GA system spurned

‘o the Editor:

I am an ol'frcampus SGA
representative. This means that i
am part of the great democratic
system that edecides important
issues by open discussion and
debate, and upholds the ideals of
tree speech, False. I am part oi a
game designed for and played by
political showman,

‘iese harsh words are due
primarily to an incident which
occurred at the SGA meeting of
F ruary 11. The important
qu stion oi off-campus housing
came up, and since I do represent
people who live oficampus and am
myself dissatisfied with the
t‘rent oiicampus policy (see my
letter in the 58413 of January 30), I
was very interested in revising the
policy. In fact, this was the main
reason I ran for SGA which I made
clear to my constituents and Mr.
Collins.

Upon reading the proposal. 1
began to formulate my amends

discussion of other amendments,
such as changing the word “on" to
“by”, etc. Important amend-
merits! Then suddenly, as I was
about to propose my amendment;
the question was called, seconded,
and passed by the anxious
politicians. I spoke up, “Wait, 1
have another amendment." The
junior politicos looked down
smugly and said, “Sorry, the
question has been moved and
passed, you cannot make another
amendment.” It was then that I
realized the true nature of SGA.
The trivial matters of form and
vocabulary bore most represen-
tatives so they either leave (there
were less than a quorum last week
by the end of the meeting), or
quickly pass proposals without
hearing from those oi us who are
not so eloquent or bombastic, but
nevertheless may have something
worthwhile to say. Perhaps a more
appropriate name for SGA would
be P_.T A. (Political Training

The Grinnell Scarlet and Black. February 13, l37l'kp. T

Women share
clinical know—how

To the Editor:

On Sunday, February 22, women
from the Emma Goldman Clinic in
Iowa City will be in Grinnell to give
a slide presentation and demon-
stration on selfrhelp. Ail campus
women are encouraged to attend,
The following information is from
literature distributed by the clinic:

“Selfrhelp groups are iniormal
meetings oi women interested in
sharing information about their
bodies and issues relating to health
care. Generally, these groups
begin with a slide show, and a
demonstration of cervical selfr
examination. Women who were
once completely dependent on the

malercontrolled medical
proiession share knowledge about
their own bodies and what they can
do for them. thus gaining some
control over them. This process
helps demystify doctors and
medical care. These groups do not
replace the need tor doctors;
women in self-help clinics do not
diagnose and treat one another.
However, self-examination can be
used as a source oi preventive
medicine. The vagina and cervix
change during a woman's men~
strual cycle and if she is familiar
with the changes that occur in her
body, she may be able to detect
early pregnancy, v.d., vaginal

infections and cervical cysts by
noting any unusual changes.

Possible topics for further
discussion may include
gynecological health care, coma
mon home remedies, v.d., birth
control, abortion, pregnancy and
childbirth, menstruation,
physiology oi reproduction,
sexuality, vaginal iniections, and
personal experiences with the
medical profession. Cervical and
breast self-exams as Well as bi~
manual or pelvic examinations
may be done and paramedic skills
may be learned.”—Women‘s
Group Steering Committee

mentS. There was a good deal oi

OPEN SPACE

Association).

hyJoeWambach

A possible friend With no
declared major at Grinnell College
made a distressing statement to
me last semester. He said, “From
the studying I’ve done in European
History, I say man will ultimately
kill himself. What I’ve determined
is that the only way there has been
equilibrium is that, up to this point
in history. diplomacy has been a
step aheadof technology. But soon.
that situation is going to be
reversed. And when technology
outstrips diplomacy, then the
balance is upset and there is no
reason to make diplomatic
relations, Force is too easy.”

What this means is that the
technology and bureaucracy of
war may overcome rational at-
tempts at the control of warfare. I
feel that at this point in time, We,
the people oi this world, are on that
border. Diplomacy is but one pubic
hair’s diameter away from all out,
undirected, and always insane
war. 1 could always be wrong. Who
cares?

The situation in which
technology has outstripped
diplomacy has already been
witnessed on the face of this earth.
The diplomatic relations in point
were those dealings between
European immigrants and native
Americans. The technological
imbalance was a product of
Chinese gun powder, English steel,
Polish lead, and American in-
novaiions. The product tool and
symbol oi European expansion
was, and still is, the gun.

The result was the decimation of
nature’s climax cultures, the
various tribes of American In-
dians. l say the American Indians
are nature’s climax cultures
because, throughout much oi North
America, the people were living in
ecological balance and without the
structures Which could be an-
thropologically deiined as
civilization Today, only a few
scattered cultures remain in
dependent of civilization. Students
in cultural anthropology classes
could do better at naming these
cultures than could I,

OK, but we are discussing the
possible destruction of our delicate

Dav id Donahue

We’re on the border

international diplomacies by our
rampant war technologies. ’We
need not cry over the spilled blood
of lost cultures

Before we get into this discussion
too iar, though, perhaps we should
see why I'm so paranoid that I’d
actually write something like this.
Why am I so worried about a bunch
of vague shit like technology,
diplomacy, culture, and
civilization?

First oi all, I’m not really
worried. i have a good rifle and a
halidozen good shotguns. I also
have a big wood pile, a good
fireplace, and a freezer full of food.

Anyone who has been watching
the news for the last couple of
weeks, though, has probably seen
U. 5, Senator Dick Clark all tied up
in the hassles of detente and the
Angolan War He, ior one, is out-
andout worried about national
security in relation to the obvious
offensive maneuvers of the
Russian-supported Cuban merv
cenaries in Angola. He seems to
see detente as being just so much
diplomatic bullshit. He seems to
see the Soviet Union aiming for
territorial expansion and nuclear
supremacy, whatever. For what
it's worth they probably have the
nuclear superiority,

What i see, and what 1 think
Senator Clark sees, is that the
Russians are pulling the same
thing the Germans pulled.
Historically, the Germans were
late in the imperialist game of the
lobes, so they aimed for Airica.
The Russians are today supporting
an openly imperialist war in
Angola, The Germans in the Nazi
era used the blitzkrieg. The
Russians today are using heavily
armed Cuban mercenaries i hope
all you poker players and amateur
historians see what I’m getting at.
The Germans made their mistake
when they sank the Lusitania. (Is
that correct?) Anyway, the neutral
and, for the most part, isolationist.
Americans eventually were
dragged into war. This time
around, the Russians have detente,
a war-tired and as yet neutral
America. I’ve never meta dumb or

unambitiouscussian. What do, you ,

think'!

As I said before, I, as yet, am not ,
worried. And really, i see no
reason why a peaceiul intellectual
community like the Grinnell
College community should get
worried. it would do no good to get
worried, anyway, ior we are all
helpless in such an aiiair.

And really, we here in Iowa do
have little to worry about. A war
actually involving the United
States is out of the question, or
practically out oi the question. At
least we are safe from nuclear
holocaust by the simple tact that
this area is such an important
source of the world's protein, Who
cares, again? What’s at stake?

in the pattern of day-to-day
western liie very little is at stake, I
personally feel that the ideas of
Soviet supremacy, the notion of
world communism, and, as such, a
united world people, have merits. i
see it as one way of more iairly
distributing wealth. i also happen
to have read George Orwell's 1984
and I happen to be scared shitless
of that kind of “world become one
under some government” shit.

in putting together what has so
iar been a potpourri, let’s return to
the American Indians and the
notion of culture.

American man, three centuries
ago, was a man of culture. He had
to cope with his environment inn
sulated only by culture.

North American man was just
beginning to term civilizations
when the conquistadors of Spain
landed and destroyed the govern
mental and religious units which
composed the Aztec and incan
Civilizations, still in their infancy.

The destruction of the only
“recognizable” Civilization left the
North American continent open.
The “civilizations” of Europe
could find “0 structures with which
to wage war or carry on other
diplomatic relations, so the imr
migration began. Armed with
guns. an “only the strong survive“
philosophy, and Christian
ignorance, the strong-willed people
came, killing a multitude oi native
cultures.

Now, what does this have to do
with detente and Angola, and the

: worlds. of communism 1934, and, ..

one government?

Around the world today, there
are several recognized
civilizations, The western world,
the communist World, South
America, Africa, the Middle East,
the Third World; these 1 can be
recognized as unique civ izations,
All these have their own govern»
ments, their own religions, their
own institutions.

What I see as the big issue of this
whole mess is this last little bit
about institutions. Cultures and
civilizations are bad enough.
Cultures and civilizations are at
least responsive to, and someivhat
in touch with, the people. By the
time you get to the institutional
level, in anything, the human
element is lost. In our country
alone one can witness the evidence
that our institutions are out of our
hands. How responsive is the
Congress? l-low rsponsive is die
Executive Branch? How
responsive are our religious in-
stitutions? How many friends of
yours have rank in the military?
Do you even have any say in the
institutions at the state level? Are
you sure that this isn‘t 19841 15 “big
brother” watching you and me'!

All these questions are in my
mind and in the hearts of many
people. That’s why when i see
flickerings of imperialism in an
Angolan war I pay attention.
That's why when I hear talk of
world supremacy between the U.
and the Soviet Union 1 pay at-
tention. That’s why when I hear
people claim detente to be a front
or a political ploy I pay attention.
What makes me worry is that so
few other peopleesupposedly
smart, informed, and intellectually
giited people—are not really
paying attention. To see so many
people caught up in dieir own
private little games makes me
Worry. Who knows what kind of
nuts are playing the games for real
big stakes“! It worries me to the
point that I’ve actually written
this.

Oh well, nice writing to you. It's
been a pleasant way to spend time.
You can return to your Jackson
Browne album, listen to side one of
For Everszau and. enjoy.

 

