Viewpoint
The Battalion
Monday
Texas A&M University
November 10, 1980
By JEI
While
dternati'
By Jim Earle
Slouch
DEATX FAMILY
RIDE LEAVlfeS EARLY
Doc-roR. APPOINT.
CLOSE A DEAL
DY7M6- WITH CAUCEfl
To CLA
It s not a bit too early to think about a good excuse for
leaving early for the Thanksgiving Holidays. ”
1980 election could signal
major political realignment
By CLAY F. RICHARDS
United Press International
WASHINGTON — The 1980 elections could
well signal a major political realignment in the
nation that could strengthen a two-party system
that has been in decline since John Kennedy’s
election two decades ago.
For a variety of reasons the voters rejected a
Democratic president who acted like a Republi
can in favor of a conservative who was clearly a
Republican.
Ronald Reagan’s coattails were broad enough
to bring in several Republican senators and gov
ernors. Major candidates of late — and Carter
was a good example in 1976 — haven’t display
ed the kind of coattail power that builds party
loyalty.
The new Senate will be more sharply divided
along party lines with the departure of liberal
Republican Jacob Javits and the arrival of a new
crop of very conservative GOP freshmen.
Republicans, who held just 12 governor
ships after the Watergate debacle, now hold at
least 21 and could pick up more as close races
are decided.
Conservatives put an end for the most part to
the political contradiction of having liberal
senators from conservative states with the de
feat of Democratic Sens. George McGovern of
South Dakota, Birch Bayh of Indiana and John
Culver of Iowa.
There wasn’t much good news for Democrats
in Tuesday’s results — but they still hold con
trol of Congress and the governorships. The
large number of Republican victories just
brought the whole system a little more in ba
lance.
An important part of the new balance is the
South, which wil clearly now never be “solid
ly’’ Democratic again after turning its back on a
native son from Georgia.
Alabama and Florida have new Republican
senators, and former Gov. Christopher “Kit”
Bond recaptured Missouri for the GOP.
Typical of the Republican surge in the south
is Arkansas. Frank White, a Little Rock banker
and a Democrat, changed to the Rep;
Party to run for governor and was I
race too close to call with Democratic!
Clinton.
But the Reagan victory went beyj
establishing the traditional Republic^
He cut deeply into blue-collar and lakij
that have been the exclusive posses®J
Democratic Party, at least since fJ
Roosevelt beat Herbert Hoover in Ilf
The major job a more liberal Demo
Edward Kennedy or Walter Mondalei
bring home this traditional constituency!
want to recapture the White House in j
Ronald Reagan captured union
collar votes by pledging to put America;)
work again. To keep those votes hewil
do what Carter did not and lower um
ment and inflation.
Just as Reagan won on the pocketbool)
it will be the pocketbook issues thaldet)
if the Republican resurgence continuesti
1984.
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By I
In remembrance of
‘incredible Ataturk’
By MEHMET SAHINDGLU
Author’s Note: On Nov. 10 each year since
1938, millions of Turks bow their heads in si
lence to mourn for Ataturk — father of Turks —
without whose existence Turkey would be but
another communist satellite, like today’s
ethnically Turkic states in Central Asia. 1981,
though, will be a year of celebration and reeva
luation of his spectacular deeds — as Ataturk
was born a century ago. Is it not time that
today’s generation learn a little about a man
who was neither west nor east but a harmonious
combination against fanaticism and foreign
domination, and whose model is the Modern
Turkey itself, with his simple yet famous “Peace
in the nation, peace in the world“?
“That tragic fortnight which began with the
hardly veiled announcement that Ataturk was
in a coma and ended with the apotheosis of his
funeral will never be forgotten in Turkish his
tory. On Nov. 10, the day of Ataturk’s death,
the people were stunned into silence. Where is
the man today who can command equal love
and respect?” So said the C. Century Magazine
on Jan. 4, 1939. “No man wielding as much
personal power as did Kemal was so imbued
with democratic principles.”
In the article “Kemal the Victorious” on Nov.
25, 1938, O. C. Cleveland from The Common
weal magazine wanted the world to hear his
commentary: “Among the dictators of our time
Kemal Ataturk had perhaps the strongest per
sonality. Behind Lenin’s work, there were an
ideology and a party with a history of six de
cades. Futhermore, he had the cooperation of
friends of his own kind .... Mussolini also and
especially Hitler have been surrounded by
companions of remarkable knowledge and ex
perience, who more than once have influenced
decisions .... Kemal Ataturk was a lone wolf.
The fanatic energy with which he brutally des
troyed the traditions of many centuries was
completely his own and it was his personal con
ception ...”
In the opening paragraph of “The Incredible
Mustafa Kemal” in the June 1938 issue of The
Reader’s Digest, I. Phayre writes the following:
“No Hollywood Lot ever filmed a story so incre
dible as the living work of Mustafa Kemal Ata
turk, the low born soldier who, as dictator of
modern Turkey, has completely changed the
culture of his ancient people. ”
During the turbulent years that followed his
historic defense in Gallipoli administering to
the British their most tragic defeat, Kemal’s
military and oratorical skill made him the sup
reme leader of an aroused Turkey.
Phayre had more to say: “Kemal was 46 when
he began his miracle of regenerating Turkey. ‘
Under the furious pace he began to show signs
of strain, his fair hair thinning, the strong face
tense and full of lines. But the eyes were still a
master’s, full of strange light; variable and stern
unto menace. His prodigious vitality called for
ceaseless reports; he checked all government
bureaus, constantly infusing new life into
ministers ...”
Tax gatherers were stoned and beaten. A
“false prophet” roused the peasants to revolt,
Kemal met the plots against him with an iron
hand. He signed death warrants for friends and
foes alike as fast as his hanging judge put them
before him.
Phayre also wrote, “Once he gave a dance to
foreign envoys and the loveliest ladies of the
capital. Four miles away in the main square, 11
triangles of timber stood high and under each
swung a man in a long white gown with a coarse
rope around his neck. Dawn broke just as a
messenger came from the chief of police that
the last traitor’s body had ceased to twitch ...
Only the hand that can wield the sword should
grasp the scepter of power. So mused the sardo
nic Gazi (Ataturk) adding, ‘I shall make Turkey
a civilized country in every sense of the term. ”
In the May 3, 1939, issue of The New
Republic magazine, M. Arnold wrote the fol
lowing lines upon visiting the new capital of a
new republic:
“Any foreigner who has been in Turkey and
visited Ankara, who has talked with govern
ment officials and posseses the slightest inkling
of the changes instituted by the late Gazi, must
feel the loss of this man and mourn with the
Turkish people. The horseman in Ankara looks
out over the desert, still summoning the Anato
lian peasant to new life, literacy, work and
hope. His own words might be his epitaph:
‘Those inclined to compromise cannot accom
plish a revolution.’”
May our Ataturk sleep in peace. Our
gratitude to you for teaching us to be proud to
be a Turk (a famous motto by Ataturk; previ
ously “Turk” had connotations of being a peas
ant during the theocratic Ottoman Empire)
and to worship through only one’s own consci
ence and responsibility in freedom (secularism
defined).
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It’s your turn
Soccer good, but it could be better
Editor:
Recently Richard Oliver had an enlightening
soccer article in The Batt. Enlightening be
cause The Battalion is finally recognizing the
world’s most popular sport. Yes, soccer is grow
ing in this area and Texas A&M now can be
proud of their women’s soccer team.
Station. A visit to some of the weekend games
played on the Krenek Tap fields in College
Station by the better teams in Division I will
easily prove my point. There are at least 15
players from three or four teams who could be
on TAMU’s starting team. Unfortunately, this
is not the case.
The men’s soccer team, however, leaves a lot
to be desired. Before I am criticized and cata
logued as a two-percenter, I would like to say
that the men’s team has come a long way over
the past few years. There is no doubt that the
addition of Head Coach Telmo Franco and
Assistant Coach David Flentge has added a new
dimension to the team; but I fail to understand
the reason for the poor recruiting and the rela
tively large number of unskilled players on the
team. These players are in great physical shape
as well as being enthusiastic, but Franco should
know very well that this is not enough.
What is even more frustrating is that these
players would like to play for TAMU but have
been either ignored, replaced by some player
who was more fit but less skillful (in soccer
fitness can be attained in a very short time,
skillfullness takes years), had class conflicts
which the coaches refused to accept, or simply
were disliked by these coaches. I have even
heard that recently one BVASL team scrim
maged the TAMU team and won 31
even more surprised to hear that theyfc
several times before in previous se®
And there are other teams consisting of
skilled players from all over our coi
well as from many foreign nations (will
cer is the number one sport) who
invaluably to the men’s team.
Yes, Richard Oliver, eurekal m
seemed lost in the up and down world of 1
sports, you discovered the TAMU mei)|
cer team. I only wish you had disco«
soccer team which more accurately i
quality of soccer that exists on this cam;
Mehmet Sahindglu is a doctoral student in
the Institue of Statistics.
Texas A&M could easily have the best team
in the state and be ranked in the Top Ten of the
nation. There are plenty of players who are
university students who are not on the TAMU
soccer team and who should be. Most of these
players play on teams in the Brazos Valley
Amateur Soccer League (BVASL) in College
Warped
By Scott McCuilar
HERE ALLEN, THE BULB'S
OUT, WOULD YOU DO THE yt
HfAM, LET'S SEE NOW,
WET THE END FIRST,
The Battalion
U S P S 045 360
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Questions or comments concerning any editmii' 1
should be directed to the editor.
Editor Dillard Stone
Managing Editor Rhonda Watters
Asst. Managing Editor. Scott Haring
City Editor Becky Swanson
Asst. City Editor Angelique Copeland
Sports Editor Richard Oliver
Asst. Sports Editor Ritchie Priddy
Focus Editor Scot K. Meyer
Asst. Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff
News Editors Lynn Blanco,
Gwen Ham, Todd Woodard
Staff Writers Jennifer Afflerbach, Kurt Allen,
Nancy Andersen, Marcy Boyce, Jane G. Brust
Mike Burrichter, Pat Davidson, Cindy Gee
Jon Heidtke, Uschi Michel-Howell, Debbie Nelson,
Liz Newlin, Rick Stolle
Cartoonist : Scott McCuilar
Photo Editor Pat O’Malley
Photographers George Dolan,
Jeff Kerber
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erated as a community service to Texas A&M University and
Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are
those of the editor or the author, and do not necessarily repre
sent the opinions of Texas A&M University administrators or
faculty members, or of the Board of Regents,
Amen
anydi
Opera
toroa
deep.
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Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College St>-
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