DePauw University - Mirage Yearbook (Greencastle, IN)

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Moderate change of cultural and political attitudes of the young; 2i A mass flight from freedom to identity with totalitarian groups: or 3 Total individualization. There is already too much evi- dence negating the first course of action. Unfortunately, moderate change in cultural and political attitudes of our young has not occurred in the United States in over sixty years. Because of the Depression and foreign wars, we have been jolted from one crisis to another. never pausing for 'nor- malcy'. The members of both gen- erations are. therefore, abnormal and idealistic in their attitudes and perspectives. One group can see only war in our future. while the other talks oniy of war and depression in our past. The older generation is ob- sessed with economic and national security. acting toward these in- terests by drafting the young in peace-time and insisting upon rigid notions concerning social conform- ity and material status. This is the hypocritical intolerance which so Exascerbates the young. But the young also have their obsessions: the hippy subculture encourages dropping out of society and start- ing from scratch, seeing escapism through the use of drugs. This is the Freedom Movement, the tech- nological tribalism which is characteristic of the Woodstock Nation. These opposing viewpoints within our borders comprise the crux of our difficulties. They are radical attempts to achieve person- al freedom on the part of both groups. It must be noted here, that while the generations conflict, their behavior is fundamentally the same: mass flight from freedom to identification with totalitarian groups, the second possible alter- native. That groups cannot make you free will never be admitted by their fanatical supporters. Yet his- tory tells us in the notes of our founding fathers twith their suspi- cion 0f factionsi and in the ac- counts of the Third Reich that total allegiance to groups is wrong. The members of such groups as the YlPPIES, the Wheathermen, and the United States Army tend to submerge their consciousness in a mindless allegiance to the group. Freedom is characteristic of in- dividuals-not groups. If groups can stimulate self- awareness, then they are function- ally good. but if they tend to swallow individuals in uhistorical movements then they have lost their concrete purpose: they are totalitarian and inherently self- defeating. This is why the individu- als of The Freedom Movement must avoid at all costs the positive polarization which Nixon seeks. They must come to act in the third stageetotal individualization -as intelligent free men. Viet NameView from the Right Ed. Note-The following article was taken by a Mirage staff member with a DePauw senior. I agree with what they're trying to do . . . but their methods are wrong because if there are any ar- rests at all, it's not as peaceful as it should be. So spoke a DePauw senior in reference to the Moratorium demonstrations that have swept the nation since October. He espec- ially resented the use of names of American war dead by peace demonstrators, because he felt it was disrespectful to speak for men who couldn't speak for them- selves. He did, however, agree theo-g retically with the idea of peaceful dissent. since that right is t'guaran- teed underthe Co nstitution. The senior, a member of a De- Pauw fraternity and Coach Torn Mont's football team, expressed complete support for President Nixon's Viet Nam policy. A one- sided withdrawal wouldn't work at all, he said, adding that having been brought up the way I have been, I've learned it isn't right to justquit. In his view, it would be much more reasonable to pick on North 3l

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the defense of our Freedom; it is the attitude expressed and gener- ated in the last two moratoriums. It was achieved through emotionai stimulation and the use of rituats in an essentially religious experi- ence. This first became apparent to me when Keith Schroerlucke con- ducted the memorial service here, in October. Those who participated witl never forget experiencing a feeling of involvement and deep emotional identity as members of a real community. A conservative friend of mine expressed his con- cern to me over this Hreversion t0 the oEd-time religious appeal. What I suspect really atarmed him was the potential power which the liturgical dialogue displayed in its creation of a strong sense of pur- pose. I experienced this group identity Uagain in November at the Washing- ton Monument. There were weil over hait a million peopie presentea number far beyond the compre- hension abilities of any one individ- ual. Of course E can not explain the emotional charge in hearing10,000 peopte chanting PEACE NOW, or the way that chant IiteraEly echoed off the wails ot the government buliding on Pennsylvania Avenue, but this is only the first stage in achievingself-awareness. In Washington, the crowd was non-vioient. At DuPont circle, they displayed their discipline by self- lnduced commands to ttWALK rather than run when they were gassed. At the Justice Dept. they made an honest effort to be angry, but tailed: a youth in a gas mask was seen giving the peace sign to a policeman in a gas mask. Good 30 humor, similar to that of a llveiy footbatl game. prevailed. The crowd maintained this attitude even after having been heavily gassed on Con- stitution Avenue. They moved into the intersection of 12th and E cas- ually joking with the Army lVlP who was assigned there, and proceeded to block traffic and wait for police. When the police came En force from F, the demonstrators gave ground with littte resistance. The police too were admirable and gave no cause for anger. When attacked with rocks and bottles they retatiated with Tear gas and Pepper gas. but neither side made a serious at- tempt to hurt the other. Both sides were restrained, yet the issue was Arlo Guthrie expressed it clear. most accurately Saturday, when he said, ttYou know, we dldnlt even have to show up today. When they put machine guns around the White House we'd proved 0ler point? Action: What has happened with the Freedom Movement is ditticult to explain. Middle ciass youth are be coming radically alienated trem their social institutions-tar beyond the understanding of our nation's leaders. It is a religious and cul- tural phenomenon which will have a greater tong range impact on the United States than five Viet Nams falling to the Communists. lts po- tential will probably be manifest in one of three possible directions: D

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Viet Nam than the Nixon Adminis- tration because they tthe North Vietnamesey have rejected every peace offer welve made to them. He also cited two major aspects of the propaganda advantage that immediate American withdrawal of troops would give the Communists. First, ttthey would have a tremend- ous propaganda advantage if we chickened out, he stated. And sec- ond, many small nations wouldn't ttstand upl' to Communist agres- sion because ttthey'd feel nobody would backthem up. He thus felt the so-called HDom- ino Theory of a systematic Com- munist takeover of Southeast Asia had considerable credence, t'be- cause China needs food to feed its millionsf In this senior's view, China would Henslave all of South- east Asia, forcing them to supply grain for Chinals teeming and underfed population. Though agreeing with many ad- ministration dissenters that upri- orlties should start at home, he feels that we should have an obligation to South Viet Nam since we have committed ourselves to their aid. In his view, the issue is , not whether the war itself is moral 32 or not, but whether the United States will honor its moral obliga- tion to Viet Nam. 'tHonoring this obligation is an extension of the Christian ethic thelp thy neighbori, he adds. He also feels'that the idea of Heveryone existing in perpetual peace is crazy . . . and that ttwe'll have to face Red China sooner or Iateranyway. He is upset with the shackling of the military in Viet Nam because of political pressures at home. til think we could have won the war and been out of there in five years if we hadnlt been tied up by poli- tics? he said. Though supporting President Nixon's phased withdrawal, he ad- mitted that, ttln my own mind I would rather win than withdraw. He also applied one of Ted Katula's football mottos to the situation: Hit it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, why keep score? The reactions to the first Mora- torium and others following were varied, but the focus upon the war and its implications on October 15 increased student awareness at DePauw, if not immediate student involvement. For although much more than half of the student body chose not to Hsuspend business as usual to concentrate on the issue, people were affected by their fellow class- mates who showed sincere con- cern toward ending the war. In addition, there were many who attended both Classes and Mora- torium events. Hence, most could not afford to remain apathetic, as the Viet Nam war gradually made itselt present through the peace movement, ' President Nixonts speech, and the march on Washing- ton in November. In an attempt to assess student views of the situation, the Mora- torium Committee distributed questionnairesthroughoutcampus. Almost every living unit was represented by at least one com- mittee member and the sheet of six questions was available to all. Just about everyone had some- thingto say in regard to: D What proposal would you sug- gest for the withdrawl of American troops from Viet Nam? 2y Did you hear President Nixon's