European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 2, 1980, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Poge 12 the stars and stripes tuesday. September 2, 1930 George Mair Check Bridges before crossing every Day millions of americans drive across Bridges and at least one out or six of those Bridges is unsafe. According to the Federal High Way adminis Iraklion there Are 40,000 deficient Bridges in the Federal Highway system that can not handle present traffic loads Are structurally weak or Are Wear ing out from rusting weather and old age. Occasionally the problem is brought Home dramatically be cause of a serious Accident or Bridge collapse. In 1976. The Silver Bridge Over the Ohio River went Down killing 46 people. In May of this year the freighter Summit venture hit the 15-Story High Sunshine Skyline Bridge in Tampa and 1,200 feet of the main Span plunged into the water along with 35 innocent people. In Pittsburgh 25 percent of the Bridges arc graded deficient. In new York 13 of 51 Bridges Cross ing water arc labelled in poor condition. The number of Bridges cited by the Federal Highway administration Range from 54 in new Jersey to 3,150 in new York with 84 in Colorado Iso in Florida and 281 in California. A major problem with Bridge safety is that politicians can too often postpone the Cost of proper inspections and maintenance and use the Money someplace else that shows Quick result for his administration. After some dramatic Bridge accidents Congress began a pro Gram in 1971 to replace unsafe Bridges. However Congress a never put up enough Money to do the Job. The Federal Highway administration estimated several Yean ago that it would Cost $23 billion to replace All the unsafe Bridge in the country. To Date almost 10 years after the program began Congress has spent a Shade Over Al billion. At that rate it will take 200 years to replace All our unsafe Bridges. So h you live in a Community with Bridges you have to Cross regularly you might want to Check with your local country or City Engineer to Sec just How Safe the Bridges you use Are. It s better than waiting for the politic to take care of the safety problem for you. George will gop f Hemes Aren f As harmonious As they seem in i960, gov. William Stratton of Illi Nois told Richard Nixon you can say All you want about foreign affairs but what is really important is the Price of hogs in Chi Cago and St.  this year it is axiomatic and perhaps even True that the bread and butter Issue is the Price of bread and butter. But this year. Democrat want to emphasize foreign policy and not just because their Domestic policies Are failures. Demo crat think they can win by mixing Candor and hysteria by saying Carter is dismal but Reagan is dangerous. So democrats at tack Reagan for opposing Salt ii agreements thai a democratic controlled Senate would not ratify. By announcing that they unlike Reagan will not engage in an arms race they remove All incentives for he soviets to negotiate Mutual limits. The difficulties with the Republican Posi Tion Are less obvious but More interesting. They derive from the fact that foreign policy depends on Domestic factors Oil values discipline Confidence morale in Short National character. The Republican platform stresses two themes that Are not As harmonious As re publicans suppose. One is cultural conservatism. The other is capitalist dynamism. The latter i Jolt Esthe former. Karl Marx who had a Reagan Esquo re Spect for capitalism s transforming Power got one thing right capitalism undermine traditional social structures and values it is a relentless engine of change a revolution Ary inflamed of appetites enlarger of expectations diminished of patience. A wit has said that the modern Ameri can s prayer is dear god i Pray for patience and i want it right now republicans see no connection Between the cultural Phenomena they deplore and the capitalist culture they Promise to intensify no connection Between the multiplying evidence of self indulgence and National decadence such As pornography promiscuity Abor Tion divorce and other forms of indiscipline and the uns Leeping Pursuit of Ever More immediate intense and grand Materi Al gratifications. Republicans sense that manners mean ing conduct in its moral aspect Are Ai determinative in a nation s life As Are Materia Listic preoccupations. Republicans seem not to sense the effect of such preoccupations on manners. Today i Republican themes of social de Cay and National decline arc perennial themes of political philosophy and recur ring fascinations for historians. Western philosophy is indeed a series of footnotes to Plato whose Republic concerns the myriad ways polities decay. The most famous work of history since the fall of Rome is about the decline and fall of Rome. Some reflective republicans believe rightly i fear that a Century from now philosophers and historians will study the trajectory of the United states in the Sec Ond half of this Century As the most striking instance of National decline since that of Spain centuries ago. This nation May be More than Halfway through a decline from the Security of 1945 to irremediable Vulner ability to and dictated accommodation with the soviet Union. Republicans Are today even More mesmerized than usual by various economic fact. Or perhaps economic theories Felix Cohen said that the theories we believe we Call fact and the facts we disbelieve we Call theories they understand that eco nomic vigor is necessary fur National survival. They May not understand that the idea that the Economy is icing is just a theory. A characterizing belief of the ?.0th Cen Lury is that we live in an economic civilization in the sense that economic supremacy must translate into National Security. But economic strength is not sufficient. A More elusive and fragile necessity is Confidence Pride resolve in a phrase National clan what is at Issue in this Century and this election is nothing less than a question of civilization has ours the capacity to sustain itself Carter s foreign policy reduces to the idea simple and a Priori that we shall prevail because or if we Are just. Reagan says with Raymond Aron it tests a nation s capacity for action. The republicans dilemma is the tension Between the culture of capitalism and the demands of defending a capitalist nation. The nation s collective discipline its capacity for strenuous protracted action in foreign policy is undermined by the relentless individualism implicit in Republican social policy. America s individualism has been explicit from the first from the first paragraphs of the declaration of Independence. The at yet unanswered but bound to be answered question a whether a society so thoroughly Given Over to the individual s Pursuit of sap piness is capable of making the unpleasant collective Effort necessary to the maintenance of National Independence