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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1987)
Page 2/The BattalionThursday, March 26, 1987 > Opinion Indulging In drugs follows American ideology What happened to the War on Drugs? Did we win? Did we lose? Did we pull a Vietnam number and pull out because we didn’t stand a chance of winning and the people were getting tired of all the waste? Like the Vietnam War, the War on Drugs lacked a clear-cut objective. No one was sure of its purpose. Was it a hu manitarian effort to save people from the damaging effects of drugs? Was it a law enforcement effort to rid the coun try of organized crime involved in drug trade? Was it a parental effort to gain tighter control over children? Was it a business effort on the part of the alcohol and tobacco industry to remove the competition? Was it a religious effort to force a set of morals on the country? Was it a legislative effort to gain tighter control over the lives of employees? Was it a political effort to gain office? Many of these objectives were won. Many of the anti-drug candidates Were elected or re-elected and forgot their promises soon after tak ing office. Many compa nies and bureaucratic of fices require drug tests from their employees, making certain aspects of employees’ private lives no longer private. Many churches and religious organizations are growing in power and are forcing their be liefs on larger numbers of people. Many alcohol distributors are happy to see that certain drugs, namely XTC, have been made illegal forcing bars to quit selling drugs and concentrate on selling alcohol. Many parents are able to buy home drug-testing kits so they can find out what their children have been doing during the evening. Many states have increased spending to cut down on the drug business, money that had been earmarked for education. But there hasn’t been much done to save people from the damaging effects of drugs. No one seems to care because all the other battles have been won. In Vietnam, we won the battles but lost the war. In the War on Drugs, we lost the war because we won the battles. Drug testing does nothing to stop drug abuse. Any drug-using employee will find a way to beat the system. Al though companies claim they will main tain secrecy and will try to help any em ployee with a drug problem, those claims are lost on anyone who feels that their job may be threatened, or that they will be held up to ridicule if their prob lem is discovered. If a company doesn’t trust employees to come to work straight, why should employees trust a company with their private lives? Any drug-using child will leave home at the mere suggestion that they take a leak in a can so the parents can try out a drug testing kit purchased at K Mart. If drug testing does anything, it de stroys the self-esteem of non-drug using employees or children. The trust be tween bosses and employees and, more importantly, the trust between parents and children is destroyed when one is asked to prove sobriety. Since low self-esteem is a sign of drug abuse, why support programs that destroy self-esteem in the name of stopping drug abuse? 'The public service an nouncements and com mercials condemning drug abuse are mostly failures. Most of the commer cials are so badly done that the only people scared by the images of drug abuse are those who have never used a substance stonger than sugar-free bubble gum. Seasoned drug- users and even the cas ual experimenter laugh at those com mercials. The comtfiercials that have rock stars telling kids not to use drugs have no Reagan's working harder than ever Aides to Presi- dent Reagan wasted little time in making certain changes in the president’s sched ule and work hab its in order to make him a “hands-on” presi dent. Reagan promised the na tion during his TV address last week he would get more in volved in order to avoid another embar rassing mess like the Iran arms sale af fair. “The first thing we’re going to do,” a White House source told me, Y ‘is change the president’s sleeping habits.” “Previously,” the source explained, “the president has arisen at 11 a.m. in time to watch ‘The Price Is Right,’ his fa vorite game show, as he drinks his cof fee and eats his daily ration of prunes.” “So,” I asked, “the president has been going to work when ‘The Price Is Right’ is over?” “Not the very moment the show is over,” explained my source. “He has to give the prunes a fair amount of time to do their job. ”So what time has the presi dent previously begun his work day? “Around 1:30 p.m.,” I was told. “That’s when he reviews the daily press.” “That obviously takes him a lot of time,” I said. “He’s got to read the limes, the Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal." “Not exactly,” said my source. “U- sually he takes about 15 minutes to glance through USA Today. The arti cles are short enough so he can read them and not doze off.” What, then, I wanted to know, will be the president’s new schedule? “We’re planning to have him dress by 10 a.m., get the prune business out of the way as soon as possible, and have him actually functioning by 11 a.m. “He can watch ‘The Price Is Right’ in the Oval Office while he returns phone calls from people who want to know if he will introduce them to Fawn Hall.” “But when will the president actually get involved in taking care of the na tion’s business?” I persisted. “Not until around 2:30 p.m.,” my source said. “That’s when he will be get ting up from his afternoon nap. Before we didn’t dare rouse him until 4 p.m., in time to watch ‘The Dating Game.’ ” “There’s a reason,” said my White House insider. “The president doesn’t stay up late enough to watch ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ and he likes to look at the bachelorettes to make up for not getting to see Vanna White.” “You mentioned something about changing the president’s work habits,” I went on. “Lots of changes,” the source an swered. “We are going to insist the pres ident keep notes and not doodle on his pad during Cabinet meetings. We are also going to ask that he no longer allow his wife to make tough decisions for him.” “The first lady has been making the president’s tough decisions?” “Six years of it,” said my source. “The president gets in a tight spot and you can hear him screaming from the Oval Office all over the White House.” “Screaming what?” “Nancy Reagan . . . COME ON DOWN!” Copyright 1986, Cowles Syndicate Lewis Grizzard The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwestjournalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Loren Steffy, Editor Marybeth Rohsner, Managing Editor Mike Sullivan, Opinion Page Editor Jens Koepke, City Editor Jeanne Isenberg, Sue Krenek, News Editors Homer Jacobs, Sports Editor Tom Ownbey, Photo Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper oper ated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Sta tion. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Depart ment of Journalism. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62 per school year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on re quest. Our address: The Battalion, Department of Journalism, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, De partment of Journalism, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-4111. credibility because the rock stars have made the commericials to get a lighter sentence for a drug-related 'Crime. Commericials telling people not to give in to peer pressure and use drugs are useless, thanks to every other com mercial that has ever been made. It’s hard to believe in a commercial that says: “Don’t be like everyone else — don’t use drugs,” when every other commercial says: “Be like everyone else — use this soap,” or that mouthwash, or this beer, or that feminine hygiene product, or whatever else you don’t need. Actually, the War on Drugs was not a war on drugs, it was an attempt to gain power. Thanks to the War on Drugs, more politicians and businessmen and religious figures are able to pry into the private lives of a larger number of peo ple. The War on Drugs has becot- new brand of McCarthy ism for the) To do away with drug abuse would have to restructure the w; Americans think. All Americans more. Some Americans want drugs. It’s hard for a country to demn overindulgence when overt: gence is the American Way. Karl Pallmeyer is a journalism^ uate and a columnist for The Ba “No, I haven’t told Ronnie yet... Why ?... Mail Call Foul play EDITOR: Yes, I agree with the idea that it is possible to do the right thing in the wrong way, but I personally feel that someof the intentions of the United States concerning Nicaragua are selfish. Stress is undoubtedly a fundamental part of any election process, but the campaign workers of a certain student body presidential candidate are being subjected to a bit more than their fair share this week. Dozens of the fliers encouraging fellowstudents to vote for their candidate have been mysteriously disappearing. Needless to say, these workers spent many hours putting the fliers up in buildings throughout campus. This “unfortunate” incident means that the victimized candidate has to order several hundred more fliers. He will lose at least one valuable day of campaign time while he waits for the printer to prepare them. The worst part of this sad situation, though, is knowing that it might happen again since it would be impractical to try to guard the fliers on a 24-hour basis. In January and February of 1981, I travelled in Nicaragua and saw firsthand some of the problems 18 months after the Sandanista revolution. I also livedonthe east coast of Honduras from 1983 to 1986 and worked with Miskito Indians, of which some 20,000 were political refugees from Nicaragua. During my three years in Honduras, I had several encounters with the U.S. trained and backed counter-revolutionary forces (Contras). Following are a few questions that I would liketoshart with Simmons, all Aggies, concerned citizens of the United States, and especially Reagan and members of Congress 1. Were our intentions good when we helped set uptlie Somosa family as dictators in Nicaragua in the late 1920s: Hopefully, this letter will bring greater attention to the problem and will at least prevent any further hindrance to a fair election on April 1. Tim Stephenson ’88 accompanied by 10 signatures Africa is our friend EDITOR: 2. Were our intentions good when we allowed the Somosa family (father and two sons) and a very few other families exploit their fellow Nicaraguans until the peasant 1 had very little left to live for? 3. Were our intentions good as we exploited the resources (human and natural) of Nicaragua and other Central American countries during the last century through the combined efforts of private business and the CIA? Most of the 20th century has witnessed country after country going under Communist domination. The same dreary story of betrayal and deceit is being replayed by parts of the U.S. media and the U.S. Department of State. T he Congress had to have its share of “glory” in the destruction of South Africa and sanctioned this country noted for its friendship to the United States, a proven, loyal ally and supplier of vital strategic minerals. South Africa has never told the United States how to take care of its racial problems, and one is hard put to find any Constitutional excuse for Americans to destroy a friendly nation. Not one penny of the national budget is needed to protect America from South Africa, yet Congress calls for another communist overthrow in order to satisfy its desire for power over anti-communists in South Africa. The African National Congress has not renounced violence and “necklacing” in South Africa and will continue to kill blacks in South Africa. As a Soviet Union surrogate, the ANC should not be supported by American tax dollars and American prestige. If we as Americans permit destruction of a good friend, we deserve whatever happens to us as a nation. On the other hand, there is still time to withdraw sanctions and act like a decent nation again. It depends on each of us speaking up and loud enough to be heard. R. Priess Good intentions? EDITOR: In response to the letter “Good Intentions” by Mr. Markel L. Simmons in Mail Ca//March 24,1 question just who is the benefactor of the good intentions of President Reagan and the U.S. foreign policy in Central America. 4. Were our intentions good as the Somosa family butchered (“Butcherer” is the nickname given to the Somosa family by the Nicaraguan people) thousands who opposed them up until the Sandanista revolution of 197§' 5. Are our intentions still good as thousands of young people die fighting in the counter-revolution when they have very little chance of winning (as the congressional report stated recently)? 6. Are our intentions also good in El Salvador where we presently support a very oppressive government against another group of “Freedom Fighters”? As for the use of the word communist in the above mentioned letter, Daniel Ortega has repeatedly statedM the Sandanista government is not communist nor doesit wish to be. Neither do they want to align with the type of democracy that has been shown to Nicaragua over thepa* 1 60 years. I agree that the Sandanista government is oppressive, but our press and politicians are sometimes guilty of pulling these sensational facts out of context. Somosa (whom we supported) was also oppressive. To make my stand clear, I am not pro-Sandanistabut neither am I pro-Contra. If one of my friends is managing his money poorly, does that give me the right to play policeman and take his checkbook away and manage his money for him because I think I can do better? Please don’t accept my opinions without investigating more deeply the history of Nicaragua and Central America for at least the past 100 years. Again, what are our real intentions in Nicaragua? Arf there maybe not better ways to encourage freedom? Ray H. Griggs ’81 Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial $ reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make ever) maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must inclwh " J | classification, address and telephone number of the writer.