European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 12, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday july 12, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 13 commentary Leslie h. Gel stability order Are Paramount for yugoslavs americans seem fated to ignore the dark shadows of idealism in foreign policy. Yugoslavia is the most recent Case in Point. Some of americans finest essayists and talk show artists Are doing a devilishly effective Job of Selling a cleverly unshaded argument. Their pitch is that americans Basic Choice in Yugoslavia and the soviet Union boils Down to this self determination Freedom and democracy is. Order stability and dictatorship. If that were the real Choice the decision would be easy. But it is not. Self determination has its dark Side a virulent and oppressive nationalism. Stability and order have a positive Side a a context for peaceful change. The fact that Croatia and Slovenia have freely chosen to separate themselves from yugoslav and serbian domination does not suggest or guarantee a free and democratic future for their citizens. Croatia is known More for its nazis than for its democrats. Slovenian leaders Are largely unknown quantities. The Balkans Are not exactly a Tinderbox of democracy. Yugoslavia is Rife with ethnic inequality with the serbs at the top of the food Chain. But separated republics could treat their minorities still More unfairly. Perhaps the Large serbian population in Croatia has More to fear from an Independent Croatia than Croatia does from serb dominated Yugoslavia. Minority rights Are every bit As essential to democracy As majority Rule. The economic effects of separation could also be devastating. Slovenes and croats expect that after Independence their Standard of living could plunge by one third. Many who voted for separation might then vote with their feet and flee Westward creating enormous problems in Eastern and Central Europe. Many who stay might find themselves freely electing dictators to restore order. As a practical matter where should self determination begin and end Why can to the serbian minority in Croatia vote to join Serbia Why can to the germans in Poland elect annexation to Germany Why Northern italians freely choose to separate themselves from Southern Italy if the russian Republic can declare its Independence from Moscow Why can t russians own 16 autonomous republics freely establish their own sovereignty fragmentation could have frightful consequences. Most new states would quickly become economic Basket cases begging for Aid and loosing refugees on their wealthier neighbors. The opportunities for mischievous diplomacy and War would multiply As the new states cockeyed to survive. None of this is to say that the United states should Anna Quindlen tonsure it glorious snere Ksn states of greater and lower Slobom a forsake its commitment to self determination for which americans died in two world wars a a conviction that Springs from our own revolutionary heritage. It is to plead that our actions like those that we and the european Community arc now pursuing in Yugoslavia be tempered by common sense guidelines a we cannot and should not Stop Peoples from seeking self determination. But we can and should employ our influence to urge extended Cooling off periods As was just arranged Between Slovenia and Yugoslavia. This gives time for All to reflect on the risks As Well As the rewards of Independence. A we have to make Plain that spilling blood or provoking bloodshed is no Way to gain our support. Economic and political pressures Are fair is not. A we have to ensure that the parties understand we will not help bail them out of whatever economic mess they create. If they simply act unilaterally they will have to lend for themselves. Quot a we ourselves have to understand that there is no one final answer to the problem and that those states closest to the problem generally must be the principal diplomatic midwives. It is no Accident nor is it merely an act of selfishness that every european state except Germany and Denmark opposes in contained unilateral self determination in Yugoslavia. And to them All stability and order Are not abstractions. For Iii pm Nasty nationalism and dictatorship loom in the shadows of self determination unchecked by reason and history. Americans ought to hear out these european worries and appreciate our state departments own agonies before we Start a lending the Seif determination Parade. O the n it a Voik winning and All that Money really Worth it this is not Cheryl Tiegs in Lycra and lip liner. The cover of sports illustrated is a photographic portrait of Lyle Alzado former nil defensive end and current chemotherapy patient. What a left of his Bushy hair is hidden beneath a Bandanna with skulls printed on it. Someone made fun of the Bandanna when Alzado drove into sagas station with his wife not Long ago. A i wanted to beat him up a recalls the Man who once looked As if he ate live badgers for breakfast a but Kathy reminded me i Wasny to Strong the cover line is a i lied a and the sad Story inside is about a body made bigger stronger and tougher with steroids and human growth hormone. The drugs gave him a career and now Alzado believes they be Given him brain cancer. It turns out that professional football uses special effects just As surely As terminator 2 does. Athletes learn suddenly with one hamstring one Achilles Tendon what the rest of us learn More slowly that the body betrays and that our skulls Are hard because they protect the Only part that really Means anything. That a the part Alzado now says he poisoned with performance enhancers though for years he denied taking Ster oids. A a it Sall i cared about winning winning a he says. The people who run professional sports done to like stories like this and they say he is overstating the number of players who use the stuff. But his Story transcends drugs and football and goes to the heart of professional sports. It is about disposable Talent. During the course of an american kids maturation it was possible to go from Reggie bars to to knowing everything. Whoops boys injured. Make that to knows nothing. Last week i thought of Tracy Austin. She became flavor of the week on the professional Tennis tour in 1978, when she was 15. You read a sports Page without Reading about tray austins pigtails. She was a Fine player with a bad Back and the Back won. At 21, Tracy was history. The big Story at Wimbledon this year was not Tracy a pigtails but Monica Selest new wedge Cut and the fact that she was a no show. . A Monica is 17. This May not be proper fan attitude but it seems to me that if a 17-year-old who collects stuffed animals As Well As product endorsements wakes up one morning and decides she just wants to veg out and watch mtg it is Well within the Normal Range of behaviour. The strange Tennis Story was not Monica and Wimbledon. It was Venus Williams and Don King. Venus plays Tennis too and most recently she a been playing wearing a Polo shirt embroidered with the logo of the Mega promoter. Companies Are already providing her with rackets and shoes courting her endorsement. Venus is hot just As Tracy Austin once was. She is also 11. No child labor Laws apply a she is allegedly playing a game. Kids become cottage industries and Young men become muscle bound monsters. A a in a sorry Success meant so much to me a Alzado writes. And to the fans. The Best athletes have always known that the body will betray them and All they will have left if they be guarded it As Well As they have the Basket or the Baseline is their dignity. At the Aba All Star game this year two athletes sat an aisle apart and illustrated the Point. Julius Erving the basketball player who is to sports what Laurence Olivier was to acting sat with his wife and signed an autograph for every kid who asked. Evander Holyfield world heavyweight Champion sat with a Phalanx of men who looked As if they ate live badgers Lor breakfast. When some big eyed boy approached clutching a notebook As though it were his heart one of the Phalanx said coldly a no in 10 years or. J. Will still be a legend and evander Lolly yield will be a in the sports almanac of life. Because one is Talent and the other has become some thing More. Lyle Alzado is trying Lor More. Quot my strength Isnit my strength anymore he says. A my strength is my a the managers the owners the Pio motors the parents the fans they should All pay attention. They should remember that almost As pernicious As steroids is a Star system that gels turned on and off like a Light and that leaves the disposable Talent in the dust. It makes you a Little bit ashamed of what we All do to fill stadiums to sell seats. C the new York times the opinions expressed in he columns and cartoons on his Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government
