Novembers, 1989
Features
Why American Democracy
Has Failed
Dr. Manning Marable “Along the Color Line" October, 1989
Last month, the House of
Representatives approved a
reduction In the capital gains
tax rate, giving President Bush
a major legislative vlctoiy over
Congresslnal E)emocrats. The
bill would lower the top capital
gains tax rate to 19.6 percent,
from 33 percent It would apply
to all Income from sales of
stocks, rea‘^te, and bonds.
In effect, the wealthiest
Americans, those earning over
$200,000 aimually, will receive
60 percent of the total tax
benefits, about $25,000 per
taxpayer. Americans earning
above $100,000 would receive
80 percent of the benefits. This
bill, an undlsgulshed version
of welfare for the rich, was
praised ty Bush’s Treasuiy
Secretary Nicholas F. Brandy,
for “strengthening America’s
economy, creating new jobs
and giving American’s small
businesses and entrepreneurs
a fair chance to compete
Intematlon^y.” Even during
the high tide of Reaganlsm, It
would be hard to Imagine a
more naked, aggressive and
vicious assault against
working class, middle Income
and poor people.
Although the status of the
capital gains tax bill remcilns
In doubt, the fact remains that
one-third of the Congressional
Democrats abandoned their
leadership. The vote reveals
that a solid Congressional
majority still exists which
blindly follows the economic
dogma characteristic of
Reaganlsm. The rationale that
cutting taxes to the wealthy
will provide jobs to the poor Is
only a crude scheme for
expanding poverty. The
philosophy behind this vote Is
that the government has no
obligation to any significant
segment of society except the
economic ruling class.
When working people
witness this unvarnished grab
for profits, the questions
arises: "What are the real
values which form the policies
of America’s political ^tem?”
Let us reflect upon the actual
uses and abuses of power
within the current political
process. But to do so, we must
take the perspective not of the
privileged elites whose pockets
will sag from this tax cut but
from the Increasingly
marginalized sectors of the
middle and working classes.
American democracy has
failed because It Is motivated
by the notion of the zero-sum
game, that there are winners
and losers only. The rule of
human fairness, a desire to
create equitable conditions
between groups and Individ
uals, Is transcended by
Individual gain at the expense
of the common good.
American democracy has
failed because of Its
Institutionalized tendency to
Ignore the long-term suffer
ings of millions of Amerclan
people, the homeless, the poor,
people of color and working
people. When the powerful and
the privileged make demands,
both parties listen and
respond. Where Is the political
party which represents the
material Interests of the
majority of us, the women and
men who work everyday, who
makes the goods and provide
the services? When Latinos
and African-Americans call for
prompt action against racism,
poverty and Inferior educa
tion, Bush Is blind and the vast
majority of Congress Is deaf.
American democracy has
failed because the political
system and the power elite of
this countiy would rather have
the omnipresent threat of
luclear war rather than make
earnest efforts to build upon
the peace Initiatives of the
Soviet Union. Days ago.
Deputy Secretary of State
Lawrence Eagleburger
declared “for all its risks and
uncertcilnties, the cold war
was characterized by a
remarkably stable and
predictable set of relations
Eimong the great powers.” In
short why does the Bush
administration despise
Gorbachev, and why is it
nostalgic for the Cold War?
Ciorbachev has the political
courage to transcend the
military stalemate and nuclear
terror of four decades, but
Bush has no comparable
vision. His advisers recognize
that to close the door on the
Cold War would mean an
inevitable reduction in the
billions allocated to the
Pentagon. It would deny the
powerful a crucial tool which
has been used to structure
national policies In favor of
private profits and against
human needs.
Our challenge is to create a
new definition of democracy, a
majoritarian agenda of jobs,
peace and justice. What’s at
stake is the future of
democracy itself.
Eights Ways To Cope With Stress
Dr. Manning Marable Is Professor
of Political Science at the
University of Colorado. "Along the
Color Line" appears In over 150
newspajjers.
BY VERNIKA S. JONES
STRESS!!!! What is It? How
do we deal with it? What
causes it? Does stress cause
anxiety or does anxiety cause
stress? The answers to these
questions can be quite
complicated. There are two
components Involved with
stress. The first is that stress Is
a life event or a situation, and
the second is the individual’s
response to the stress. There
are different reactions to
stress. Physiological reactions
to stress deals mainly with the
human body. For example, the
heart beats faster because of
the excitement of a date or
sometimes the stomach
knots up” or a “feeling a lump
in thepltofthestomach.”Allof
us have experienced these
types of reactions at one time
or another. Behavior reactions
to stress Is when a person
reacts differently than what he
would have at any other time.
Stress can be caused ty a
variety of sad events such as:
death, divorce, jail term,
marriage, fired from work,
retirment weight gain, and
having too many things to do.
But there are ways to cop>e with
these stressful situations that
we experience dalfy. Listed
below are eight ways of coping
with stressful activities.
(1) Pay special attention
to your personal health and
fitness: When you are under
stress your body tends to be
weaken. Watching your diet
can reduce your stress. When
you exercise, you release the
tension that is faced during a
regular day.
(2) Learn how to recog
nize your own accomplish
ments: You must leam to
recognize these accomplish
ments and give yourself praise
for them. This Is known as
“patting yourself on the back.”
(3) Leam how to take one
thing at a time: Leam to put
things In perspective. Don’t
put off things that need to be
done right away. When you
wait to the last minute to do
something, you are adding
stress Into your dalfy life.
(4) Leam to take things
less seriously: When a
situation or event comes into
your life, leam how to think
things out so you do not build
up tension. When faced with a
stressful event tiy to keep your
mind at ease.
(5) Talk things over with
other people: Some p>eople
keepjthings to themselves and
keep the tension they have
tensed up inside of them. To
release these tension, leam
how to talk to other people
about these problems. Talking
with others can make a tense
situation much lighter and
easier to bear.
(6) Doing things for
others: When you help others,
it helps you take your mind off
of your problem. It is a known
fact that when you help others
you can benefit from it
(7) Controlling your
stress relaxation: To relax
means to "loose” the tension
that you are stressed out
about In order to know how to
relax, you must be able to
recognize tension that Is In
your own body.
(8) Leam how to medi
tate: When you leam how to
meditate, you are dealing with
the mind. Not only is there
tension in the body, but there
is tension in your mind that
can cause you to think or make
wrong decisions. To meditate,
you must find a quite place
and seat yourself in a
comfortable position, and
focus your concentration on a
relaxing image.
You should be able to
recognize stressful situations ;
and be able to handle them '
better.
rtv\LVfc
Meteors,
Possible Bronster Attack
Ekiucation, Racism, and
Elitism
Dr. Manning Marable
“Along the Color Line”
There Is an Inevitable
connection between the
socioeconomic and p)olltlcaI
status of African-Americans
and other people of color and
their access, position and
mobility within all educational
institutions. If opportunities
for young people are limited
within public schools or
colleges, the size of the
potential leadership in
politics, labor, medicine, the
law, £md other key occupations
is reduced. Knowledge is
power, and the denial of
educatlonsil opportunity is
directly related to the
perpetuation of exploitation of
Blacks, Hlspanlcs, and all
working people.
Last month’s education
summit called by President
Bush was silent on the racial
and social class implications
of government policies on
public schooling. But the
dramatic deterioration of
education has occurred
precisely in the Innercitles, in
school districts which are
overwhelmingly dominated by
people of color. The Reagan-
Bush administration has
deliberately slashed funds for
student loans, and the
reduction of Black and Latino
undergraduates across the
country is directly attributable
to the paucity of the student
loan packages currently
available.
Increasingly education is
projected as a privilege for the
rich, rather liian a human
right which benefits the
common welfare of society.
The cost of a private college
education Increased an
average of 9 percent in the
current 1989-1990 academic
year. The cost of tuition, room
and board, and related
expenses at elite private
schools is astronomic:
$19,310 at Yale Unlverslly,
$19,164 at Stanford Univer
sity; $19,395 at Harvard
University: $18,284 at Duke
University: and $14,700 at
Notre Dame. The best state-
supported institutions are
also beyond the reach of many
middle Income families,
certainly African- American
households, which currentfy
average under $19,000 total
Income per year. At the
University of Texas at Austin,
for example, the 1989-1990
tuition, room and board, and
related costs comes to $4,254.
I'he University of Callfomia at
Berkeley’s costs total $6,704
for this academic year.
Even more than economic
factors is the prevaslveness of
elitism and ethnic exclusivity
within universities and
academic institutions, which
fosters a hostile environment
for people of color. Despite the
Introduction of Afro-American
Studies programs, ethnic
i
studies, non-westem foreign
languages and curriculum
reforms which have inserted
the cultures, histories and
perspectives of nonwhite pople
into college classroom. Black
and brown people are
constantly margln^lzed at
most institutions. The ^tem
of higher education is
generally designed for
nonwhites to fail.
The basic pattern of elitism
and racism in colleges
conforms to the dynamics of
Third World colonialism. At
nearly all white academic
Institutions, the power
relationship between whites
as a group and people of color
is unequal. Authority is
invested In the hands of a core
of largely white male
administrators, bureaucrats
and influential senior faculty.
The board of tmstees or
regents is dominated ty white,
conservative, affluent males.
Despite the presence of
academic courses on minori
ties, the vast majority of white
students take few or no classes
which explore the heritage or
cultures of non-western
peoples or domestic minori
ties. Outside the classroom,
there are few structured
opportunities for peoples of
different cultures to Interact
Most white students receive
the elitist message that
nonwhite students as a group
October 1989
are unworthy of attending
their institution, and that
affirmative action policies
have unfairly discriminated
against whites. Most courses
In the humanities and social
sciences focus narrowly on
topic or Issues from the
Western capitalist experience,
and minimize the centrality
and importance of nonwestem
perspectives. Finally, the
university or college divorces
itself from the pressing
concerns, problems and
debates which relate to Blacks,
Hlspanlcs or even white
working people. Given this
structure and guiding
philosophy. It shouldn’t
surprise us that many talented
nonwhite students fall to
achieve In such a hostile
environment
BY STEPHEN T. WARD
Halloween night presented
a sp)ectacular celestial show for
students and nearby residents
of FSU. At approximately 11:58
p.m.. a meteor storm began
with as many as 100 meteors
spotted an hour, until the
covmt tappered off to zero ty
dawn. It appeared at this time
that meteors only landed in
the campus park area
According to Dr. Johnson,
Astronomy Professor of FSU. “I
think it’s quite unusual for
such a high number of
meteors to land all in one
confined area It must have
been one big meteor that had
burst into fragments upon
entering the atmosphere.”
Wthin the first hour of the
meteor storm, local television
crews, radio announcers, new
reporters, photographers, and
residents arrived on the scene.
Several ambulances were
called on sight The National
Guard, who have been here for
several days due to the request
Dr. Manning Marable teaches
political science at the University
of Colorado. Boulder "Along The
Colcr Line" appears in over 150
ne.-'^r.apers Internationally.
of Dr. Hackley because of a
possible Bronster threat made craters. Dr. "Loveless'
over the radio several weeks, williams, Mr. Carrowey,
went into full alert
Fire Chief Robert Handfy
said, "We had four firetmclra
on location, but as far as I can
tell, no fires have started. I’ve
been out there personally
looking around: the place
looks like a war zone. Craters
are everywhere. With the help
of Dr. Johnson and other
professors of science on
campus, we wore anticontami
nation suits and collected a
few examples of the rocks to be
analyzed In the lab.”
Dr. Johnson said. "We are
studying the rocks this veiy
moment They seem to be
made up of the same material
of Hailey’s Comet They do have
a few things stranged about
them. When you tum out the
lights, they ^ow and wobble.
One of my students swore they
heard a raspy, wet whisper
coming from them. In a couple
of days, we should know alot
more.”
When Dan Rather arrived
on the scene with his camera
crew, he asked Dr. Hackley,
“Mr. Chancellor, do you feel the
Bronsters had anything to do
with this?”
“Well,” responded Dr.
Hackley, “according to
statistics. I’d say there is a
high probability. So far. we
don’t have any evidence of the
Bronsters. However, since the
radio message they sent a
couple of weeks ago about
requesting help for an attack
on Halloween night you can
see why we are anxious.”
“What are you doing about
this concem?” asked Rather.
Dr. Hackley replied, “1 will
rather not say. But since this is
national television. I’ll go head.
Right now. I’m proud to S8Qt I
have four volunteers that are
out in the woods, camping
right in the middle of the
Mr.
and
Mrs. Yvorme Robinson. Dermis
McNair is out there too, but he
didn’t volunteer, he’s chaining
for photographs. So, we’ll just
have to wait and see what
happens.”
That’s all the information
at this time. If any strange
events happen in the next
couple of days that might be
caused by a Bronster, please
report this to Broncos* Voice.
As of now, we leave our
heros. Dr. “Loveless”. Mr.
Williams, Mr. Ceuroway, zind
Mrs. Robinson out in the
woods, surrounded by
deirkness, except for the glow
coming out of the craters. All Is
silent, except for Mr.
Carroway’s snoring and the
raspy, whispery sounds of the
night.