The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 07, Ed. 1 Friday, October 17, 1986 Page: 2 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 18 x 14 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Commentary
by Michael A. Flaniken MlkiCS RCbllttcll
I shall as briefly as possible
respond to the criticism of my
original article as posed by letters
from Tasha Clark and Jennie
Jones, and as elaborated upon by
Duncan Cormie in his article.
First, allow me to respond to
the idea that unilateral disarma-
ment is not the goal of S.C.O.P.E.
Perhaps I did not spell out the
intent of this argument well
enough in my article. Whether or
not unilateral disarmament is the
specifically stated goal of
S.C.O.P.E., my point was that
due to a lack of a parallel peace
movement in the U.S.S.R., this
was and is the only attainable
goal of S.C.O.P.E.--and thus must
be rejected as unsatisfactory.
The next response that I
would like to make is to Tasha’s
misconception of Patrick Henry.
If she were as read in history as
she seemed to claim, then she
would have realized that he did
favor a policy of not preparing
for possible war with European
powers. I do not claim to know
everything Patrick Henry ever
did. I ,do know however, that
during the convention to ratify
the Constitution in Virginia in
1788, Patrick Henry espoused
such a belief as I have described.
The next argument at this
point to respond to the claims that
both Duncan and Tasha make that
there is a parallel peace move-
ment in Russia. First, they both
ignore my argument that any such
movement is a propaganda device
of the Soviets. Secondly, the ac
counts of two eyewitnesses sub-
stantiate my claim. From the
chief editor of Pravda, quoted in
Peace Through Strength, by the
Coalition for Peace Through
Strength:
/ can not agree...with the as-
sertion that there is an indepen-
dent peace movement in the So-
viet Union. What this is all bout
is actually a handful of peo-
ple...among them also a few
criminal types, who have only one
aim: to assert their private, per-
sonal interests, and who to this
end are abusing ihe emotions jor
peace...
As if that were not enough,
Soviet dissident Vladimir
Bukovsky wrote in The Times on
12/4/81 that the Soviet peace
movement:
...consists of an odd mixture
of communists, fellow travellers,
and muddle-headed intellectuals,
hypocrites seeking popular-
ity...But there is no doubt that this
motley crowd is governed by a
handful of scoundrels, instructed
directly from Moscow.
If the authors of the letters to
which I respond wish to believe
that the Russian Peace Movement
is anything more than a device of
Soviet propaganda, then it is their
own misfortune, and I can not
change that. The evidence
clearly favors the idea that the
Russian Peace Movement is a
farce.
This brings me to my next re-
sponse. I made the statement that
our own peace movement was a
similar farce and Duncan seem-
ingly misunderstood the intent of
the argument. He seemed to
think that 1 meant it was a farce
because it was a numerically
small movement. Quite to the
contrary, the peace movement is
all to large. There are groups
springing up all over the place, as
Duncan points out. My point was
that their intent is farcical, as well
as dangerous, as my entire article
pointed out.
The next issue that 1 shall dis-
cuss is this idea of education dial
Duncan wants to establish as the
main "immediate goal" of
S.C.O.P.E. I would first of all
contend that our definitions of
education clash, because he has
no intention of teaching both his
point of view and my point of
view and then allowing
S.C.O.P.E. members to decide
which point of view they see as
correct. He intends to inculcate
them with ideas of the radical
left. To serve a truly educational
purpose concerning the issue of
arms control, etc...he must at least
present both sides of the story.
He, in my opinion, has no inten-
tion of doing so. Thus, education
can not truly be claimed as a goal
of S.C.O.P.E. Inculcation does
not equal education. Granted, I
do not present both sides of the
issue, either, but I don’t claim to
serve an educational purpose
now, do I?
I shall not directly address the
fact that Duncan misquotes our
personal conversation, but I shall
instead address the more impor-
tant issue that he (and others)
raises thereby. I have not at-
tended S.C.O.P.E.’s meetings,
and I do not intend to, based on
the following analogy: One does
not have to go to an insane asy-
lum to know that there are people
there that have diagnosed as
crazy. Likewise, one does not
need to go to a S.C.O.P.E. meet-
ing to know that the ideas to be
presented are those of the left. I
am not implying that all
S.C.O.P.E. members are crazy.
By use of the analogy, I am
merely saying that I know what
their general agenda is without
attending the meetings.
One final point on Duncan’s
article must be made before I
conclude, tie wants to claim that
the Soviets are in such an eco-
nomic bind that they can not af-
ford to continue their military
buildup. If this is so, why
haven’t they taken the first step
toward disarming? It has been
known for years that the Soviets
are not capable of running their
won economy because of such
blatant disregard for anything
non-military. If they were really
interested in peace, and were the
businessmen that Duncan claims,
then they should have realized
long ago that there were more
pressing problems in the U.S.S.R.
than that of trying to find a new
way to blow up Yankee capital-
ists.
To conclude this response,
let’s look at the argument that all
three authors seem to make.
They want to have the world
move beyond nuclear war. For
this I applaud them. But as we
have all been told, "The road to
hell is paved wiMi good inten-
tions." Until such a time as sci-
ence renders nuclear weaponry
obsolete, perhaps through SD1
and perhaps through other means,
we must not let our guard down.
The only way to choose both
peace and freedom is to pursue a
policy of peace through strength.
Perhaps one day science will
move beyond the realm of nu-
clear war, but until then I shall
remain patriotic.
Any furthef responses should
be made to me via campus mail.
CAFE SPECIALS ON THE SQUARE
OCT O B E R
Southwestern University Alumni Weekend
And downtown restoration dedication
Saturday Oct 11
Open 8 am tor breakfast, Saturday & Sunday
Georgetown October Bikefest Race
Saturday, Oct. 18
Bikers breakfast 10:30 am
Georgetown Bicycle Classic
National Time Trial, Road Race, Criterium
Saturday, Oct. 25
Bikers breakfast from 8 am Saturday & Sunday
Live Music Every Friday Night
in the Club Lounge
Family Style Dinner
Monday—Sunday from 5 pm
Sunday from 11:30 am
For three special Saturdays, we’ll feature special breakfast hours
and energy-packed eye-openers for rough riders, old-timers and early
morning gourmands: Whole wheat pancakes, fresh baked muffins, fruits
and juices, fragrant, fresh ground coffee and more. We’ll also be adding
a tempting variety of pasta dishes to our regular luncheon menu. So stop
in and power up for Georgetown’s most exciting Saturdays on the Square.
GEORGE TOWN
119 West Seventh • 863-0596 • 244-1378
Mon-Thur 1 lam-10pm • Fri-Sat 1 lam-1 lpm • Sunday 9am-9pm
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 07, Ed. 1 Friday, October 17, 1986, newspaper, October 17, 1986; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth634855/m1/2/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Southwestern University.