Wednesday, May 24, 1995 - The Michigan Daily -5
America the divided
As the information superhighway ostensibly
brings America andthe restofthe advanced industrial
world closer together, Americans are as divided and
disconnected from one another as ever. In social,
econonic and intellet ual term Amricahas become
a dividedl naion in irneasiy Repuiblic compriised of
antigovermrent militaImen outnumnb Ied liher il,
R
public school system, , -cleGreat; uz
and the ulimate sym oi of the meritorvcy t
evated a young Bill Clinton from poverty to
policy maker, now does more to entrench the-e
class inequalities than moderate them. Today the
American Dream is but a figment of the civic
imagination. The rich are getting richer, the poor
are getting poorer, and the middle class is falling
victim to a deadly societal dynamic which betrays
American principles and economic values. Social
mobility, the ability to rise from one economic
class to another by one's own sweat, hard work
and perseverance, is threatened by the wealthy's
pretedeated monopolization and accumulation
fcapital, and access to quality higher education
Moreover, Republican's desire to tighten federal
guidelines for loans aideato college students
will make this situation even more acute. In 1992, the
federal government contributed only 6.4 percent in
educational funding to the states. This is not enoug.
The United States is currenty in the thros o
socioeconomic stratification amidst the pruessoc ol
a new technological economic system. The ave-
nots aret a major disadvantage in this Darwinian
vironment. This vicious cycle of limited resources
mendously circumscribes their future. The middle
class is endangered as well by the mediocrity and
systematic inequality of the entire American.
educational system. Private school vouchers and
notions such as school choice will further devastate
pubime schools already hangingon the fiscal precipice.
The middle class is shrinking and our once
mighty cities are in rapid decline. The flight of
businesses,taxableincome andcapitalto the suburbs
in Detroit and elsewhere in the U.S. in the past 30
years has wreaked havoc on urban America and
eashed the value of education provided to the
needs children. They are predominately low-
income youth who haie no safe subdivision to
escape to after school. Americans today are
separated not only by distance, but by class and
race, political affiliations, family resources and
expectations about what the next century holds.
To unlock the chains of determined social desti
we mus return to the basic Ameran principles
while at the samle o full ed br ao e the necesites
of the new technological racer This can be
nedcihlden. atey are predinatelylow
inor youth whtedof haeron sa subivisonto
resapet toaterl scool.fo Aicats etdy areo
the lial village. We us inst in America
children, both rich and poor, or we s a i nation will
pay the costs.
NoTmBa QuoAirmE
"She's not young enough or pretty enough to be the wife of
a president. And besides, she has cancer."
-Homse SpeakerNewt Gingrich to afriendon why he wanted to divorce hisffrst
wic, facAe, as guotedfrom Esguire magazine
- t
n 1
.czivn
liv ci ptics ot tui
arMt1 incease
roject; the .1.
northwest is still pgne by hic ver-ending
A nge l H all re n o : Amt irous ne w c e t f n e
chemistry lab sure lsni dtone. and the Grad has
tice big hole in fIront of it. Ihis is outrageous! De
When will we ever have some peace and quiet? J7P ) L.jIUI
Matthew Radey
LSA senior To the Daily:
H r o ' . Recently the regents approved increasing t
H aiti i s G retC fines for expired meters on campus from $3 to $
an increase of 133 percent, in the name of t
upkeepoftheparkinginfrastructure.Ihavepatient
been waiting for these improvements, maybe
' 'the form of increasing parking availability foi
save U housing change. However, the only change I have seen
far is an upgrade in Department of Public Safe
he
7,
he
tly
in
'r a
so
ty
Editor's note/Joel Knutson
The Iowa factor
Iowa has always struck me as an interesting state
(myself and about no one else in Michigan, I'm sure).
I'm not talking about the incredible topography along
Interstate 0frthesocialbehaviors of pigs I'mreferring
toi the political attitudes of the state
Theres i reasrn why ie vey irst presidential
caucuses are held in Iowa. Iowans are genuinely
cot cerned about politics and honit Ifects them
itrestt c restofthenatica imte well
tinori i tii e i pein ess1ti ad ocess at
I is i t, pei t p ity hei nt
ivaes (A is' 1a Ii.sprps nth a
IYei Iowa fi moat stt aoigbt
r Dte sics i
PoitcsinIoafo te ot ar,,rebaedonprgrs
B uss dvaue i the 19588i ccss. dos't teId to
sr r'heirfiti gv re . atotti or~te
Natitr.iiity. isheti IIvondtlouitiltia temtbership
levels were on the rise, I knew something was amiss. If
there's a state that depends on government farm
subsidies,it'sIowa. Youtake away governmentfunds,
and the state would erode into the Mississippi. Yet an
increasing number of rural Iowans are talking like its
time to convert grain silos into missile launchers.
Iowa is a shining example of the numberone thing
wrong with politics today: policy is an outgrowth of
hostility. Allofthe programsandbillsslammedthrough
Congress without any thought to their consequences
because fervor is high is increasing cynicism among
voters, not making it better. Senator and presidential
candidatePhilGramm(R-Texas)isapuppetforpeople
whoseemtothink thattheconstitution begins andends
with the Second Amendment. He wants to make
economic policy for the most powerful country on
earth based on fear and resentment, nothing more. His
campaign tactics in Iowa have aproven ability to scare
reasonable people into hating each other. It doens't
quite have the same tone as Clinton's campaign,
obviously. (So much for Fleetwood Mac and the sax.)
Looking back, you have got to hand it to Ronald
Reagan. Despite his conservative nature, he was
continually optimistic, trying to make the country feel
better about itself. The country felt like it was in good
hands with Reagan at the helm, even though he may
have been asleep at the wheel. So when Iowans are
becoming increasingly fearful of government and
strident in their conservatism, I begin to detect a sense
of hostility in the air. In many ways, Iowans are the
better than your average bear, politically. So when
folks with ahistory of being reasonable are turning into
blathering idiots, what does it mean our political
system has turned into? Chaos. A democracy cannot
function if its policies are based on the hatred of the
lowest common denominator. Welfare reform, for
instance, is destined for failure if it's a reaction to the
image of a minority single mother rather than a means
to better those who are dependent on the program.
Increasingly,minIowaand acrossthecountry, voting
has become a negative act - oting "against" with
extreme prejudice rather than "for" with optimism.
Althoughitiseasytoreasonthattthis isthemanifestation
of vapid hate fpew ing fromrado waes the root of the
problem lies in Washington. Policians need to start
acting responsibly and tone down hatefu lhetoric. The
influence of hate on policy ciii rton go as far as
Congr ertmits it Bb iilt, itancehs sen
firstaidivrn ctdVri ti~ r tippsts viisocet
svwl iu ci_ sbtt" mt e v'ithing. e
more thai anyone, .i II cfi, his oppotunity to
reform government in a ptnie m i ru eirather thtan
tear it down to shreis ainv tear soets own wth it.
To the Daily:
Perhaps (Vice Presiednt for Student Affairs)
Maureen Hartford's real reason for wishing to
postpone rush is essentially the same reason the
Panhellenic Association wishes to prevent her
from doing so. Without a rule against rushing as a
first-year student, the University's housing is
suffering. With the rule, the Greek houses would
suffer. There do not seem to be enough students
who want to live in expensive dwellings with large
numbers of other students to fill the dorms and the
Greek houses.
The obvious solution to poor sales, such as the
ay Man Wimsatt
automobiles from economy cars to new Chevy
Blazers whichareusuallythenicestcarsinthelots,
students orprofessors. Iam positive that after each
DPS officer has a new Blazer, a new frivolous
project having nothingtodo with those of us using
the parking lots will be found for the fine money.
Jesse Brouhard
Engineering senior
SNUGLI???