Gregg Edwards

The75carlet & Black Feb, 2, l979~pagei

 

Urges nation return to values of yesteryear

Did you ever notice the dif-
ference between attitudes here at
Grinnell, and attitudes in your
home communities? Do you find
yourseli ieeling repelled by the
atmosphere of that vast segment of
the us. population which is called
Middle Americaihome of the
middle class? Life at Grinnell can
feel like a refreshing retreat from
the sometimes discouraging at-
titudes of middle class people.

When i say Grinnell, 1 am not
speaking of the community of
Grinnell. but Grinnell the
academic institution, The cone
strasti am depicting is between an
academic community and the so
called real world.

The observations I am about to
make on the middle class are not
astounding More and more people
are recognizing the changing at
titudﬁ of me middle class. But for
many oi us, these observations are
uninteresting because i.) we are
too close to the situation to be able
to iully appreciate what sociolo-
gists, etc., are telling us, and 2.) we
really don't care. There is nothing
glamorous or exciting about
studying the middle class. We are
not inclined to discuss the plight of
the middle class because we
perceive no plight. We look
disdainiully on anyone who claims
to be a champion of the middle
class , , . , .

What exactly'is disquieting about
the present condition of the middle
class” I will mention a few con-
cerns that I have, but I am sure
anyone who takes the time to think
about their own experiences could
certainly add to the list. A shift in
moral values has taken place
within middle class society, The
shift is from what I Choose to
call the once dominant l' eral-
' ’ lhaf ' Min“ 'e id Class

bourgeois end/“tin eral-
capitalist ethos is characterized by
the sorcalled Protestant Ethic
(but, perhaps, more properly
called, the American Middle Class
Ethic) of success determined by
the value oi one's endeavors, High
value is placed on diligence, hard
work, education, and responsibility
to one‘s family, community, and
country. The bourgeois ethos, on
the other hand, judges success by

_ material wealth] AchiévérrTEh s~

determined by the amount of one’s
annual salary and other material
objects. Do you have an inrground
pool? Where did you go on
vacation? It's not whether you
have a B.A., but where you got it.
Such standards were once
reserved for use by the upper
class. but the middle class has
chosen to adopt them also, Cer-
tainly the liberalrcapitalist ethos

vmiddletclas’s

 

contains some of these elements,
but unlike the liberal-capitalist, the
bourgeois ethos cares not who
gains wealth or how it is gained.
The bottom line is how much is
gained.

The problem with the bourgeois
ethos is that it is a very irustrating
path for the middle class to follow,
The frustrations come from what is
sometimes called the “revolution
of rising expectations." As people
receive higher salaries, they
believe that they can buy more
goods and services to imporve
their quality oi liie. But he person
making 318 thousand four years
ago suddenly realizes that $21
thousand salary is not buying
anymore than the previous salary.

In recent years, we have seen
manifestations of this frustration
in the term oi taxpayers' revolts,
Such as California’s Proposition 13.
Higher levels oi antagonism
between the middle and lower class
ses are being reached because
the middle class percieves the
lower class as a threat, The lower
class requires certain services that
the taxpayers must provide, Allan
Bakke was seen as a middle class
American attempting to defend his
position against those, i,e,, the
Government, and the lower class,
who would deprive him of his
justly deserved status. Political
scientists are telling us oi the high
degree of cynicism present among
the voting population. Much oi this
cynicism is no doubt due to the
average middle class American's
attitude that government does
nothing to benetit him, so why
Vote'.’

Those who consider themselves
radicals will probably rejoice over
these observations When the
inundation oi the system—the
becomes restless,

system itseli is truly
threatened. For those who do call
themselva radicals, you might as
well stop here because what I am
about to say Will be of interest to
only those who believe in the
American system and wish to see it
improved. As Irving Kristol notes,
“A society which fails to breed
contentment among its more
successful citizens would seem to
have a serious problem on its
hands,,"..lt is my contention that
American does have a serious
problem on its hands— an angry
middle class with a set of values
that will only lead to creating more
anger

We have allowed government to
serve as the Big Daddy of us all.
The result has been the decline of
traditional institutions such as
marriage, the iamily, voluntary
associations, the church, and the

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local community. Government has

' failed in its effort to be everything

to everybody and there are no
strong societal institutions to pick
up where government has left off.

What is needed is a revival of
values oi days past We must begin
to really appreciate what we have
and build irom there. Responr
sibility must shift from
Washington and the state capitals

Terri Tiddle

to local communities, As Karl Hess
reminded us while he was on
campus, problems are best solved
by those who must live with the
problems. We must stop placing
dollar values on every service
periormed. There are many
emotional and psychological
beneiits to be gained irom getting
lnvolved in each other's lives
through personal contact rather

than through paying taxes to an
impersonal government that fails
to get the job done.

So the next time you are home
and look around in disgust at what
you see and hear, don’t turn away
thinking that soon you will be back
at Grinnell where life is, perhaps,
more meaningiul. Chances are
there won’t always be a Grinnell to
which you can return.

Faith brings strength

I often wonder how many of us
abandon our religion when we
come to Grinnell, assuming of
course that we have a religion to
abandon.

Contrary to what so many people
claim, I believe that most of us do
have a fundamental belief in a
supreme being. It is interesting to
note the times we decide to
recognize that being: during crises
or times of sorrow, after the death
of someone close, and so often
when we need help. li only we

proclaimed was to do unto others
as we would have others do unto us.
Life is difficult enough at Grinnell
With all the pressures and demands
we must face. There is no better
ieeling than receiving ”just a little
help from a friend.” It’s easy to
help each other, It's also enjoyable
and satisiying,

I remember the first Christian
Fellowship meeting I attended,
Lord only knows why i went ii
mean that literally). Me, oi all
people, i mean I'm a'Pub regular

It’s not the holiness that matters

so much as our concern

for each other

could feel “His" presence
everywhere we go and in all that
we do. The feeling is comforting,
almost indescribable.

BEING THE philosophers and
intellectuals that we all are (I say
that with great hesitation and
many reservations), we tend to
hypothuize about the purpose oi
our existence. 1 know the thought
has entered my mind a number oi
times to say the least. Our im-
mediate purposc at Grinnell is to
obtain a good liberal arts
education.

But our greater purpose is to
care for each other. Whether we
learn to,be caring through Christ.
or through the Hebrew conception
of God, or through Buddhist
traditions matters little, The point
is to help each other instead of
competing against one another.

1 GUESS THAT'S what I like
about the Christian faith. The
emphasis is on Christ and his
teachings, The message he

and everything. The iirst feeling l
experienced was that o[ being
different. All those devout
Christians and me. I thought I
could never be as “good” or “holy"
as they were (actually I’m still
not). I may never be but that's not
the point

FIRST 01“ ALL. no one iS holy
for we all sin. Secondly, it’s not the
holiness that matters so much as
the concern we have for each
other.

For a while at that first meeting I
felt different, but the people were
really nice; they made me ieel
more than welcomed. r began to
attend meetings on a regular basis
just because oi the good feeling I
got. When I tell that to people, their
reactions are either one of the
following: ”Oh, so you're 3 Jesus
freak now” or “come on Terri, you
can't be serious." Sometimes I just
get an indifferent stare which
implies. “0.x, Terri, just go to bed
and you’ll be all right in the

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morning,”

AS A RESULT, I rarely mention
my religious inclinations—folks
around here almost make you ieel
ashamed. Actually, it’s not so
strange or awiul to believe in God.
the Son oi God, and the Holy Spirit
I believe, and we all know how
normal and sane i am. right?
(Well, at least I do a good
lmitationsometimes). Hey, if I
can, you can. Come on all you
closet Christians, express your
selves.

I should mention that in an at»
tempt to increase our religious
awareness, Blacks Living a
Commitment to Christ (BLACC) is
sponsoring a Black Theology
Weekend starting today. Look
around campus to get more details
on the times and places of events. 1
think that when we Come to
Grinnell many of us leave our faith
behind; our awareness of God
diminishes,

I'VE HEARD people claim that
they wouldn't want to attend a
church alien to them, or that
there's not a church in Grinnell
similar to their church at home.
My response is, it you can't iind a
church In Grinnell you like, you're
in sad shape considering there are
over twenty churches in Grinneu
alone (can you believe it'll. Fur
thermore, I have visited a number
of them and have always felt warm
and welcomed. If all else fails (and
even if you do find a church), the
college chapel is open to all
denominations and Reverend Haas
is an inspiring chaplain.

During times like these when we
must contend with traveling back
and forth to school, it’s nice to have
something which is solid and
consistent. Sometimes i go home
knowing I’ll only be there tem-
porarily, and i wonder what am I
doing there. (I always wonder
what am 1 doing here.) With faith
in my heart, it doesn't matter
where I am or how long I stay.
Grinnell really is an excellent
school, but when you get right
down to it, it’s the people and their
attitude toward one another that
real] matters.

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PRESCRFPTSI

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