European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 6, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes monday april 6.19b7 James j. Kilpatrick let s hear it for geography awareness week Letts hear it for Bill Bradley the senior senator from new Jersey the Hooray is no for i prospective candidacy Tor the White House though the democrats could t do much better. Neither is this a cheer for hit uncommon Good sense in mailers of taxation. Let s hear it for his Resolution to declare Geog Raphy awareness week thai s right. The Long tall gentleman from Donvil Lewatts to set aside the week or nov. 15-21 to direct National Allan lion toward the revival of a subject that has All but disappeared from most of Bur Public schools. He came to the floor of the Senate recently loaded with depressing news he cited by Way of example a Survey taken in Jan uary of 5,000 High school seniors in eight major cities. Brace yourself. Twenty five percent of the student tested m Dallas could not identify the country that Borders the United slates on he South to Boston 39percent of the students could not name the six new England slates. Brace yourself again. In Baltimore 43 percent of those tested could not respond correctly to this instruction on the attached map Shade in the area where the United states is  nearly half of the Slu dents in Hartford could not name even three countries in Africa. Forty percent of those in Kansas City could not name three countries in South America. Bradley had another Survey this one taken by the University of North Carolina in 1984. This was a sur vey not of High school seniors but of College  than half of them when asked to identify the two largest Stales could name  and Texas. Al most 80 percent could t think of the two smallest Stales. The senator had even gloomier tidings to re port. He cited two surveys by the new York times one Lakin in 1950, the other in 1984. Thirty seven years ago 84 percent of the College students knew that Manila was the capital of the Philippines in 1984,Only 27 percent responded correctly. Almost 70 per cent of these students could not name even one coun try in Africa Between the Sahara and South Africa. The situation grows worse not better. Said Bradley this news is not Only shocking it i frightening. We depend on a Well informed Popula to maintain the democratic ideals which have your country great. When 93 percent of some of  brightest College students cannot locale Vietnam win world map we must sound the alarm. We Hajj Peel to be a world Leader if our populace Dort eve know who the rest of the world  Jef amen to All that and again amen. I abbr 60 years ago when some of us were ploughing though the pub Lic schools we got great chunks of go Nophy. We had whole books on the subject Fasci Olling books filled with pictures of exotic lands. W far cd about the Tigris and the euphrates about win China and cof fee in Brazil and windmills to Date Netherlands. We coloured maps. For some Nejak France was always Blue. The first Lime i flew Totoris and looked Oul the window 1 confidently cupped to see an azure land scape below. It Wasj postly Green which was the color for Peru Jit As i recall.  at one Point on North America. That fast have been about the fifth Grade. The  mexicans in scrapes and sombre Ros Esker min fur Hais beside improbable igloos we had to non Rizic the stale capitals and some of these were Tyrl. Remembering the capitals of Washington and North Dakota was t easy. Achy was a wonderful subject i Don t know no Ever got deeply into economic geography but gleamed Al Good Deal about people and places. Some it was trivial name a mountainous country famed. R yodelling. Some of it made an Impact Why is the Mississippi Muddy and what docs this Tell us of soil erosion Bradley is right when he warns that the decline of geography in our schools will have serious consequences in years to come. The Globe dwindles. The planet shrinks. I was 6 years old when Lindbergh flew to France. It seemed an unbelievable adventure now the unbelievable becomes routine. Satellites and super Tabors. Our know them better. Awareness week May gel no More attention than most of the special weeks beloved of Congress but if Bradley s Resolution prompts even a few slates into restoring geography to its old Eminence the Effort will be worthwhile what Are the principal crops of Mexico four kids Don t icon Wiley ought to find out. Sonic planes have turned strangers into neighbors children and grandchildren ought to get to Knoth we tour More the foliowih6 program a George f. Will politicians have Sovereign right to parochialism the record of american rhetoric Hab been enriched by Robert Byrd of West Virginia Settle major Ity Leaden potholes know no   Wasa highlight of the Senate debate about ski Dent Rea Gan s Velo of the Highway and mass to Neil Bita de Bate made especially memorable by is fact die Hucht was heard from. Hecht the Nevada Republican Jan Only his fifth year in inc institution that Calls Ilsa the world s great est deliberative body. But Bein la Quick study he clearly has mastered the catch Oriel imperative of his Craft i cannot cast a   Byrd s pothole theory of Emory enshrines the pre tense that supporters of the Mph Way Bill were martyrs to their Lender cons Ink pulled High above partisanship by inc lug Ohe Volion to the National interest. He is half right tic argument was not about partisanship. Rather in is about parochialism with an easy conscience. Hochl s name is  household word bul be has rendered he service of stating with childlike ingenue Rusness the Principe by which deficits inflation weakened National it drily and deepened Public cynicism Are produced thai is congressmen and senators have a soc Refon right to be parochial. There arc iwo founds for in is belief. One is Elemen Tal a poll icon As a properly right in his Job and no argument is  valid if it purports to Demon Strate a can Chion or impose i a duty thai would in crease Job . The other rationalization has the Patina of political science. It is thai he National inter est is just is by definition the sum of local inter ests. The Public is served by whatever results from a maelstrom of self aggrandizement. The Senate s new Nureyev the nimble Pirouette no Vole switching Terry Sanford p.-n.c., had to be Tob by his party what his convictions were to be ii inappropriate that the Mast conspicuous Vole was cast by Sanford one of the freshmen whose election gave the democrats what they Wilt come to regret control of the Senate and thus full responsibility Tor Congress this Congress has now passed Over presiden tial vetoes the two Bills thai were . I and . 2, inc water and Highway Bills respectively. Both Wereb decl busters. Both were passed against the musical background of loud lamentations from Congress about inc impossibility of meeting the Gramm Rudman deficit reduction targets that were enacted Trio Law the Large is Are the Taw son just 16 months ago. Both Bills were passed by lopsided majorities for the same reason the Money was spread like Margarine evenly around the continent. The Highway Bill passe the House 407-17, a 3�0-Yolc majority. Only 17 senators voted against it which Means thai of a possible53s votes Only 34 were cast against in. Once the Money in such a Public works Bill is smeared around enough to make inc Bill seem virtually Vico proof the egregious pork is stuffed in. Both the water and Highway Bills were rationalize Das indispensable to the nation s welfare. The debate on the Highway Bill featured the usual elastic numbers pass the Bill or 800.000 jobs will be lost and economic growth will come to a screeching Hall. So supporters of the Bill were saying having no Bill would mean National calamity but we Are too Busy to Lake another week and do in right. The 13 Senate republicans who joined the democrats in this vote were Cochran of Mississippi Bond and Danforth of Missouri d Avalo of new York Duran Ciger of Minnesota Hucht of Nevada Heinz and Specter of Pennsylvania Mcconnell of Kentucky Pressler of South Dakota Symms of Idaho Weic Crof Connecticut Wilson of California. When a Cal they run for re election six of them next year Danforth do run Berger Hecht. Heinz Weicker Wilson arguing that they stand Between the Republic and fiscal ruin at the hands of big spending democrats try not to laugh. Democrats relish fighting Reagan vetoes so he should oblige by vowing id veto any change of the Gramm Rudman deficit reduction targets. If it is Grid lock they want let it begin Here. In just three creative months in Complete control of Congress the democrats by decisive action and the forceful leadership of the new House speaker Jimwright have established the themes thai will carry them into the 1988 election they favor slashing de sense and raising taxes and relaxing Gramm Rudman requirements in order to unleash the sort of spending exemplified by the Highway Bill. The Day the House voted 10 override the veto waste Day some major Banks made headlines by raising interest rates. The two events probably were no connected other perhaps than in the Public mind Vosh Inpan Posl