DECEMBER 8, 1983 By: Todd Kightlinger Most of you have seen the movie "The Day After" which depicts the destruction of a small town in Kansas following a nuclear holocaust. The movie was graphic and probably somewhat valid in its effort to show what becomes of civilization "the day. after" a nuclear war. However, a nuclear war can occur. There is little that can as I watched the movie in the RUB t.v. lounge along with some twenty or so other students, I was very disappointed in the movie's explana tion of "the day before," and so I was disappointed with the entire movie. I feel that if the movie's purpose is to show that nuclear war is not a pleasant reality, then it should have tried harder to explain how one could be avoided—and not how one occurs. The movie seemed to avoid the sim- - ple fact that the United States and the Soviet Union have no desire to seek mutual destruction of their respective countries. I feel that it is obvious that both sides realize that nuclear weapons are a stiff, cold reminder that global war is simply not possi ble. Therefore, I feel that it is also obvious that both sides view nuclear weapons as a defensive measure which insures that peace between our nations will be kept in order to pre- Letter continued from page 2 something not even the United States can claim to do. Consider ing the military history, or lack of it in Grenada, this proportion of weapons . is typical of the com munist threat to undermine freedom. It starts with an assassination, then martial law, and as in Grenada, a 24-hour shoot to kill order. You say we have no foreign policy. If you would spend more time with your history books, you would know that the communists say one thing and do another. What would you suggest? Com plain to the U.N.? What a joke! The invasion of Grenada is the only foreign policy the com munists understand. The "Domino Theory" is very real. If we had not stopped the Reds in Grenada, the next thing you know they will be in Mexico. Then what? I submit to you that your hind sight is not 20-20, but rather so bad that you had better get a see ing eye dog. Jack Blank Letter to the Editor: Abortion Is Not The Issue-Life Itself Is To dear Claire: Who could be so careless as to have to argue about abortion? Who would have the gall, the audacity, the thoughtless selfishness, to skip the more im portant issues? Abortion would not be a pro blem if there were not another problem which precedes it in all cases. From day one, from the same instant-any child is a twinkle in its father's eye s , God has granted life The Day Before. vent mutual annihilation of both countries. The movie does raise several ideas of thought, however. First it implies that a nuclear war can occur and that there is little that can be done to pre vent one. Thus, it causes people to believe that we are constantly living be done to prevent one under a sure threat of destruction, and fails to point out that the op posite is also possible—that world peace can be achieved even if nuclear weapons do exist. Second, since the movie depicts a certain destruction, it causes people to plan in case one happens instead of causing them to plan how to pre vent one. Finally, the movie seemed to be produced by an anti-nuclear weapon. group- and yet by depicting the possibility of destruction they are in a sense saying that the movements that are now taking place around the world are mere futile gestures. It is my opinion that if the movie really wanted people to support anti nuclear weapon ideas that it should have ended with a peace settlement. Had it done that, then the people around the world would have something good to look and hope for and not something terrible to dream about. to that infant. I'm not aware of anyone else who has the right to give and demand the life of anyone on earth. Abortion is murder. And yet, some couples decide to have the truly hideous thing done, now in "a clean hospital by trained staff." Paid assassins. responsibility if they choose abor- doff as birth control. If everyone had more responsibility, there , wouldn't be need for heated Photo Students bundled up for a cold No one has any sense of BEH REND COLLEGIAN ........And The Day After A little more than two weeks ago ABC featured a film entitled "The Day After." This film depicted what life would be like in Lawrence, Kansas the days following a nuclear war. Anyway, I watched with several close friends. The first 45 minutes were more or less the build up to the nuclear war. But after that it was an hour and a half of war scenes. There were no There are three tons of explosives for every man, woman and child in the world commercials to interrupt the program. While the events leading up to the war did not disturb me any, when the nuclear weapons were launched I was somewhat dismayed. When the explosions hit Kansas City I was glued to the set. I was quite en thralled with the scenes of fellow Americans dissolving in the heat. It was much like any other war scene, only a little more technical. While I did not feel the predicted despair dur ing the movie, I did feel somewhat uncomfortable watching the effects of years of technology and billions of dollars spent to destroy the earth in a matter of seconds. Directly following the film, before the credits were flashed, there was a small statement saying, in essence, the incidents shown were far less severe than in the event of a real nuclear war. I think that was the most disturbing thing of all. When the movie was over Ted Koppel hosted a symposium called "Viewpoint." He began by reassuring the viewers that America was still there, to "look out your windows." With a bit of a shock I realized that I did feel isolated and was glad to hear everything was okay. Perhaps the most disturbing event related to the film was not any scene or statement on the ef fects of the film. It was the small amount of by: Jeff Bedford winter debate about minors having abor tion available to them. I, personally, appreciate the life of that child. I, personally, can wait. But I pray for greedy, thoughtless men and women who must gratify their bodily desires right now, without forethought. It is mindless. I am glad there are women left in the world who 'still realize that sexuality is .a gift, from God, to be shared by a married couple. There are also a few of us men who still By: Mary Hickin Beware As Holiday Season Approaches By: Marge Tomczak As the holiday season draws near or large cities, in rural or urban areas To some, she is a friendly neighbor, a loyal friend or loving mother. Nevertheless, in a store, she becomes the inconsiderate shopper. We have all seen her at the grocery store. She is in the express line with a half-filled shopping cart. Remember when she stepped in front of you as you approached the register exclaiming she only has one item; it needed a price check. It was so entertaining to listen to her conversa tion with her friend two registers away about the problem she had with a plugged drain. Her order is almost done, but something has been forgotten so she sends her son to get it. He has to squeeze past several people with shopping carts and back again. Chances are that he did not bring the correct item anyway. The order has finally been rung up. Now she looks in her huge purse for her coupons, checkbook, and check cashing card. She isn't any better in a department store. Besides her huge purse, she is also carrying two large shopping bags filled to capacity. These are helpful to knock display items down as she rushes by. While you are being waited on, she asks the salesperson one quick question, then monopolizes the clerk's time while you wait. She is in a hurry. At a sale she is at her best, grabbing, shoving and pushing. You can't help but wonder why a woman, size 24 1/2, would need six pairs of tights in assorted colors and sizes. Maybe she has six daughters with cold legs. It's time for a break. You will see her occupying a booth for four so she can sit on one side with her purse and her two overloaded shopping bags occupy the other side. She arrives at the restaurant just a few minutes ahead of you and you only have forty-five minutes until your next class. You wait. She dawdles over the menu, finally ordering coffee and pie. She has finished the third refill of her coffee and gained a second wind. Pray that you don't meet with her in a parking lot. She'll probably cut in front of you as she hurries to do more shopping. remember that, too. The rest live under Satan's motto: Get it while you can. Do it now, for tomorrow it may be too late. Too many people live by that principle. It is selfish and self centered, as they are. They cannot think about anyone other than themselves. They certainly cannot think about the powerful respon sibility they hold over the life of their offspring. Some abortions are done for medical reasons, to save the life of the mother. If these were the only abortions done, we would never hear all the news coverage that we do. It's still murder, anyway. Medical abortions are certainly research I did after the film. Some of the stagger ing facts I found did bother me. For example, the U.S. spends 2-2.5 billion dollars every year to make nuclear weapons. That is only one percent of the total defense budget! An additional 20 per cent is spent on transportation and research of nuclear weapons. There are 40,000 nuclear weapons in the world today. There are three tons of explosives for every man, woman and child in the world. Somehow I don't think three tons per person are necessary. I would think only a few ounces are needed. It seems a little dramatic to have thousands of times more than that. But I guess, as the saying goes, "you can never have enough." Some of the effects of a real nuclear war are equally staggering. One to two billion people would be killed instantly. The temperatures would drop to below freezing for months. Below freezing is actually far below zero degrees. But before the sub-zero temps set it, the temperature at the point of the explosion would reach in excess of 10 million degrees instantly. Everything for miles around would be vaporized. There would be firestorms and then the mushroom cloud we are all so familiar with would form. There would be no agriculture left. And those are just the im mediate effects. While the film did have some effect on my feel ings, they were nothing compared with the sickness I felt while doing the research. And after the film, wasn't it nice of President Reagan and Premier Andropov to stage a nuclear arms disagreement and subsequently a weapons build up in Europe? For some reason, well enough, or bad enough, just can't be left alone. ..beware. She can be found anywhere. She lives in small in the minority of abortions we hear about in the news. I question the values of anyone who sudden ly finds that they do not want to face the responsibility of a child. I wonder if they are anything more than childish themselves? They have no responsibility to begin with, or the female of the couple wouldn't need an abortion. Abortion is not the issue. It is simply murder. The issue starts months before, and there are three people involved, not two, not one. Sadly, one of those three will never get a chance to voice their side of this issue, even though it affects them more than anyone else. Andrew J. Via PAGE 3
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