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pected nuclear minipower-are also
well known.
The similarity of South Africa's
dilemma to that of Israel- a nother
"pariah" state to much of the
world-is striking. But there is one
major ditference. Israel, at Jeast. has
one superpower friend in the world
that virtually guarantees her future
existence. He r close ties with the
United States, provided they are
maintained. preclude her from ever
having to use the bomb most ex–
perts fe el she aiready possesses.
But in South Africa's case no such
guarantee is known to exist. It
would be a most dangerous thing.
tben , for a threa te ned nuclea r–
armed !ion. as it were, to be backed
into a corner.
So problematical and involved are
the politics of this world that the
possible consequences of certain
courses ofaction are sometimes com–
pletely overlooked. The international
affairs expert for the London
Sunday
Telegraph,
Peregrine Worsthorne,
was aware of thi s fact when he asked
the question about South Africa: "So
wha t should be done?"
He answered: "The first thing is
for the world to be made to see the
danger with the same clarity as it
has cometo see the danger of Arab–
Israel conflict in the Middle East. lf
the whole interna tional community
were egging on the Arabs. and as–
suring them of the rightness of their
cause. and warning Israel against
expecting a ny outside protection. no
one would be so blind as not to see
tbat this would provoke the lsraelis
into falling back on the atom bomb,
which they would undoubtedly use.
But thi s is precisely what the whole
world is doing to the South Afri–
cans. with results that can be pre–
dicted with egua! certainty."
As Prime Minister Vorster said
three years ago. the alternative to
peace in the subcontinent of Africa
is "too ghastly to contempla te."
The world is living
in
extremely
dangerous days, a time just before
the close of
this age,
when unless a
Supreme Power intervenes, " no
flesh would be saved alive."
O
The conclusion of a series of
articles based upon the author's
recenr trip to southern Africa.
The
PLAIN TRUTH April 1977
BURNOUT
(Continued from page 19)
time moth er is cooking dinner, the
kids are hung ry and cranky. and
dad has just returned from his day's
tria ls. This is also the time when
symptoms of burnout - the tradi–
tional shouting, screaming pre–
dinner freakout-usually occur. But
a husband who really !oves his wife
as he !oves himself won't have too
much trouble empathizing with he r
si tuation. He will rea lize that if he
can ta ke only five minutes (or less)
' of his otfspring befare they begin to
"get on his nerves," thcn he will
know how she feels. having been
with them a ll day long with no
break.
There ls Hope
But what if you' re already a burned–
out mother? Is the situation hope–
less? Not at al!. Bumed-out mothers.
like burned-out doctors and socia l
workers, can be rehabilitated. l t
takes time and caring. though, and a
conscious effort on the mother's part
to face reality. accept her condition.
and do something about it.
Awareness is half the battle. l f
you know you are going to be worn
out at a particular time. reschedule
the day if possible or warn your
family of your delicate condit ion.
They can't cooperate and avoid
pushing you to the brink unless they
know how you feel. They'll proba–
bly make noise. for example, unless
they realize quiet is needed . In his
book
Pare111 E.!Jectiveness Training.
Dr. Thomas Gordon mentions that
one father made his small daughter
aware of his need for "q uiet time ' '
when he first got home. promising
to spend time with her once he had
"recharged h is batteries." She be–
carne so solicitous th at she, who
formerly bugged him to death, now
kept others away. explaining his
nced for temporary rest. Pe rh aps
mothers could put the samc st rategy
into action.
Studies have also s hown that
regular daily exercise can be of
grea t value in working off tensions
th a t can lead to symptoms of burn–
out. Although sorne of thi s exercise
can be had on family outings. it's
probably best to have a program
that can be worked on alone. Exer–
cises like running. jumping rope, or
working with weights (which can be
very beneficia! to women as well as
men) can be done privately with no
need fo r car-pooling o r finding a
babysitter. Ora mother may want to
schedule a trip to the local health
club as part of her weekly " time–
out." And one can a lways do calis–
thenics along with a TV exercise
show.
Time alone is therapeutic. Room
for privacy is also important. While
it may be nearly impossible for par–
ents to atford a house where each
child has his or her own room and
both parents have sorne sort of den,
sewing room. or whatever. a mother
needs a nook or cran ny she can cal!
her own- a place whcre she can at
least temporarily have undi sturbed
privacy. Sometimes even long wa lks
alone can be helpful in this respect.
A Priceless Opportunlty
lt
cannot be emphasized enough
that marriage and motherhood can
be a tremendous opportunity for
growth a nd character devel–
opment- and this. after all. is our
purpose for being here. Without
daily problems a nd challenges to
face openly and honestly. life would
indeed be boring and purposele s.
Each individual family and each
mothcr wi ll havc to come up with
their own particular stra tcgy for
coping with the possibility or the
reality of burnout in their lives. o t
all of the abovc suggestions will
work for everybody; nobody's situ–
ation is exactly the same. But given
enough creativc thought. !ove and
support , the problem of the burned–
out mother can be resolved.
O
RECOMMENDED READING
Parent Eftectiveness Training.
Dr.
Thomas Gordon (New York: Peter H.
Wyden)
What Wives Wish Their Husbands
Knew About Women.
Dr. James Dob–
son (Wheaton, lllinois: Tyndale House
Publishers, lnc.)
Realily Therapy,
Dr William Glasser
(New York: Harper and Row)
The Plain Truth About Child Rearing
(booklet free upon request-see ad–
dresses on inside front cover for our
office nearest you)
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