European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 29, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday Juno 29, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 13george f. Will or. T. Berry Brazelton is from Texas a Central Texas a and sounds it. But he lives hard by Harvard Yard in Cambridge mass., on a Street with a Fine new England name a Hawthorne St. A in a clapboard House painted a Mustard yellow popular in new England. A a a a a he is from a Region fond of gregarious Ness but is. Married to a Lowell. She remembers walking As a Young girl with her father a Boston Brahman who did not acknowledge a Cousin when they passed. When she asked Why her. Father explained a the knows that i know him a Brazelton put his foot Down when she wanted to Cut their wedding cake using her family a ancestral sword that had been used in the civil War against the Side on which his ancestors fought. Brazelton now 70, knows the enduring nature of americans regional and cultural differences. Perhaps that has equipped him for what has become his calling that of calling attention to the differences that americans least like to contemplate a those of class. He is a paediatrician at Harvard medical school and children a Hospital medical Center in Boston and he is a member of the National commission on children. In assessing the condition of americans children the report cannot avoid the subject of class. Brazelton a interest in class has made him a physicist of childhood. Physicists refer to the a escape velocity a of particles circling in an. Orbit. Some particles spin or outside intervention causes them to spin free from the prison of orbit onto their own Long trajectory. Society a Challenge is to give poor children outward velocity from the orbit that imprisons them. Brazelton believes that the propensity of a child to flourish is established very Early. The crucial variable is the child a expectation that the world will be consistently interested supportive and encouraging. Absence of the propensity to flourish can be a read Quot in the behavioural language of even a 9-month-old. Doctors says Brazelton must be taught to read that language in such simple activities As elementary play with blocks. The grim message of some play is that the babies expect to fail for the rest of their lives. Handed two blocks a baby that is at ease in the is it k world a a baby probably. Already accustomed to the Praise of interested adults a will manipulate the blocks vigorously dropping one to see who retrieves it and looking Bright eyed at any observing adult cd pct ing Praise a baby who expects to fail will have a More limited repertory of play a limited Brazelton says a by Anthony Lewis reasons for Thatcher s major the current preoccupation of British politics is neatly summarized on the cover of the satirical Magazine private is shown saying a it would be very wrong for me to comment on or. Majors abysmal performance.�?�. John major has been prime minister for six months and his biggest problem now is his predecessor. She has not openly criticized his performance. But she and her friends have increasingly conveyed the impression that they Are disappointed. Two weeks ago the sunday Telegraph a paper that. Was close to Thatcher when she was in Power printed what it said were her words to friends a the stands for nothing. He is Grey. He has no ideas. I have been totally deceived a her office issued a denial but it did not a convince everyone. Re he words sounded like her. Major is colourless especially compared with Thatcher. If she said that he had a no ideas a she meant right Wing ideas like hers. Major ism if there can be such a thing is not at All like Thatcher ism with its strident nationalism and exaltation of capitalism of thatchers hard edged policies Cost her support in the conservative party and led to her undoing. One was the poll tax which substituted for local real estate taxes a head tax that hit Rich and poor alike. The other was her opposition to the growing economic and political integration of the european com Mui Vity. A both of those policies were quickly changed by Vla Jor. He moved to replace the poll lax with a modified version of the old taxes Britain As rates varying according to the value of property. A As for Europe major took a mild tone in meetings of Community leaders a a great change from 1 hatchery a frequent stands As a minority of one. Last week Thatcher made Clear that she had not chanced her mind on the poll tax. In an a japanese Magazine she said the tax was needed to keep people from demanding local services without being willing to pay for them. Her comment was taken As a not very Subtle crack at major. Then. Recently the. European Issue came up in a a prickly Way. T Here wars a a memorandum from the Bruges group a conservative group that opposes closer european integration. K the leaked memorandum portrayed major As a weakling on Europe. It said a we know that the prime minister is opposed to economic and monetary Union but frightened to use his veto in the Community and inclined towards a neither of the two issues that. Thatcher mid her friends seem to be pressing As differences with major should really worry him politically. The poll tax is a proven loser and the anti europeans air Quot the conservative party Are relatively few . Moreover the european question is one that has been exhausted Over decades of debate in British politics. The Little England View held by Thatcher a that Britain can thrive in isolation from an integrating Europe a has been thoroughly discredited by economic reality. The ironic thing is that major made himself quickly popular on becoming prime minister by distinguishing himself from his predecessor on those issues. T he Public really does not want a copy of Margaret Thatcher m 10 Downing Street. Why then should the air. Of disagreement with Thatcher worry John major the answer is that British voters tend not to Trust a party that is divided against itself. And these signs of division come at a time when the conservative party is already hurting. The latest poll puts 10 Points ahead. In the circumstances some think the biggest favor Thatcher could do her party would be to signal her departure form Active politics by accepting a place in the House of lords. A leading commentator Peter Jenkins of the Independent wrote Quot she owes it to or. Major if her professions of support Are sincere to take the one course available to confirm his legitimacy. That is to announce without delay her Graceful ascension to the House of lords. This would put an end to wild notions that she dreams of a triumphant return.�?T�?T., a a or does she really dream of returning a a Quot c the new York times a commentary the realization that no one will poor children sense and acquire the helplessness of their parents a or More Likely of a single Parent. In 10s8, the last year for which figures Are available 2b percent of All american babies were born to single women up from 18 percent in 1980. Sixty three percent of All Black babies were born to single women. I he Fig pcs Tor hispanics and Whites were 34 and 18 per Echt respectively. Single women Are 50 percent More Likely than married women to have babies with Low birth weights. Such babies have reduced chances of a healthy life in these a numbers there is. A Strong correlation with class single mothers Are More Apt to be poor. We now know How using Early intervention to raise by age three the in. Of infants As much As 13 Points. T har can be the difference Between social competence and failure. Such an increase in in Points can be achieved even in infants whose neurological systems have been disorganized by the mothers ingestion of alcohol or other damaging drugs. The brute fact is that the Best predictor of a baby a prospects is socioeconomic status. And in the 19s a among children the Chance of being poor Rose from 16.4 to 19.6 percent while among senior citizens it fell from 15.2 to 11.4 percent. Poverty is a Public health problem and treatment must begin with the new family often just a Mother and child. Parents or Parent Kaiui baby must be treated As a single patient medically and socially. But says Brazilton. There Are three impediments to this. One is fiscal one cultural and one pertains to the sociology of his profession. Early intervention in dysfunctional families is labor intensive Ami hence expensive. It also is intrusive and violates a cultural value a the self sufficiency of the family unit. Furthermore the medical profession is increasingly science intensive and specialized. It is neglecting the Art of imparting a escape velocity through the practice of Medicine As a a family Friendly Art. So for starters Brazelton a message is physicians heal yourselves. Quot. A c the Washington Post a Margaret t hath or. Acc no to a. Her i
