The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, November 5, 1982 Page: 6 of 24
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THRESHING-IT-OUT
continued from page 5
hold the keys to freedom, we can
never view those whose actions
show such bitter contempt for
those days with a trusting eye.
Chamberlain thought that Hitler
was a reasonable man, and in his
optimism assumed that giving
Hitler the land and people that he
wanted would appease him.
Instead, the most horrible war of
all history occurred, caused by a
man who simply was following his
own book. Today we have such
indications. There are men present
even today which will stop at
nothing to achieve their goal of
world domination, not even reason
or logic, for their only reason and
their only logic is their own
convoluted thinking. In this day
and age man controls such power
that he can wipe out entire
populations with the turning of a
key; this makes watchfulness even
more important. Those who might
defeat us are strong, so we must be
strong (Many of Mr. Curcio's 9000
warheads are not actually pointed
at Russia; a sizeable number are
replacements sitting in storage,
while the remainder are to be used
theoretically in Europe to counter
the Warsaw Pact's enormous
advantage in tanks and artillery).
Mr. Curcio may wish for that time
of Elysium, when all shall be
brothers, but with such oppression
in the world now, that time has got
to come. Against such oppression
in the world; it is this madness that
we fight. The awesome energies of
the atom have made our time
grave, but because this madness
still exists we must use this
tremendous force, defending the
principles held to be self-evident to
all peoples, and hopefully our
eternal vigilance with these
weapons shall forever bar and lock
the gates and stables that the Four
Horsemen shall never ride, to
maraud and plunder the Earth.
Lest we forget, or millions shall
suffer needlessly.
Jonathan C. Sadov
Lovett '84
Demagoguery decried
as unfit editorial prose
To the Editor:
Nothing confuses a complex
issue more than demagoguery.
Attempts to reduce an issue as
complicated as the current nuclear
arms race to a black and white
world in which disarmament
advocates are the "Good guys" and
everyone else is the Devil's
henchman serve only to
emotionalize an issue that must be
considered rationally. David
Curcio's editorial in the October 22
Thresher is an outstanding
example of such ill-informed
demagoguery.
The appeal to think of the
Russians as "people" is attractive
from an emotional standpoint.
The fact remains, however, the the
aim of Communism (as practiced
by the Soviet Union) is to "bury"
capitalism (Khruschev). The
Soviet record in world events
proves that the Russians are
pursuing their goal. Some recent
examples of Soviet expansionism
include Afghanistan, Angola,
Ethiopia and the Vietnamese
invasion of Cambodia. This
uncovers a more personal
emotionalism, but this also should
be held in check. Warmongers are
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no better than peaceniks.
In light of their overall goal of
world domination (no matter how
hard it is for us to fathom) the
Soviets have pursued a relentless
and continuing military buildup
since W. W. II. The Cold War years
are perhaps understandable since
both parties indulged in the arms
race. But according to the
"persecution complex" theory the
Russians should have been
relieved by the era of detente.
Nevertheless, during this period of
decline of the U.S. armed forces
the Soviets continued breakneck
efforts to introduce more powerful
and accurate nuclear weapons,
despite an already massive edge in
numbers. No matter how superior
our forces may be qualitatively,
they cannot be expected to cope
successfully with an enemy that
outnumbers them 3 or 4 to 1 in
armored vehicles (a conservative
estimate) and similarly in
manpower. The Soviets know this
as well as we do.
The increase in quality and
quantity of Soviet nuclear
weapons, particularly first strike
ICBM's, must be viewed
ominously in light of the U.S.
policy of riding out a nuclear strike
in the interests of avoiding
accidental nuclear war, a policy
that risks American lives in the
pursuit of peace. This little known
policy goes a long way toward
explaining the continued
production of weapons systems
even when both countries possess
the capability to "blow up the
world several times over."
Concerning the statement "War
will eventually come if the arms
race continues" I can only say that
history offers few if any examples
of nations being attacked for being
too strong. Appeasement of the
Nazis did not avoid war.
Furthermore, when the Polish:
debacle was underway the Western
allies were afraid to attack
Germany to relieve the, Poles
precisely because they were too
" weak to challenge Hitler. Almost
every aggression in history can be
traced to a strong power finding a
weak victim. A reasonable
dialogue leading to real reductions
in arms can only come when the
Soviets know that we will not
unilaterally disarm in a childish
attempt to get them to follow.
The modern world cannot be
judged by romantic idealism.
Neither can it be viewed from a
position of rhetoric induced
emotionalism. The issues facing us
must be considered logically and
carefully from a position of
knowledge. When one does not
know the facts surrounding an
issue, he should make his
statements with care. It is my
sincere hope that the American
people are not as easily duped by
demagogues as Curcio says they
are by the political and military
establishments.
Brian Wilson
Baker '86
Editor's reply: I believe, Mr.
Wilson, that the facts in Mr.
Curcio's column to which you refer
are indeed correct. Russians are
"people." The nuclear superpowers
do have the power "to blow up the
world several times over."
In addition, the history to which
you point for support indicates
that an arms buildup precipitates
war. You would do better to attack
Mr. Curcio's opinions rather than
- his facts.
see Threshing, page 7
The Rice Thresher, November 5, 1982, page 6
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Morgan, Tom. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, November 5, 1982, newspaper, November 5, 1982; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245514/m1/6/?rotate=270: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.