Page Six
THE TAR HEEL
Thursday, July 2, 1970
Tommy Bello
Life Style Clash
(Eh? (Ear I
BOBBY NOWELL. EDITOR
Mike McGowan, Managing Editor
Cureton Johnson, News Editor
Steve Plaisance, Associate Editor
Lynda Stedman, Features Editor
Paul Nash, Business Manager
The Tar Heel is published every Thursday afternoon of Summer
School by students of th'e University of North Carolina. Offices are
on the first floor of the Carolina Union. Phone numbers are
933-1011 or 933-1012 (News Department) and 933-1 163 (Business
Department).
How to Lose
The Fourth of July historically has been the date for
a paroxysm of the patriotic fever among average
Americans.
The Flag will burst into full bloom on street corners
and front stoops. Businesses will be closed, beaches will
be crowded, and much booze will be drunk.The United
States, yet a chronological fledgling among nations of
the world, will be 194 years old.
And it is an unpopular kid.
It isn't likely to receive birthday greetings from many
of its elder neighboring nations.
The U.S. at present is like the unpopular kid on the
block who is allowed to pitch every game for the Little
League team because his family owns all the equipment
and uniforms.
Only a few years ago, the U.S. was highly regarded
among its teammates (collectively called "The Free
World")-even though the country owned all the
equipment and uniforms. The other members of the
team thought the U.S. was a fine fellow for giving them
bats, balls, bases, and caps, as well as the opportunity to
play.
Then one day U.S. chased a batted baseball into a
backyard called Indochina.
The U.S. had no business entering the yard in the
first place. (It was an old ball, with the seams split.)
There the U.S. found two brothers, North and South
Vietnam, fighting. It seemed that North had wanted
South to go with him to play basketball with their
friend Red China, but South had balked because the
U.S. had told him one day never to go anywhere unless
U.S. went along.
Because it wanted to defend the integrity of its
instruction, U.S. jumped on North Vietnam and started
pummeling it with rocks. All the Free World team
stopped the game to look on. Red China and Russia,
who didn't like U.S. anyway, also watched from their
rooftops.
Meanwhile. South Vietnam slipped into the house to
get a glass of lemonade.
The Free World players were shocked at the U.S.,
which was much bigger and stronger than North
Vietnam. But the spunky Vietnam kid refused to be
knocked out and prvented the U.S. from leaving its yard
and resuming the game.
This went on for. a long time. In fact, the two
combatants are still fighting. The U.S. has, almost
imperceptibly, managed to get a little closer to the gate.
South Vietnam still hasn't been heard from.
The Free World players have done some deep
thinking. They enjoy playing U.S.'s game and using
U.S.'s equipment it's all free. In return, they allow him
to pitch.
But what if one of the other team members should
want to pitch a game? Or if one or more of the players
decided they disliked baseball and wanted to play for
someone else?
Would they receive the same treatment as North
Vietnam, who thinks baseball is stupid? -
That is why U.S. is unpopular today. That is why
President Nixon says things like, "It's time to start
talking again about 'the good things in this country."
That k why superpatriots feel the urgency to hold a
mass rally in D.C. this weekend, paying homage to a
tri-colored piece of cloth and a splintered dream.
And you know what?
The Free World members are thinking about taking
up tennis. ,
Friends
.. . .
2-
About a month ago I went
to Washington with a group of
UNC students and faculty from
main campus and the law
school. Dressed in coats and
ties and prepared with
reasoned arguments to present
the North Carolina
Congressional Delegation, we
lobbied politically for anti-war
legislation.
That meeting was a political
confrontation.
In Washington July 4, there
will be another confrontation,
a confrontation of life styles,
religious beliefs, and cultures.
Bob Hope calls it "Honor
America Day," a day of good,
clean fun with inspiration from
Billy Graham and stage
arrangements by Walt Disney
Productions. Hope has
estimated that about a million
"straights" witl be at the
Washington Monument for the
activities.
Abbie Hoffman (alias A.H.
Free or, more simply, Free)
calls it "Dump on America
Day," also a day of good, clean
fun featuring a massive
"smoke-in" and music by Sly
and the Family Stone and
Country Joe and the Fish.
People are saying that about
one million "freaks" will be in
attendance at the same
Washington memorial at the
same time.
When the students went to
lobby, many comprised
- 1
Hi
Will Highlight
C Festivities
personal behavioral patterns in
order to work for needed
change. This weekend, I think,
both life styles "America, love
it or leave it" and "Hell no, I
won't go" will be out in full
bloom.
The possibilities in such a
situation are unbelievable, and
if I over-simplify or
over-dramatize, it is because
the symbolic overtones are too
much to pass up.
Seldom have "sin" and
"salvation," hardhat and Easy
Rider, American culture and
American counter-culture been
drawn together for a
face-to-face encounter of two
very different belief systems:
one finding its God listening to
the evangelism of Billy Graham
and contemplating the "Grand
Old Flag", the other grokking
its God in each other, in the
music, and through drugs.
Such a confrontation strikes
at the very chords polarizing
this country: not only
differences in political
perspective, but more radical
differences in each's basic
beliefs, life styles, and
"Weltanschauungen."
As Congressman Al
Lowenstein said several weeks
ago, there are two revolutions
presently underway in young
America. The first is one of
political philosophy, where war
makes little or no sense, where
rW.PAcKIM'
For p,c. .
political parties mean very
little, where faith in the system
is diminishing, and where the
"Great Devil Communism" just
ain't so. Students brought this
revolution to Washington a
month ago.
Occurring simultaneously,
the second revolution is one
much more, radical and
encompasssing, one of life
style, where money is
irrelevant, where sexual taboos
and personal appearance make
little sense, and where the
"Horatio Alger" ideal of
rags-to-riches might just as well
have died with Horatio himself.
Students will bring this
revolution to Washington on
Saturday.
I would agree with
Lowenstein when he asserted
that what scares white "middle
America" most is not so much
of the political differences but
the incredible discrepancies in
life style. More specifically, if
you wear a coat and tie and
have short hair, many will
listen to your ideas; but when
you have dirty blue jeans and
long hair, the light bulb of
tolerance and understanding
goes out all too quickly.
And because the people in
control feel threatened, the
success of the first revolution
in changing people's political
biases is in many ways
inhibited by the second
revolution.
Yet both revolutions are
underway and the need to
communicate both is growing
steadily. This country has a
dim future if its controlling
segment fears its youth to the
point of hatred. Our student
generation has little chance of
re-modeling America if we do
not accept some societal
limitations and admit political
realities.
July Fourth. Independence
Day.
Will it be a day when middle
America declares itself
independent of the
"Woodstock generation" in an
effort to see that generation's
termination by any means
possible?
Will it be a day when young
America declares itself
independent of American
society in an effort to bring
that society to its knees?
Will it more than likely be a
day when both sides declare
their independence from any
responsibility for each's
misunderstanding of the other
in an effort to avoid all the
trouble of trying to
communicate?
Or will it be a day when
each side declares itself
independent of its prejudices
and biases in an effort to
understand one another, learn
from each other, and work
toward building a more
credible, unified America?
See you in Washington?