ustxtxb_obs_1967_11_10_50_00009-00000_000.pdf

but the ideology of their new way of life spread all over the Western World. THIS SEEMS TO be a most unfortunate time in our history for our nation to embark on a world crusade in support of an ideology. Fifty years ago, our country was reasonably united under the dogmas of Christianity and the teaching of Jesus Christ. Today, leading theologians of most protestant denominations are questioning the doctrine of the virgin birth, the concept of original sin and even asserting that God is dead. The Catholic Church, which hadn’t changed in a thousand years, is faced with demands for change in the rule of celibacy and its prohibitions against birth control by artificial means. Pope Paul VI, in his fifth encyclical, issued March 26, 1967, called for a general re-distribution of wealth on a world basis and announced that rights of private property are not absolute. The Pope said, We must repeat once more that the superfluous wealth of rich countries should be placed at the service of poor nations . . . Private property does not constitute for anyone an absolute and unconditioned right. . . . it is unfortunate that on these new conditions of society a system has been constructed which considers profit as the key motive for economics, and private ownership of the means of production as an absolute right that has no limits and carries no corresponding social obligation . . . a type of capitalism has been the source of excessive suffering, injustices and fratricidal conflicts whose effects still persist. Could it be that our leaders have become self-righteous moralists in adopting intervention in violation of the territorial rights of other nations as an instrument of U. S. foreign policy because they believe with Archbishop Lucey, “You cannot have peace in the world without force because there are evil men in the world”? the reason our government is propping up with American arms and money every corrupt, decadent and dictatorial Catholic regime in South and Central America? One might speculate on what “excuses” Secretary Rusk will give for intervention when some friendly nation like Chile adopts communism by a majority vote in a democratic election, without the help of Castro’s revolutionaries? Rather than launch our nation in a world wide crusade in defense of an ideology on which we are not united, I would think that the best way to overcome communism is not with bullets, but with a better idea. The only way communism can ever prevail, except with our help, is by providing a better society than our own. Russia is the best example of its sucecss. Yet, if it were not for the Iron Curtain, Russians and citizens of its satellite countries would defect by the millions to America, Canada, Australia or any noncommunist country that would have them. The drabness, lack of incentive, and fear of a dictatorial regime will drive away the majority of the bright and am bitious people from any communist country. The western democratic nations have the same problem of survival as the corn An Interim Report On the Observer This issue containing 24 pages is the fourth Observer this year larger than the customary 16 pages \(not counting the 32-page June issue, Our ability to deliver these occasional larger issues is due primarily to the gratifying response to the “each one get one” subscription drive of last November; to those who continue to renew, when they are able, at patron rates; to the loyalty of our regular subscribers who display a gratifying tendency to retain the Observer habit; and, of course, to our faithful advertisers. Circulation is up by more than 1,000 copies, compared to a year ago last summer. We have at last broken through the 6,000 barrier that once was the usual circulation figure for this journal for a number of years. Nonetheless, projecting through the end of this year, it now appears that our expenses for 1967 will exceed income by $1,700. This would be a significant improvement over preceding years, as the average loss from 1963 through 1966 has been $2,600 annually. Next year we have hopes of doing even better, perhaps getting into the black for the first time evera remarkable prospect, considering that we are so largely subscriber-supported. We must, however, before too much longer, halt this “slow leak,” lest we eventually exhaust the Obs e nje r’s capital. We give this interim report now to encourage all who are able to consider what might be done to close the gap in these final two months of 1967. We hope you have noticed the status of our library subscriptions \( see page to make their purchases through the will contain a special return envelope for Christmas gift subscriptions, but for those who wish to begin preparing their lists now the special holiday rates will be the same as last year: $6 for the first gift, $5 for the second, $4 for the third, and $3 for each additional gift. G.O. munists. We have to demonstrate to the world that we have a better government and society before it will be copied by the newly emerging nations of the world as well as by the nations beset by revolution. We have to have a strong government spiritually as well as economically. This cannot be accomplished by invading other countries to stop civil wars or so-called wars of liberation. Intervention cannot be justified on the basis that Christian love makes it right, without launching our nation in an endless series of holy wars. Such a course would necessitate the maintenance of foreign legions comparable to but far larger than those of the Romans, and the enormous expenditures that would be involved would, in the end, bring on the economic collapse of our government. This could all come to pass without World War III or an atomic holocaust. The communist nations would then present to the world what appears to be a better system. It so happens that at this stage in history, if the United States collapses internally and has to give up its role as world leader, it will be the beginning of the end of the capitalist system. I WOULD HAVE our troops in Vietnam stop the war unilaterally, repair to bastions like Cam Ranh Bay that we have built at such enormous expense, and wait for a more propitious time for total evacuation. We owe it to the Vietnamese, both North and South, whose country we have despoiled and weakened, to stand by in force for a limited time in the event they are invaded by China and need and ask for our help. Also, we should keep the Seventh Fleet, or as much of it as we might need, standing by for such an eventuality. After a waiting period, we could complete our evacuation, when, for instance, the British give up Hong Kong. What kind of government the Vietnamese establish for themselves in the meantime is their own business. It is now obvious that Japan and India do not want to join in a war against communism in the East. A land war on the mainland of Asia has long been warned against by our military strategists. It is unwise, in my opinion, for our country to continue its escalation of the war in Vietnam. Even if we crush North Vietnam and decimate the Viet Cong, which we are capable of doing, and China and Russia do not enter the war on the other side, the “war to come,” that is, pacification and building a western society, will be much more difficult and costly. The Colonial Era is over and we will not profit as a nation, in my opinion, by our armies planting the Cross in South Vietnam. F.D. November 10, 1967 9