Reagan’s Rhetoric Far From
v Last week President Ronald Reagan
traveled to New York City to receive an
honorary doctorate degree from St. John’s
University. In his address at the uni
versity, Mr. Reagan said, “The biggest
mistake mankind has made in this century
is to think that the big answer to how
difficult fife is....is the State,” that is big
government. “But if we have discovered J.
anything in the past few decades, it is that
our salvation is not in the State. Our
salvation is in ourselves, and what we do
with our fives, the choices we make, and the
things we choose to worship. If we have
learned anything, it is that government that
is big enough to give you everything you
want is more likely to simply take every
thing you’ve got. And that’s not freedom,
that’s servitude. That isn’t the way Ameri
cans were meant to live.”
Mr. Reagan’s comments suggest that
America and Americans have developed
and grown without significant help from the
government. The historic fact is govern
ment has been an actively involved partner
in the development of our nation. It was
government that subsidized the first conti
nental railroad that linked the East and
West in the early 1860s. It was government
that offered free land under the Homestead
Acts to encourage people to migrate and
settle in the West. It was government that
provided protective tariffs to protect the
development of American industry from
foreign competition. And in this century it
has been government subsidy of the air
line, steamship and railroad industries. We
all kpow of the relatively recent history of
government subsidies and loans to Penn
Central Railroad, Pan Am Airways and the
Chrysler Corporation.
Yet, our same government today has
refused to come to ibe aid of the basic
family farmer, a diminishing breed on the
“He Is Risen”
-Jfr■ -.T- ^ . v • , ■
“He saith unto them. Be not affrighted:
Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was
crucified; he is risen; he is not here: behold >
the place where the* Bftd him ” ^ '-ij
This text of scripture from the Holy
Bible’s Mark 16:6 tells us of the historic fact
of the resurrection of Jesus Christ three
days after his crucifixion. With possible
exception of Jesus on the cross, no event in
i human history has received as much uni
s'* versal attention as the evidence of the
empty tomb. Luke 24:2-3 tells us, “And they
found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
but when they went in, they did not find the
botty.” x
Paul said that at one time there were 500
witnesses of the resurrected Christ, (1 Cor.
15:3-8).
Jesus accepted persecution and death to
s pay the price for all the sins of man - past,
present and future - and rose from the dead
% in a triumph over Satan. v '
Thus, Easter is a time for Christians to
recognize how Christ Jesus’ conquest over
American scene, and the primary example
of what we like to call the free market
system. The tariffs, winch helped American
industry to grow with very little competition
from foreign markets, were part of the
myth of our nation’s so-called self-regulat
ing, individually operated free enterprise
system. This system was exploded by the
Great Depression of 1929. The system was in
a sense buried in 1946 by the Employ
i ment Act by which it became the explicit
responsibility of the national government to
promote maximum production, employ
ment, and purchasing power. Furthermore,
recent federal reports show that affirm
ative action programs have actually result
ed in more and better job opportunities for
minorities. Yet, as Mr. Reagan’s speech
indicates, the myth of a free enterprise
system lives on.
Mr. Reagan said further, “lye will always
take care of the poor and the helpless
among us.” Yet, the President is seeking to
dismantle the public housing program,
community development programs and
other acitivites designed to aid the poor and
helpless.
The poor and the helpless don’t want a
handout; they just want a hand-up to help
them over a difficult period of time. This is
the plight of the small American farmer
today. Instead of help, large numbers are
being forced to sell their family farms often
1 after having been in the same family for
three or four generations.
This is not the kind of America we need.
Rather, we need an administration in
Washington that is sensitive to and re
sponsive to the need of all the American
people, not just the large corporations. Mr.
Reagan, stop the rhetoric, study our
nation’s history and begin to use the govern
ment to serve the American people. After
all, that’s what government is all about -
serving people who need service.
death and Satan and to reaffirm Jesus as
our personal savior. In this season we
should give thanks for Jesus in remem
brance of the
for each of us.
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BLACKS RETICENCE TO SEIZE THE INITIATIVE TO ORGANIZf THEIR
COMMUNITIES0 SAID DOUGLAS G. GLASGOW, DEAN OF HOWARD
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, ISA MAJOR FACTOR AND
AN IMPORTANT FACTOR CONTRIBUTING TO OUR COMMUNITIESM
UNDEVELOPED STATUS"
' *
POUTKAN N
BUSINESSMAN
DOCTORS
LAWYERS
ARTISTS
TEACHERS
MINISTERS
WORKERS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS'
SOCIAL HORNERS
FRATERNAL CROUPS
FINANCE
COMPUTER SCIENCE
INSTITUTION ADMINISTRATION
ENGINEERING
PLANNING
ARCHITECTURE (
BLACK PRESS j
Black Teens UnenuJovment Dkb J •
Currently in the U.S. more
than 18 percent of teens aged
16-19 are unemployed: al
most triple that seven per
cent of the overall unemploy
ment rate. More disturbing is
the number of black teens
unemployed - that number
being 43 percent.
The current administra
tion believes it has found a
route to create more job6 for
the nation’s teens - ova
400,000 more jobs which in
clude unskilled jobs of a vast
multitude (i.e., restaurant
bus persons, gas station at
tendants, etc.). But how?
President Reagan, for the
third time, has proposed re
ducing the minimum wage of
$3.35 to $2.50 an hour for teen
workers. The bill would be in
effect from May 1 through
September 30 for those 16 -19
years old working summer
jobs.
The controversy arises be
cause organized labor feels
the lower wage will not
create additional jobs but
that employers will replace
adults with teens for 85 cents
less pa- hour. According to
the bill, those employers who
cheat face six months in jail
and fines of $10,000. How
ever, no one is certain of the
creation of 400,000 additional
Sabrina
JOBS.
For 10 years the unemploy
ment rate for all black t^»ns
has been between 35 and 50
percent. .This is the reason
many blade mayors support
the bill. At present, Congress
is moving quickly to pass'br
veto the bill so that business
es can .make summer em
ployment plans. If passed the
bill must be experimental for
one summer and monitored
by the Labor Department. If
it works, then continue on, if
not • drop it.
The social aspect of the bill
has many faces - some good
some not so good. Today’s
teens are a significantly dif
ferent breed than those of 10,
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From Capitol HiU
Rights Commission HasflHbmd
* By Alfreds L. Madison
Special To The Post
The 21 year old Civil Rights
Commission, which was once a
highly respected agency known for
its fair. Independent investigating
and recommendations to Congress
and the President, since being re
constituted with a majority of
Reaganites, is being ignored. The
Commission has made a complete
turn-about from the purpose for
which it was created - that is, aiding
in remedying unfair dBscriminatory
practices against women and mi
norities to an agency for protecting
whites in their advantageous
positions
Commission chairman Clarence
Pendelton lashes out with Ms vi
triolic tongue against blacks. He
brands their leaders as “new
racists.” He says the color blind
policy is working.
After Pendleton spoke at the Na
tional Press Chib, with Ms strong
denunciation of blacks, the Wash
ington Post reported that he eras
becoming somewhat of a burden to
the Administration, and Pendleton
was reported as saying that be was
gohig to “cool It’’ The next day, the
Washington Post reported Pendleton
as saying the President called him
and aaid he agreed with aD he itkf
and that he should continue until he
reached the rank and file Macks and
lenders This Is another example of
Mr. Reagan’s name-calling and at
tempts to wMp people in line. How
does Pendleton plan to reach die
rank and Ale blacks? Is he goii^ to
speak to them in the inoer-city,
using Ms uaual forked tongue: Cla
rence, beware.
In March, several civil rights
groups, academic and business
leaders ware invited to pressnt
# a ' .
papers and to testify at a hearing on
affirmative action. Those refusing
the invitation were: The NAACP,
NAACP Legal Defenae Fund, Ur
ban League, Mexican-Amerlcan
Defenae League, National Organ
ization for Women and Women’s
Defense League. These groups de
nounced the report that was made
public by chairman Pemflcton,
vice chairman Morris Abrams and
staff director Linda Chavez, after
meeting with President Reagan
Pendleton said he told die Presi
dent, “that the panel had succeed
ad in making racial and similar
quotas a dead issue and replaced
them with pdhlic debate over ia
credstfig preferential treatment for
minorities’and women with a vision
of a color blind society. Quotas are a
dead issue."
Barry Qoklstcin of the Lefca) De
fenae Fund is a letter to feeCbm
m Isa ion CounaM, in which be re
sponded to the invitation that'was
sent to Julius Chambers, executive
director of Legal Defense, to appear
on the panel or present a paper, said,
“It appears that the principal issue*
which are were asked to address In
the legal panel for the consulta
tion not only have been deckled by
the Commission but also those de
cisions have been communicatedt
publicly to the President The con
sultation appears to conform to the
procedure for legal proceeding in
Alice in Wonderland: first the ver
didt, then the trial. It does not seem
fruitful to spend time addressing the
Commission when it already has
made up its mind and announced its
decision.”
Julius Chambers, in his response
to the invitation, gave specific rea
sons why he did not accept the in
vitation, stating that he had handled
numerous discrimination cases,
among them - the Charlotte
N.C., school case. Chambers
stated that Chief Jiatice Burger,
writing the opinion for the Supreme
CoMrt^Btrongly stated the appro
dies and ratios Chambers said, “To
my knowledge my view of affirms
five action has never been called
• . i . * _j_ _ j vi(36
xSSHisSlS
fnade hjs Rtnfprnrnt anH fhpn th#*v
u*cy
him tpd remained
in*
ministrative lackey for calling
some black leaden immoral and
racists. He said, “You neither de
serve my response to any ques
tion, nor do you deserve any re
cognition, nor do you deserve any
respect.”
In a press statement Mitchell said
if Pendleton wants to be a lackey for
those who would crush black
aspirations, fine. If he’s chosen to
play that role, be will not play it with
my support.
David Swinton, director of the
Southern Center for Studies In
Public Policy at Clark College,
charged that the Commission has
abandoned its role as an advocacy
group for minorities. Ha wald,
"Dus Commission was not estab
lished to be neutral or to promote the
interests of white men. They don’t
need help. They control every
thing.”
Douglas Glasgow, explainii* why
the Urban League would not par
ticipate in the hearings, said,
“The upcoming consultation hear
ings an affirmative action sat the
stage for confrontation rather than
deliberation, because the Civil
Rights Commission's position al
ready has been established and
made public. Another reason for
withdrawing from participation M
the bearings are recent imidious
attacks leveled at the National
Urban League's president by of
fleers of the Commission.”
The Joint hearing at the Home
Education and Labor and the Ju
diciary Subcommitee on Civil and
Constitution Law, bypassed the Civil
Rights Commission, where previ
ously the Commission has been one
of the chief witnesses in ctyU rights
matters.
15 or 20 years ago. The
contemporary teen does
want to work but later in life.
Today’s teens receive allow
ances on an average of $10
per week just for continued
existence. The tasks re
quired to perform are those
erf everyday living-cleaning
pne’s room, taking out the
trash and the like. This does
not mean that teens do not
want to work; they do, but
lata: for,some. The whole
question between job and
career comes into play at
this point. From his point of
view a “job” is boring aqd
meaningless. A job is a
means to an end but a career
is a way of life. This is partly
true. However, teens must be
taught that the road to
achieving is not entirely
glamorous and that if a
family is economically dis
advantaged a job is a way of
life (it provides food, shelt
er and clothing in varying
degretes).
Another face to the bill is
that teens need training and
pay. Why should he put in
equal work days mastering a
skill and be paid less? This
goes back to E.R.A. equal
pay for equal work ^ Under
hour because it would”
“create” more jobs for
minorities - although the bill
is well meaning it can hurt
teeiT^^r^Wem^S
that they may not be able to
afford to work. Transports