The Battalion
OPINION
Wednesday, October 11,1989
Opinion Page Editor Juliette Rizzo 845-
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EXIT VISAS
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Germanics grow closer,
but should not unify
Over the last few weeks, thousands of
East Germans have left their country.
Though they are not starving, they have
good reasons to leave even close rela
tives and friends behind.
A lot of individuals, including all
young people, lack personal prospects
in East Germany. The wages are low, es
pecially regarding highly skilled per
sons. There is no freedom in choosing
an employer; after graduation from a
university, a job is assigned, to which the
individual is supposed to stick.
East German cities are polluted in
winter due to burning large amounts of
soft coal with high sulfur contents.
There has been hardly any glasnost so
far, not to talk about perestroika. And
since Pravda became interesting, it is no
longer easily available in East Berlin.
The government under its aged
leader, Erich Honecker, is opposing any
change. Although there is a crisis loom
ing, the East German economy is still
the strongest in the eastern bloc.
The upcoming generation of commu
nist leaders does not provide many
hopes. They utter the same reservations
about perestroika as the present leaders.
East Germans are leaving with signs that
read, “Erich, give up!”
Let’s go beyond the political reality
and imagine what it would be like if the
government met the citizens’ wishes.
Suddenly, for any nonviolent reason
whatsoever, it would be possible in East
Germany to think, talk and publish
whatever they want.
People could gather, demonstrate
and engage in different political parties.
Free elections would be held and the
majority would form a government. In
dividual rights would be adopted.
The economy would be untied from
the state bureaucracy. Private enterprise
would be encouraged and people would
work for the salary they obtain. The leg
islature would enforce pollution con
trol. Free international trade and travel
could boost the economy.
For such a free and democratic East
Germany, the current ties to the eastern
bloc would soon become obsolete.
There would exist two states neigh
boring each other, based on the same
principles and whose people speak the
same language. They would have a lot
more in common. Hence, why two
states?
The implicit answer, however, has its
difficulties — difficulties with deep
roots in history. Since economic and po
litical power are always interconnected,
the combination of the strongest econ
omy in western Europe with another
economic potential makes people re
member the last period of German he
gemony over Europe.
But the recent history, after World
War II, plays its role too. West Germany
is the biggest exporter in the world.
West Germans spend the most money
per capita on traveling. And one of the
best of my own experiences is that they
are welcome in the United States, Mex
ico, Italy and France.
I think the relationship between West
Germany and France especially is one of
the greatest achievements in post-war
history. After three devastating wars in
75 years, many German and French cit
ies are now associated and there are
common cultural programs and high
school exchanges that often lead to close
international friendships. That’s not to
mention the economic links, of which
both countries benefit from their
strength.
There are many more examples of
noticeable developments which were
not possible without close political ties.
Would it be worth sacrificing any of that
for a greater Germany?
My answer to this question is a defi
nite no.
Besides the fear of a German su
premacy among the European coun
tries, I personally worry about an up
coming German nationalism which has
been buried for the last four decades,
for good reasons. Recently, there has
been an increase in votes for national
conservative parties in West Germany
and even public statements were made
which could be taken as arguing about
Germany’s eastern border.
It is not wise to make foreign nations
suspicious and gamble with the credit
the Germanics have won during the last
few decades. However, initially these
considerations were based on the situa
tion of the people in present East Ger
many. Hence, is there no way out of the
dilemma?
Though it might look appealing, a
signigicant change in the eastern politi
cal system does not necessarily lead to a
reunified Germany. In my opinion,
people in and outside of Germany must
start to think about two different Ger-
Benefits justify
effort to attract
Bush Library
man states not separated by an iron cur
tain, but with closer political, economi
cal and personal links.
And there should be ways to handle
worries about extended political influ
ence due to economic power. (Hypocrit
ical question: Why is the USSR so in
fluential though having such a weak
economy?)
But any sort of model going in the di
rection of two more closely connected
German states requires a broad public
debate in West Germany in order to
achieve a consensus. And the require
ment that the West German goverment
must work towards reunification, which
is given in our constitution, must be re
interpreted. I wish Germans would be
satisfied having obtained significant
progress (almost nothing seemed realis
tic five years ago), without quite fulfil
ling all of their dreams.
On the other hand, other parameters
also determine the future of East and
West Germans. After the second world
war, Europe was divided and NATO
was formed, whose goal was to curb So
viet influence in Europe. NATO is com
mitted to never accepting a communist
system. In my mind, it would twist its
original task if it did not foster a possible
change in an East European country by
maintaining the principle of a Europe
divided by a sharp line.
Though it is still the time to be cau
tious rather than enthusiastic, more
should happen due to new eastern de
velopment thanjust food aid and politi
cal reaction. For necessary initiatives
there must be extended political dis
cussions in the open without taboos or
exaggerated expectations, which is not
yet possible for a lot of people on this
planet. But we will never be able to cre
ate an undivided better world if we
don’t have somethinglike that in mind.
Hermann Koch is an exchange grad
uate student in mechanical engi
neering from Ruhr-University, Bo
chum, West Germany.
The Bush Library has been in the
news lately, though its site may not be
selected for years. The publicity has
centered around the possibility of the li
brary being located on Texas A&M’s
campus. A committee has been formed
to help bring it to A&M, a giant, multi
page petition is circulating around cam
pus seeking student support for the idea
and most prominently, the College Sta
tion City Council has given Jersey Street
a new name: George Bush Drive.
College Station has a better-than-av-
erage chance at getting the library; Pres
ident Bush recently remarked to News
week, regarding the library, “It’s a little
premature, but I want Texas to be the
recipient.” Because the Lyndon B.
Johnson Library is located on the cam
pus of the University of Texas, A&M is
the largest university in Texas without a
presidential library.
If the Bush Library were located in
College Station, it justifies the current
efforts to attract it because it would
bring academic and economic benefits
to the campus and community, as well as
enhance the images of both.
Academic benefits could be signifi
cant. As a research facility, the library
would attract waves of scholars from
many disciplines to do research. Their
presence around campus could lead to
contacts with A&M faculty members.
The University might even attract new
faculty members who are interested in
using the library. And the fast-growing
College of Liberal Arts would receive a
big boost.
Economic benefits would emerge
from the tourist attraction aspect of the
library. Assuming that it contained a
museum like the others, that museum
would draw a lot of visitors. Those visi
tors would stay in local hotels and mo
tels, dine in local restaurants and fill up
at local gas pumps, all feeding the local
economy.
Image benefits certainly will follow
wherever the Bush Library goes. Presi
dential libraries enhance the reputation
of a University and community in a
unique way. Exclusivity may have some
thing to do with this — currently, only
nine presidential libraries operate.
A look at the John F. Kennedy Li
brary, located in Boston, gives some
perspective on the size and scope of
presidential libraries.
The Kennedy Library holds roughly
28 million manuscript pages in all its
collections, including over 8 million
pages belonging to former President
Kennedy. It contains roughly 115,000
still photographs, 1,000 audio tapes,
and 6 million feet of film and video
tape. It also has 20,000 volumes of
printed material and over 150 collec
tions of personal papers, and it contains
more than 1,000 oral history interviews.
In addition, the museum component
of the John F. Kennedy Library houses
15,000 objects related to Kennedy fam
ily history.
The idea of the Bush Library being
Jim
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now, though, for Presiedent Bush
office just this January. Any benefitsc;
such efforts would come much later,
an obvious question arises: Why are
going all out now?
We have competition. An artkl
printed in Saturday’s Houston Chrov
cle listed Yale University, Texas Ted
University, the University of Housto;
and Rice University as other school
which have expressed an interest in
library. Every university listed
ByM
surely present an attractive packagear:
each would benefit by receiving the I
brary.
Fl
The early formation of a committe
the petition drive, and the street renac
ing all appear to be competitively basi
efforts to send a signal to the Bush Li
brary site selectors.
The street renaming action has
ceived criticism. The suddenness of tk
College Station City Council’s
took virtually everyone by surprise
Naming anything after a living perso:
seems at least a little odd. And, despiit
Bush’s presidential position, a political
partisan odor lingers.
The city council appears to hail
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library. They have sent an unmistakai
signal: “We would like you to locate th
library here.” They also imply that th
city will do what it can to give thelibran
an adequate home. Similar totheoal
located near the MSC or houses lying
the path of a newly-planned interstate
the council sacrificed the title “Jew
Street” to accomplish a larger purpose
In a competitive environment,
things sometimes seem to haveabip
feet on the outcome. Yet these and th
other efforts to attract the Bush Librar
to College Station seem strangely out
place right now, barely nine months®
his presidency.
However, the intense competitif
which accompanies these kinds of deo
sions (remember the supercollider
selection process?) requires com®
nities to take the initiative if they hop
to have a chance of being chosen,
win at this game, we must allow thees:
to justify some of its means. The Collet
Station City Council probably acted
this city’s and this University’s best lout
run interest by sending that signal. Sue
a move could help to bring CollegeSu
tion and Texas A&M the manybenei
which accompany being named a
dential library site.
Jim Hayes is a senior economics
jor and a columnist for The Battalion
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