OPINION Page 4 Friday, January 9, 1987 The Michigan Doily I Edite mdbtta ny Michig an l Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCVII, No. 71 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. Reagan's Under a barrage of criticism over its covert arms sale to Iran, the Reagan administration has generously conceded that "mis- takes may have been made." However, the administration has admitted error only for "mis- execution" of policy but not for the policy aims themselves. Defense of arm sales to Iran is an untenable position. The Aya- tollah Khomeni's government is one of the most autocratic and repressive regimes in the world. Not only has it done violence upon its own people, but it has exported violence worldwide by supporting terrorism. Despite President Reagan's rabid rhetoric about terrorism, he sold arms and credibility to Iran. The President continues to defend his actions, claiming the "strategic necessity" of seducing "moderates" in the Iran government. Characteristically, the administration has given precedence to its perceived strategic interests over the dictates of morality. The moral bankruptcy of Reagan's position can be demonstrated by comparing his policies toward Iran, Nicaragua, and South Africa. When Reagan's agents travel to Iran with guns, the guns are for sale; when Reagan's agents go to Nicaragua with guns, the guns are for slaughter. In Iran, a'country condemned worldwide for its brutality, the United States, supposedly, has gone faithfully searching for moderates. In Nicaragua, a country recognized throughout the world as the most humane in Central America, the United States has adopted a 'shoot them all now, sort them out later' arms sales approach. When the Contras descend upon a village, they do not ask where the moderates are-they enter guns with ablaze killing in- discriminately. The "righteous anger" which Reagan has displayed in dealing with the Sandinistas is in stark contrast to the infinite understanding he has shown the racist government of South Africa. The administration has spent much effort and legitimacy attempting to convince the public that constructive engagement would promote gradual alleviation of racial oppression. President Reagan claims to be fraught with worry that sanctions against the apartheid state would "hurt the blacks most." Why is he not concerned with the Nicaraguan peasants, to whom he has cut off even medical supplies gathered by humanitarian groups? In truth, President Reagan has been able to patiently endure the suffering of both Nicaraguan peasants and South African blacks-not to mention United States blacks. Like Iran and unlike Nicaragua, South Africa exercises terrorism on its own people. Like Iran and unlike Nicaragua, South Africa exports terrorism, principally to Mozambique and Angola. Like Iran and unlike Nicaragua, South Africa has materially benefitted from President Reagan's commitment to "moderation." President Reagan seems to have a peculiar method of choosing those upon whom he bestows his benefits. He has supplied South Africa with commerce, Iran with weapons, and Nicaragua with orphans. Socialis By John Silberman I cannot even begin to express my absolute disgust for Seth Klukoff and David Vogel, regarding their essay "Socialism doesn't work" (Daily, 11/21/86). I must admit that I agree with one thing they said, "To what depths has debate on campus sunk to?" And thanks to them, it has been lowered even further. I ask you this: to what depths has your human compassion fallen to? How can you so offhandedly state "Not that everyone in the West is perfectly fed and sheltered..." and still consider yourselves human beings? Do you realize what you just said? You just condensed the starvation, unemployment, and homelessness of hundreds of millions of people in the West into a mindless simplification that, well, things are not quite perfect. Are you for real? Why don't you look at some facts, plain and simple. China (socialist), only 25 years after its revolution, totally eradicated starvation. In India (capitalist) millions upon millions of people continue to starve while the country continues to export food. In the Philippines (capitalist), hundreds of families are forced to live, literally, in trash dumpsites, for they have no other way to get food. In Cuba (socialist), virtually no one is underfed. In the Soviet Union (socialist), there exists a condition that Western economists like to call "overemployment" (too many people have jobs!), while in the United States (capitalist), more than seven million people are without work, two million have no shelter, and 20 million people are malnourished. If this is capitalism working and socialism not working, well, then, you are terribly disoriented. Furthermore, Vogel and Klukoff Wasserman m is continue to show their stupidity when they naively state the generalization that "East Bloc economies do not even begin to hold a candle to Western economies." I do not totally blame Klukoff and Vogel for such a senseless remark, for it is a favorite argument of both Democrat and Republican alike nowadays, and one which, on the surface, seems convincing. For it is easy to compare the respective standard of living of the USA and the USSR, and undoubtedly the USA would come out on top. But does this prove capitalism superior? No, because limiting the comparison to just the USA and the USSR, or just to the East Bloc nations and the Western democracies, presupposes that capitalism in the Western democracies is an entity functioning separately from the rest of the world, and our luxury has nothing to do with the misery in the capitalist Third World. Wrong, our high standard of living is the direct cause of the misery in the Third World. How else could we get chunk pineapple slices at Kroger if it weren't for the peasants in the Philippines earning pennies an hour? And don't tell me that Dole pineapple in the Philippines supplies jobs and needed wages, because it is Dole who kicked the peasants off their land originally, so that Dole could grow its pineapple, and it is Dole and its stockholders who keep the profits. Who loses? Not only the peasants in the Philippines, but also the pineapple grower in Hawaii who no longer can compete because he doesn't pay his employees 30 cents an hour. And why does the American auto industry choose to import steel all the way from Indonesia instead of steel produced nationally? Because in Indonesia there exists a right-wing dictatorship that suppresses labor movements and ensures worker docility. Not only does that hurt the Indonesian miner, but also the blue uperior collar worker in America whose job wAs: lost when U.S. Steel shut down. Not only does this economic imperialism hurt the Third World, but it also hurts the American worker. Capitalism respects ho' boundaries in its search for profits, nor does it respect the right to food, shelter, and employment. I am not a Communist, nor do I wish to live in the Soviet Union. All I'm saying is that the immature generalization professed by Klukoff and Vogel can serve no good other than to increase the level bf reactionary McCarthyism in our society so that anything "socialized" is immediately dismissed with a thorough examination of the possible merit-: Reagan capitalized on this sentiment in 1980 and 1984, declaring he would "get the government off the backs of the people." In England, the government is on the backs of the people by socializing hospitals, granting free health care to all. In Sweden, the government is on the backs of the people by assuring free college for all. In America, Reagan has put government on the backs of the people by instituting mandatory drug testing, and hopes to create a law telling a woman what she can and cannot do with her own body. It is unfortunate that the typical American citizen continues to be receptive to the disease of conservatism; for I'm sure that if he knew of the atrocities committed in his name, he would reject conservatism for what it is, WRONG. Until that day, we must be subjected to the likes of Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Carl Pursell, Seth Klukloff, and David Vogel, ad nauseaum. John Silberman is an LSA Junior. ALREADY ? f K- 'TAX( eFORM 14 CoPM N& Scr'N.. - \wru 'cur hru A~ND iT WILL MADEV P-XLLY~? YOU FEEL LIVE A / -II~.o~R MEAN- YOU'LD BOTH / BEPAYNG TAXESa ATESAMeF RTE _._ LETTERS:. i Building solidarity Daily should show responsib A2MISTAD, THE ANN ARBOR based construction brigade of University students, graduates, and other volunteers, is leaving for Nicaragua to build a soil testing institute in Managua. This Saturday's send-off party for A2MISTAD is both a fundraiser and a celebration of the group's intent: to solidify bonds with Nicaraguans and help that country realize a more efficient, self- sufficient agricultural system. AMISTAD means friendship in Spanish and is the acronym for Ann Arbor Managua Institute for Soil Testing and Development. Scholars and others in both the United States and Nicaragua are working together toward coord - inating new farming methods with political realities in Nicaragua. Agrarian reform in Nicaragua since the 1979 Sandinista revolution has been both difficult and successful. The first few years produced the most dramatic changes; the state expropriated 41 percent of the land and re - distributed land to small producers, many of whom organized into cooperatives. The remaining 60 percent was left in private hands as long as the land was being worked. A shift in attitude away from dependence on foreign chemical pesticides to more ecologically and economically sound farming methods has also been a large part of the reform. - The Sandinistas are trying to cut the cycle of first world de - pendency. (Nicaragua imports pesticides from major first world chemical companies, mostly in the United States, and then sells back crops to first world countries, again, primarily the United States.) Providing enough food to meet the nutritional needs of everybody in the country while sustaining a profitable export economy are goals of the revolution. In order to ensure continued educational and health improvements, as well as independence, Nicaragua must fund these programs on its own. Self-sufficiency for Nicaraguans, however, is replete with obstacles such as natural disasters (floods and draughts), and, escalating Contra attacks on silos, agricultural workers, cooperatives, other food production and transportation areas. Increased U.S. aid to the contras forces Nicaragua to divert its limited resources; food, medicine, and other materials to the war rather than toward constructive endeavors, such as A2MISTAD. To the Daily: How could you be so insensitive? The cartoon in Monday's editorial page does nothing but promote racism and stereotypes in an -- unsuccessful attempt at humor. The Daily has neversshown as much hypocrisy as did on Monday, December 8, 1986. Just last week, there was an article on Retention of Minority students on the Editorial page. How dare you show any type of concern for the minority community (especially the Black), and in the next week insult us this way? What you have done is repulsive and shows that the Daily editors are totally insensitive to the minority community as a whole. There is also the question of compassion. How can you find humor in a cartoon that refuses to consider the underlying social conditions leading to such a crime? I can only imagine how funny this cartoon would be to the families of one of the young people actually killed this way. To say that the editors of the Daily have warped minds would actually only be an understatement. If you could begin to understand the oppressed, confused minds of the young people who feel that they have to result to this type of crime to deal with their generalization that teens in Detroit must all resort to violence to obtain things that they want-- again, ignorance. So, you see, Micigan Daily, there is much you don't understand about the situation. Israel seeks To The Daily: We have read with great . interest the letter to the editor, "1987: The year of Palestine" (Daily, 11/20/86), about the misfortunes of the Palestinian people, signed by Ms. Shadroui, Mr. Ghannam and Mr. El-Haj. The authors of that letter are well known to the readers of the Daily from their previously published letters and interviews that attempted to discredit Israel. Half truths, as we know, are more misleading, than lies. The letter written by Shadroui et. al. is of this nature. The letter goes to a great effort to describe the structure and organizations created by the PLO. However, the authors failed to describe the main activities of the so called "military for its people's defense," namely, their initiation, encouragement and execution of worldwide terrorism. During the past 18 years, 557 (!) acts of international terror outside the Why not try to show a bit more editorial responsibility in responsible journalism instead of shallow, blatant, racist humor! -Lannis Hall MSA Minority Affairs Chair ility Kimberly Washington MSA MinorityAffair Vice-Chair, LSA representativ' Kurt Muencho MSA Presiden December peace in the middle east following the 1947 UN vote to partition Palestine into two states. The authors complain that "after forty years the Palestinians still lack the fulfillment of even a portion of their national rights." The truth of the matter is that despite the fact that the proposed partition was ex - tremely unfavorable to the Jewish population, it was accepted by the leadership of the Israelis, an acceptance that meant the establishment of an Arab Palestinian state besides the Jewish state of Israel. The reaction of the Arab League, however, was a total rejection of the proposed partition accompanied by the escalation of hostilities against the Jewish population that reached its peak when seven Arab states invaded the newly established state of Israel. We must also ask why it is that during 19 years, from 1948 to 1967, when the West Bank and Gaza Strip were under Arab administration, no attempt was made even to current aspiration could be found in Ms. Shadroui's concluding sentence in the Daily's interview on Octobe 17 - "When Israel falls... we are going to create a democratic secular state...." In contrast, Israel and the Israeli people have been engaged in a continuous effoi to find a peaceful solution foi the Arab-Israeli conflict. These efforts have included endless calls for direct negotiations between Israel and any othei party that will be willing te accept its existence. One should take into consideration that throughout the history ol the Arab-Israeli conflict, progressive Arab leaders such as King Abbdallah, Presideni Sadat, PLO representative Isam Sartwai and lately the Mayor ol Nablus, Mr. El-Massri, were murdered by their Arab brothers because of their more moderate approach toward Israel. A long lasting settlemen of the conflict that will satisfy all parties can be reached only by recognition and direci .}:ti;:. , ri-- n h.: :." 'w:} '; }:4:'. '{it"Y }ivh} ii:; >{C : :"'::}:n.. :".v::. ::::::: ...v.