What is the
real source of ideological beliefs
and what value do they have as
concepts of reality, much less as
principles for which men should
be willing to fight and die?"
Our answer to the senator is
that beliefs and values must elim-
inate dehumanization. For this
reason we join "carnival villages"
and oppose cameras in comfort
stations. Yet it's not easy to say
how we know what "dehuman-
izes,"
Some believe humanization of
life possible in the Kingdom of
God, or in life after corporate lib-
eralism has been destroyed. Often
we believe in these and other
ideals because of "gut reactions"
(it just feels right). However,
these reactions deny depth defi-
nition and any real basis beyond
these "visceral sources."
THE "CLOTH" of the campus
(campus ministers) are also frus-
trated when it comes to discus-
sion of any "real source" to their
conceptualized ideal of human
compassion. For many of -us
"Christianity" as a system is out,
because having this "visceral
source" is being "in."
Yet our frustration and seem-
ing slow death as humans forces
us to find a "real source" for
r ..:::sAT LAR6
survival. We know that commit-
ments without content and deci-
sions that cannot be dialogued
eliminate confrontation as persons
and nations. This is a real hell.
Because of this destructive hell,
the senator's questions were asked
by "Jesus and his boys." Their
answers force me also to deny a
destructive Christianity and still
affirm a content to humanity.
This content they acted out is a
reality of love where man is free
to be man. It is this love which
does not destroy in the name of
"love of mankind." It is this love
which forces the question, "What
is our real source?" and "What
does it mean to be human?"
-Don Van Hoeven
Campus Minister
Vietnam and City
May I use your columns to of-
fer a correction? "A slate of Dem-
ocrats who oppose the war in
Vietnam was defeated last night
in the Ann Arbor Democratic
Party elections," reads your news
item under "News Wire" of May
25. The interesting fact is that
the five candidates on this slate
were defeated by Democrats,
many or most of whom also op-
pose the war in Vietnam.
It is as inaccurate to distin-
guish the majority and minority
voters in terms of supporting and
opposing the Vietnam war as it
was last November to distinguish
the adherents of Vivian and Bould-
ing according to the same dichto-
my. In both cases, differences had
more to do with tactics than with
international policy.
-Theodore M. Newcomb
Sociology and Psychology
Departments
Sound of Music'
Aw-come on! Is it really true
that The Daily makes it a firm
policy never to give complete ap-
probation to anything or anyone?
After something over two years on
this campus, I, for one, am begin-
ning to think that this is indeed
true. The latest blow is Jill Crab-
tree's article: "Sugary Plot Gells
to 'Sound of Music'."
When the likes of Jay Carr and
Brooks Atkinson give the movie
its more than deserved praise, I
can only throw up my hands and
ask-what credentials does Miss
Crabtree bring to us for her cri-
ticism of the movie? I'm afraid
that being on the wonderful Daily
staff is not enough to bail her out
this time.
-Jeffrey Lazar, '69
All letters must be typed,
double-spaced and should be no
longer than 300 words. All let-
ters are subject to editing;
those over 300 words will gen-
erally be shortened. No unsign-
ed letters will be printed.
VIETNAM: LOTUS IN A SEA
OF FIRE by Thich NhatHanh,
Hill and Wang, 141 Fifth Ave..
New York, 1967.
By DAVID KNOKE
This is, it seems to me, a most
dangerous book. That opinion,
certainly, is shared by the South
Vietnamese government (the Ky
regime), although for different
reasons.
In the few months during which
this slim volume has been clan-
destinely circulated in South Viet-
nam, it has galvanized to action
a vocal minority of liberal Viet-
namese intellectuals in efforts to
achieve an end to the war before
completedevastation engulfs the
land.
R. W. Apple, Jr., writing in the
New York Times reports that Cao
Ngoc Phuong, a co-signer with 59
other Saigon teachers and stu-
dents, of a recent pledge to sup-
port efforts for a negotiated peace,
was detained upon re-entering the
country after buying botany books
in America. "Although not for-
mally charged, she was told that
she had been picked up because
she was carrying a pro-peace book,
'Lotus in a Sea of Fire'."
FOR THE KY government, prop-
ped up only by the American
military, and equating pacifism
with "neutralism" with "Commu-
nism," "Lotus in a Sea of Fire"
indeed represents a subversive
threat.
The reason that I called the
book dangerous, however, is not
the specific fear and trembling
that its ideas may strike in the
hearts of the puppet leaders. Rath-
er, this is a "dangerous" book be-
cause its author perceives with
fundamental clarity the nature
of the war and presents an al-
ternative action which becomes
increasingly evident as the only
viable alternative to nuclear holo-
caust.
Nhat Hanh,Vietnamese Bud-
dhist monk, scholar and poet,
made a 10-nation lecture tour of
the West in 1966 under the spon-
sorship of the International Fel-
lowship of Reconcilation to plead
for an end to the brutal and bru-
talizing conflict.
During that time he often found
himself interpreting the cause and
actions of the Buddhist religious
community of South Vietnam,
which that spring seemed most un-
non-violent in its demonstrations
and demands. In his interpretation
of the Buddhist faith and its po-
tential as a pacifying third force,
he won mar, supporters in the
West and culminated his visit by
an audience with Pope Paul.
WHAT HANH'S approach to the
war can best be summarized as
aiming at a reconciliatior: of the
warring participants. Much of the
book traces for the unlearned
Western reader the history of
Buddhism as a religious, moral
and social force in Vietr.amese
consciousness and its prominent
role in the struggle to bring Viet-
namese nationalism to flower.
With the poet's perception Nhat
Hanh cuts through the complex-
ity of tangled relationship in the
war; his simple suggestions for
peacefully settling the war to the
benefit of all are radical in their
revolutionary import.
Buddhism "has its organizations
that are simple to shatter, but
Buddhism itself remains. Like a
drop of mercury scattered into
many small parts, when the fist
is removed, they rush together
again."
Because the West - particularly
the French and Americans-have
never understood the pervasive in-
fluence of religious Buddhism
among the peoples, they have er-
roneously relied on the counsels
of the secular Catholic minority
leaders (e.g., Diem) and the anti-
Communist militarists (e.g., Ky).
Buddhism, to Nhat Hanh, rep-
resents one of the few stabilizing
forces remaining in a corrupted
and disintegrating land:
"What Americans seem un-
able to see is that it is not the
efforts of the Saigon - govern-
ment or their own military fore-
es that have kept the full pop-
ulation from supporting the Na-
tional Liberation Front, but only
the peasants' loyalty to their re-
ligious faiths in spite of every-
thing that Saigon and Wash-
ington have done."
BUT IN THE FACE of mount-
ing escalation and increasing de-
struction of homes, crops, coun-
tryside and the material and spir-
itual abasement of the peoples,
more and more turn to the Viet
Cong "because they are convinc-
ed it is the only way to secure
their independence, and not be-
cause of any ideological align-
ment."
The Buddhists, Nhat Hanh as-
serts, are neither pro-Communists
nor virulent, militaristic anti-
Communists. He calls for the re-
legious leaders of the Buddhists,
the Hoa Hao and Cao Dai sects,
and Catholicism to work togeth-
er for a "third possibility" as a
viable alternative to Communism
or continuing the war.
These moderating leaders, now
suppressed by the Ky government,
would find backing among the ma-
jority of Vietnamese who are dis-
gusted with the war effort.
The "non - Communist" bloc
would come to fruition only if the
United States were to change its
)olicy so that the third force
could emerge and be free to oper-
ate. Therein is additional danger-
us import of the book: it re-
muires that the United States
nake a clean accounting of its
past errors and mend ilts ways
before too late.
THE SPECIFIC suggestions that
Nhat Hanh makes are:
1. Creation of a temporary in-
terim government to represent ex-
isting political and religious groups
in South Vietnam.
2. A cessation of bombings,
both north and south, by the U.S.
and a cease-fire supported by both
sides.
3. Election of a government
which would negotiate withdraw-
al of U.S, troops "probably dur-
ing a period of six months to a
year."
4. Consolidation of its hold on
the people of South Vietnam and
negotiations with the NLF look-
ing towards a coalition govern-
ment and withdrawal of North
Vietnamese troops.
5. And conversations with the
North aimed at immediate re-
ewal of relations and trade, with
eventual reunification of all Viet-
nam.
Nhat Hahn's proposals are bas-
ed upon the premise that every-
thing now being done by the U.S.
and South Vietnamese o n 1 y
strengthens the Communists' at-
traction of the people. He pro-
poses to weaken the effectiveness
of the Communist appeal by re-
moving their sole claim to defend-
ers of patriotism, 'the Buddhists,
he says, can help fill this gap,
especially if the other religious
groups give their support to the
movement.
NOR IS Nhat Hanh an anti-
American, except as American
actions might try to persuade him.
His admiration for American ideals
led him to these shores to plead
his cause. The inexorable conclu-
sion is that the U.S. must either
prosecute a futile war and go down
in infamy or concede that the
task of Vietnamese peace belongs
to the Vietnamese themselves.
"It is the only way," contends
Nhat Hanh, "that friendship can
be maintained between Americans
and Vietnamese.
CORRECTION
There was an error in the
headline for Roger Rapoport's
column on yesterday's editorial
page. Instead of "Greenwood:
Capital of the Confederacy," it
should have read "Montgomery:
Capital of the Confederacy."
Sorry.-Ed.
*1
A
I
If
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Lee Was Drafted
IN THE FIRST SIX months of this year,
67,000 men deserted the South Vietna-
mese army. This report in the Saigon
newspaper,' the Vietnam Guardian, de-
scribing how the draft works in South
Vietnam, helps explain why:
"A 299th Engineer Combat Battalion
soldier, who is a first generation Japa-
nese-American, recently experienced an
embarrassing moment when he was mis-
takenly drafted into the Vietnamese ar-
my at Qui Nhon.
"Specialist Four Alfred B. Lee, 20, who
works as a personnel specialist with
Headquarters Company, was leaving Qui
Nhon when a Vietnamese army truck
stopped further up the road, and a serious
-looking Vietnamese soldier waved him
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Summer Editorial Staff
LAURENCE MEDOW ................... Co-Editor
STEPHEN FIRSHEIN ........... .....Co-Editor
MARK LEVIN.......... Summer Supplement Editor
NIGHT EDITORS
David Duboff, Aviva Kempner, Patricia O'Donohue,
over with a carbine. Lee, who was in
civilian clothes, obeyed the soldier.
"The ARVN soldier began talking, quite
unaware that Lee could not understand a
word of Vietnamese. Soon Lee was usher-
ed into the truck, in which several Viet-
namese civilians were dejectedly sitting.
By virtue of sign language he then real-
ized that he had just been drafted into
the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.
"FORTUNATELY for SP4 Lee, some of
his buddies, who had been watching
the scene from inside the nearby 299th
Battalion command, rushed down the
road with the battalion interpreter, and
saved the day by explaining that the
apprehended soldier was presently on ac-
tive duty in the U.S. Army."
--NEW REPUBLIC, Sept. 10, 1966
Thus Saith
By NEIL SHISTER m...
.8
IBeatle Country
LONDON-Where does one be-
gin in London? The city invites
many thoughts, most of them
vague and disjointed,
I've been here a week and have
yet to encounterthe lonely, heavy-
in-the-stomach "Oh, God, not an-
other building to look at!" feel-
ing. There is such vitality here,
yet it is hidden behind a rather
stony facade. The tight-lipped
Britisher, with bowler hat and
umbrella, does indeed exist and
often the aura he lends this city
makes it a bit impenetrable. The
reticence of many of the young
people, at least in contrast to
the gregariousness and affability
of our contemporaries at home,
is most striking; indeed, many
American student travelers here
are quite tuined-off by, the cold-
ness of both the people and the
weather. (It has rained six of the
seven days I've been here) and
are quite eager to try their luck
elsewhere.
The city is vital and extraordi-
narily exciting, even though the
pretty mini-skirted girls on the
street are there to look at, but
not touch or even talk to, and the
pubs close down at 11 at night.
I recently ate dinner in an old
tavern, near the home of Dr. Sam-
uel Johnson, where the writer him-
self is reputed to have frequented.
A COMMENT made at one of
the several large common tables
a sense of antiquity that is un-
avoidable and very awesome, yet
worn gracefully and with a hint
of sardonic laughter. It is worth-
while repeating something I was
told by a physiology professor
when I first arrived, a European
who has spent time in the States,
He told me that the English still
consider America "a bit of a col-
ony" and are quite condescending
about it if you give them the
chance.
There is a feeling of "forever"
here. One is confronted by it
head-on in Westminster Abbey
where statues of former prime
ministers seem to listen to beau-
tiful services sung thrice daily.
BUT FOR the current crop of
politicians the task is to shed
some of their distinct Britishness,
become more European in de
Gaulle's terms, and join the Com-
mon Market. The French leader's
recent statement about the prob-
lems Britain will encounter in
trying to gain admittance, was
met with a stiff upper lip by the
Wilson government, although the
essence of the general's stand was
that because England is England
she will irrevocably upset the
structure of the market.
De Gaulle's tangible claim is
that the English economy current-
ly lacks the resiliency to take the
strains which will be initially im-
which dominate here. Vietnam is
incidental. Even an American here
feels the welcome reprieve from
the daily barrage of Vietnam stor-
ies he gets at home, although last
week's action in the demilitarized
zone did get reasonably large press
play. Among the people with whom
I have spoken there appears to be
a consistent kind of attitude-that
they disapprove of our conduct of
the war, and still more-or-less ac-
cept the premise under which we
are fighting, i.e., stopping the
Communist expansion.
But a Pakistani, living in Lon-
don for seven years and extremely
articulate, expressed vehement dis-
approval of the war, saying that
if the U.S. treated the Kashmir
problem as a domestic one, it
should follow the same kind of
non-interference in Vietnam. He
maintains that our stand has
earned great resentment among
Asians who are increasingly fear-
ful of a Chinese-U.S. confronta-
tion which will bring down most
of the Asian states with it. This
man predicted that the show-
down will take place on the trans-
Gangian plain in India. His ac-
ceptance of such a war as inev-
itable was rather upsetting, espe-
cially since he appears quite in-
telligent and well versed in politics.
BUT MOST Londoners, from the
visible signs and according to a
young, talkative cab driver, are
4
The Lord.
. 0
"HE WHO MEDDLES in a quarrel not
his own is like ore who takes a pass-
ing dog by the ears."
-PROVERBS 26:17
"I Have To Maintain Iwo Homes, And -
Uh- Various Offices"
ti 7:
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