European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 9, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday september 9, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 13commentaryjames j. Kilpatric Send soviets Best wishes Aid can come later Ever since the soviet Union began to crumble our own country has been wallowing in euphoria. At the risk of raining upon this glorious Parade let me venture a suggestion Knock it off. A metaphorical millennium is not at hand. Yes these events Are astonishing. Yes the collapse of communism is an occasion for great Joy. But come now. New York s sen. Pat Moynihan is a sensible fellow he has a Good head on his shoulders but last week he lost it. A the age of totalitarianism is the Democrat said. Really the Wall Street journal not usually Given to gushing sees a the end of attempts to remake the world through military the journal is positively Giddy a Mankind is at last free to construct a new world hallelujah born again hold the euphoria. Let rapture be restrained. Suppose we spin the Globe and take a closer look. The age of totalitarianism certainly is not Over in China where More than 1 billion people have no Republic at All. What of North Korea Afghanistan. Laos and Albania the age of dictatorship assuredly continues in Libya and in Cuba. Is military Power about to become obsolete Tell it to the people of Vietnam Yemen Uganda Ghana Nigeria and Guinea. Explain this in Lesotho and Syria. Has anyone seen democracy lately in Iraq How go the election returns from Mongolia and Tibet when is the next primary in Iran at last reports one party governments were flourishing in Malawi. Mozambique Togo and Zimbabwe. Kenneth Kamula. That great Democrat has ruled Zambia since 1%4. In the Middle East sultans Emir and absolute monarchs continue to hold Sway. Half the population of this planet knows no More of democracy than geese know of grand opera. As for the soviet Union president Bush is absolutely right in his cautious approach. No one virtually no one. Had anticipated the implosion of the Empire. Neither can anyone confidently forecast the future of these foundling one night in Azerbaijan the people went to bed As communists. When they woke up they were democrats. What now when the kissing stops and it will Stop before the Snow Hies a the soviet people will find the same problems that plagued them before. They must learn Freedom the Way a child learns to read one syllable at a time and they must begin by grasping the idea of Freedom. Quot beyond the principal cities the idea of Freedom is an alien idea. It is a difficult idea. For people who have never known Freedom the idea will not be easily accepted or mastered. After 200 years we of the when my fafft06le,1he 6tf>be Matzk a xes it in hit 5p�nty-1hh?d change of that Day miss Munch in the painting derm tent quite suddenly lost it. Russians must learn to speak moldavian and to abandon their cyrillic alphabet. They Are incensed by the Prospect. The russian majority City of Tira spol is threatening to secede from the new secessionist slate. Bush has extended recognition to the three Baltic republics. They May be individually viable. Perhaps they can live outside an incubator. Russia and the Ukraine can make do. Byelorussian is about the size of Kansas Azerbaijan about the size of Maine. It is Folly to suppose that they could establish their own currency and their own armed forces for defense against their brotherly neighbors. Easy does it or. President when Mikhail s. Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin disarm their nuclear weapons when they begin to disband their armed forces when they Settle Down to the hard work and Tough discipline that lie ahead it will be time enough to talk of foreign Aid. Meanwhile let us Send the soviets our very Best wishes. For now that should suffice. C Universal press Syndicate states imperfectly understand Freedom. Look at these Campus codes of a a appropriate speech. At the heart of individual Freedom lies individual responsibility. For the past 70 years the soviet people have lived under collective responsibility not As children of god but As wards of the state. A vast and impenetrable bureaucracy has done their thinking for them. Now they must think for themselves. Practical difficulties confront the foundling at every hand. The Ruble is worthless the Economy in shambles. The Chain of food production and distribution is a Chain of missing links. The most elementary tools of efficient Commerce a tractors harvesters lathes locomotives computers machine tools working telephones a Are obsolescent or in Short Supply. In the charged atmosphere of Freedom Long suppressed ethnic rivalries Are Ripe for explosion. In National review free Lance reporter George Berkin writes from Moldavia. Two thirds of the inhabitants Are romanian one third russian. Under majority Rule the Ellen Goodman Blondie Bumstead gets in touch with America on labor Day morning 1991, Blondie Boop Doop Bumstead 35 years old and holding had an Epiphany Over her Coffee cup. Worn out from cooking and cleaning to these Many decades the suburban housewife of comic strip Fame suddenly figured a Way out of her domesticity. T could go out and get a Bing Light bulbs Flash cameras Roll sweetheart gel me vie today show not since Nora left the dolls House has one wife s change garnered quite this much attention. But Nora was ahead of her time. Blondie in t exactly a Trendsetter among her Peers. More than three quarters of the women in her age group where she has lingered longer than Jack Benny Are already in the work Force. Nevertheless this is something of a landmark. Blondie began comic strip life Over 60 years ago As a Gold digging flapper. Back then. Dagwood Bumstead was the Daffy heir to a Railroad family that owned As it was said the right Side of the tracks the wrong Side and the tracks themselves. When the depression deepened these True lovers got married despite papa Bumstead disapproval. Disinherited Dagwood got a of. They moved to the suburbs had a kids a dog and remained in their 30s Ever after. In some ways the Bumstead have been emblems of the american family and the american Economy. Dagwood for All of his Dit siness has had one Job his entire work life. Even in the 80s, As other american companies downsized and streamlined this Long abused White Collar worker kept his Job. While other companies were being taken Over. Dithers and co. Dithered along. Even Dagwood a metabolism and eating habits managed to stay the same. As for Blondie Over the years this White Collar wife also kept her supportive role. She never did get proper credit for her invention of the Dagwood Sandwich. She never got any kudos for getting her husband out of the House every morning and into the carpool. But now that she has decided to get a Job she a doing the a nets a making All the talk shows. Even the Secretary of labor is interested in How this newest entry will fare in the workplace a some of the skills Blondie had will have to be indeed. Once again Dagwood and Blondie Are getting Back in touch with what s happening to the american family that lives paycheck to paycheck two paychecks How then can we help Blondie to Mark her momentous entry into the working woman world after All these years a few tips and titbits Are in order. The Good news is that things Are better for wolfing women. The Gap Between mate and female wages has narrowed. The bad news is that one reason it has narrowed is because menus wages Are falling. Despite All those years at Home with Dagwood and the kids Blondie a earning capacity wont be much worse than that of other women. If she is typical her earnings will Peak at about age 40-45 at $22000. This is however just about what the average Man earns Between 25 and 29. On sept. 9, this longtime Kitchen worker decided a at least for the moment a to become a caterer. She will joining the fastest growing part of the american Economy women owned Small businesses. This will Supply her with a lot of flexibility. She can be there when Alexander and cookie get Home from school or from the mall. But she will get none of the Perks vacations pensions health insurance. If Dagwood can hold on at dithers if dithers does no to Wither they will discover the Basic economic fact of life in the �?T90s two workers equal one Good Job. About the household Drudgery she is trying to avoid Well if she follows the pattern Blondie will do less housework than before. But she will still do most of the work that gets done. Home will become her second shift. In any Case with Luck this was the last week Blondie will Ever have to ask Dagwood for pocket Money. If the studies Are right As an employed spouse Shell Start sharing financial decisions. Her Job will give them an extra ounce of two Job Security keep the refrigerator stocked with Sandwich stuffing and if Blondie makes it in business they May even afford to get the kills out of the strip and off to College. Of yes one final piece of advice to this wife. Is. Bumstead when you get out there in the work world for gawd Sakes done to let the Guys still Call you Blondie. C the Boston Globe the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this 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
