European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 23, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes columns William f. Buckley sandinista will foil democracy under Carter s nose while we Are it it. An appreciative word should be said about How Jimmy Carter uses his spare time. It is perhaps curious that he should have decided to spend some of in in ghetto sections of Manhattan work ing As a Carpenter curious because it would seem to be an improvident use or the skills of a former presi Dent. But in an indisputable Way. Touching. And it is touching that he should show in his alter native career As mediator such Faith in the Good Faith of the sandinista. Such Faith in the democratic process and what it accomplishes. On sunday there will be elections in Nicaragua. There have been elections in Nicaragua from time to time Ever since the sandinista decided to make elections meaning less. What is supposed to be special about the elections coming up is that the opposition is promised by the Sand nistas in the presence of president Carter and others a fair crack at the electorate. The opposition is bunched about Violeta Cha Morro. A striking nicaraguan figure whose husband was killed by the Somoza gang causing the family to Back the insurgent sandinista uproariously. This caused the c Ham Orros to Register great dismay when upon taking Power the sandinista proved worse even than the Somo Islas. This in turn caused a breakup in the family stuck with the sandinista another and mrs. C one son Hamor to. Striking out with the opposition causing inc Sand nistas to close Down the newspaper. About a year ago he paper was once again permuted to publish but subject to such harass cols As one cup cols from a Szalc whose policies Are about Halfway Between despotic an totalitarian. Now the purpose of democracy is to let the Good go s win. Sometimes it in t known who the Good Guys arc. When . Democrats run against . Republicans men of Good conscience and refined morality might go one Way or the other. But one would not say that about an election in which say Stalin or Hitler or Castro. Pol pol or Mao tsp Tung was one of the contenders right right therefore in any contest Fea Turing such As these gentlemen any contest won by i hair panics would be an indictment of democracy. If a con Cal Between a Good Guy and a bad Guy comes in at 60-40. The tendency is to acclaim democracy for inc perfect political instrument in is. But it does leave one wondering How 40 percent of the country could have voice for inc bad Guy. And then the question arises if 40 percent can be won by the bad Guy in t it technically feasible thai he might have increased his Vole to 51 percent were he to do so suddenly we would find that he had become the democratic Choice and. In the religion of democracy for that reason inviolable As inc Leader of his country. The sandinista signed an elaborate covenant James Kilpatrick in 1979 in which they promised every Freedom listed in our own Bill of rights. Within two years they had violated their word on every Issue. They set out not Only to revolutionize their country after a marxist Model but using the profusion of arms Given them by Cuba and the soviet Union they began shipping these to Aid revolutionary activity in neighbouring countries. They shut Down the press imprisoned political Dis Senters and passed a conscription Law that scooped up every i a year old boy and stuck him in the army. The result was that within three years Nicaragua had the largest per capita army in latin America. The Sandi nistas went on to violate promises made to poor presi Dent Arias of Costa Rica. Do you remember the Arias peace plan it got a Nobel prize and accomplished nothing but International pressure finally caused the Sandi nistas to agree to an observed election which is what will happen on feb. 25. About which election there is Only one thing to say either Chamorro wins it or else pleasant alternative Ait was rigged or else in Plasan lest alternative b. Democracy is once again discredited. It is interesting thai the sandinista Campaign has turned almost exclusively to the infamy of the .action in Panama. What we did in Panama that has any bearing on democracy was to oust the Man who cheated in the panamanian elections and invest As president the Man who won the panamanian elections. One should perhaps not be surprised that the Sandi nistas Are appalled at military action taken to guard the integrity of the democratic process. The democratic process is something the sandinista will either ignore subvert or distort. Right in front of Jimmy Carter c a Versal press Syndicate fluoridation losses out rights for better bites certain issues in the wide realm of Public affairs have the tenacity of the legendary cat that kept coming Back. Should guns be licensed should boxing be banned what about phonics in the leaching of Reading More to the Point should fluoride be added to Public water supplies for the past 50 years the Issue of fluoridation has been passionately debated but the debate has been sporadic and largely localized. Until recently the topic had dropped almost out of sight. Now in has come raging Back. On Jan. 3 the environmental Protection Agency ordered a revaluation of fluoride standards. Last week the National toxicology program released preliminary data showing that fluoridated water May cause a rare form of cancer in Laboratory rats. At Long last in is becoming evident that the benefits of artificial fluoridation May have been exaggerated. The risks May have been underestimated. One respectable study after another is shedding doubt upon conclusions that had been widely taken for granted. Proponents of fluoridation arc finding themselves on the defensive. Let me return to the fray. The new medical evidence much of it inconclusive and ambiguous is almost the least of the concerns in this affair. The deeper Issue is now and always has been the Issue of personal Freedom. Whatever May be said for fluoridation As a matter of Public health the program is a Patent invasion of private rights specifically the right of each individual to control the Medicine he takes. In a free society it is elementary that persons should be free to take risks or not to take risks so Long As their decision does no harm to others. Fluoridation de Nies this Freedom absolutely. There is nothing voluntary about it. In cities that opt for fluoridation residents Are effectively compelled to ingest the stuff. They have no viable alternative. The same thing May be said of course of communities in which the water sup ply is naturally fluoridated but there is a vast difference Between a natural Condi Tion and a political decision. Snow is a fact of life in Buffalo. Drought is a fact of life in the Plains. Such hardships Are not imposed by legislative Fiat. Fluoridation is unlike any other pro Gram defended in the name of Public health. Other programs Are adopted to prevent the spread of contagious diseases or to protect Consumers from contaminated foods. The sole purpose of fluoridation is to reduce cavities in Teeth. We arc not talking about smallpox or urdu Lant fever. No Issue of contagion arises. The Power of the state is invoked to make us ingest what most dentists say is Good for us. Doctor knows Best. So shut up in its Ham handed fashion fluoridation also is unlike any other practice of Medicine. In the Ordinary course of events doctors insist that every individual be treated individually. Is the cholesterol count too High then a certain diet is prescribed. Do blood tests disclose anaemia a specified Iron supplement May be the doctor s order. Does the patient suffer from gout the internist will prescribe so Many Milli Grams of a specific drug. This is what the doctor patient relationship is All about. Fluoridation tramples upon that relationship. Helter shelter Willy Nilly one size fits All that is the irresponsible basis of mass fluoridation. Advocates arc indifferent to individual metabolism. Some people drink lots of water some drink very Little. No matter. Some people Are allergic to fluoride. Too damned bad. Some children will develop mottled Teeth As a reaction. It s Only  a few Consumers May suffer the agonies of skeletal fluorosis. It s a risk says the surgeon general that every one must take Lor the greater Good. A free society does t work that Way. Other Laws we Are told also infringe upon individual Freedom driven must fasten seat belts motorcyclists must Wear helmets. Zoning Laws and architectural restrictions affect property rights. All very True but none of the supposed analogies stands up. The Law forbids us from taking cocaine. Fluoridation com Pels us to Lake fluoride. The one is seen As an evil the other is seen As a Good. But it is one thing to forbid and quite another thing to compel. This is the Issue that  current revival of controversy is based chiefly upon medical concerns. My own concerns Are different. If the Choice is Between losing a bicuspid or losing a Freedom let the bicuspid go c in tvs Sal Praia synodical