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A Nation of Evangelists
Manr are beating a path back to na–
ture, rejecting the evil in everything
from mass technology to food additives.
Meanwhile, on the health scene, a natu–
ral food and supplement pandemic is
causing a revolution in eating habits
among Jarge numbers of peop!e.
Ralph Nader has become
the
evange–
list of the consumcr, with his one-man
attack on thc goodics of lifc, from un–
safe automobilcs to improperly in–
spected meal.
We have other crusaders. Dr. Barry
Commoner has been dubbed the Jere–
miah of the environmental movement.
He and other scientists such as Dr. Paul
Ehclich are roaming the countryside with
apocalyptic messages of environmental
disaster. In agriculture, such men as Dr.
Norman Borlaug have announced a war
on hunger. His "Green Revolution" has
been instrumental in temporarily rolling
back the tides of starvation.
In 1971, world Jeaders embarked on
a veritable foray of diplomacy, seeking
pacts and understandings to stop the
threat of war. West German Chancellor
Willy Brandt receivcd the Nobel Peace
Prize for his cfforts in this direction.
The President of the United States
became a crusader, launching America
on a New Economic Plan. Mr. Nixon
even threw out a 20-odd year foreign
policy approach by making overtures to
Communist China - all in the interest
of world peace. Meanwhile, Britain cast
aside centuries of isolationist-like tradi–
tioo to officially join the European Eco–
nomic Community.
And Now- A Back to
Jesus
~1overnent
On the religious scenc, a new Jesus
Generation is marching in a twentieth
century moral cmsade. Whether or not
it will only be a passing fad or become
an institution, only time can tcll. Large
numbers of teen-agers and young pcople
have been disillusioned with scx, drugs
and the other trappings of a hippie phi–
losophy which sprang full blown, with
the help of the news media, a few years
ago. The new Jesus Generation says,
"Christ is the aoswer." They often re–
ject what they coosider moribund estab·
lishment religion.
All these bear testimony to our
thrashing around trying to find our
course - to search for moral guide–
lines, to find new meaning in life, to
prevent war.
T he Threat of War
This latter problem - threat of war
- is perhaps the most overriding <.:On·
cern of the average person. In year–
after-year surveys which the Gallup Poli
has made since 1936, here is what those
surveyed said was the top problem of
the year: In 1971, the economy and
Vietnam; in 1970-1965, Vietnam; in
1964, Vietnam and race relations; in
1963, keeping peace and race relations;
m 1962-1959, keeping peace; in 1958,
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_
_:_unemployment and keep·
1
ing peace; in 1957,
segregation; in
1956-1953,
27
keeping peace - and so oo it went.
We exist in a war-weary world, but
war it seems, just won't go away.
We
exist in a world of social dilernrnas; but
thc dilemmas become increasingly trau·
matic.
We wind clown the Vietnam conflict;
another erupts between India and Paki–
stan.
We
see fewer American cities
wracked with race riots; but an escala–
tion of conflict occurs in Northern Ire·
land. President Nixon takes rneasures to
straighten out the American economy;
Europe begins to experience economic
woes. America harvests a bumper coro
crop; Afghanistan is in the worst fam–
ine of its 52-yeac history. We pop sup·
plcments, but every year heart disease
puts 7,500,000 Americans and 190,000
Britons into an early grave.
Can We Begin Again?
There are long-standing animosities
between nations; deeply rooted cultural
habits; complex and intricate social
problems. The root causes of sorne of
these difficulties are hundreds, thou–
sands of years old - as Pogo and the
"Bail Out" cast found out.
Yet we must fiod the exit to the
problem maze that confuses and be·
fuddles us. We must hack through to
the causes, to a "let's begin all over
again" guiding set of principies.
Although humanity has always been
faced with war, Camine, excesses of reli–
gion, illiteracy, sickness and social prob–
lems, it has the possibility of starting all
over from scratch in our day. This is the
paradox of our age. We stand on the
brink of cosmocide and worldwide so·
cial upheaval. BuT we also stand on