Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.issues From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: issues Thu, Jun 25 1992 Date: Thu, 25 Jun 92 05:35:29 EDT Message-ID: 06-25 0000 DECISIONLINE: Issues & Debate USA TODAY Update June 25, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network Here are some of the issues and topics being debated across the nation Thursday morning in USA TODAY: Prayer; Smoking; Africa. TODAY'S DEBATE - PRAYER IN SCHOOL: USA TODAY'S OPINION: This year's crop of graduating public high school seniors will be the last to hear a prayer at their commencement. At least one planned for the ceremony. A divided Supreme Court Wednesday ruled such ceremonial prayers amounted to government peddling religion, and that's unconstitutional. ... The new ruling strikes down a tradition that many like. A recent poll found 78% of Pennsylvanians, for example, objected to a proposed state ban on prayers at graduation. And Justice Antonin Scalia, in his dissent, argued such expressions were an "important unifying mechanism" in society. But just as a landmark ruling that 30 years ago made officially sponsored prayers in classrooms unconstitutional, this week's ruling recognizes that government prayers have the power to divide people into haves and have nots. ... Religious beliefs run deep, and when governments - especially schools - meddle in them, some people are sure to feel government is taking sides against them, either by diminishing their religion or upholding a view they don't share. And where government is to be the servant of all people, equally, that should never be. OTHER VIEW: Rebecca Hagelin, a Vienna, Va., writer and a senior editor of New Dimensions magazine: How ironic. For the first time in many years, former Soviet citizens can now pray in public freely, but American graduates can't. ... Who is behind the anti-God movement anyway? Some deposed dictator or communist leader? ... The American Civil Liberties Union, whose agenda is to expunge any mention of the G-word from American history and American life. God is not politically correct, in the ACLU view, and anyone who publicly calls upon him must be silenced. So much for tolerance. ... To ban the utterance of God from any forum is to deny a basic freedom and a valued practice. Congress opens every day with prayer. Our currency boldly proclaims, "In God we trust." And proud Americans everywhere pledge allegiance to a flag that represents "one nation under God." Is all of this now in jeopardy, too? Public acknowledgement of God's existence is part of our culture and our heritage, and no one ever has been or should be required to participate. VOICES ACROSS THE NATION ON SUING TOBACCO COMPANIES: NORMAL, Ill., Carol Leisch, 49, special education teacher: I disagree with the court's decision. Smokers don't have the right to sue. They have been warned through various media and educational programs that smoking is detrimental to their health. TOPEAK, Kan., Jean Crouch, 72, homemaker: People should be able to sue, but they have been informed of the dangers of nicotine. They should take the responsibility. I agree tobacco companies haven't accepted their responsibility, though. The warnings are not strong enough. HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va., Robert H. Jones, 57, college administrator: They should be able to sue. The dangers of tobacco smoking have been made very, very clear, and the public should have recourse. I am a former smoker who quit long ago. The companies know what they are doing, and they continue. That makes them liable. PORTLAND, Ore., Donald Dixon, 35, coach, counselor: I have mixed feelings. I see the pros and cons of both. We live in a capitalistic society where a whole lot of morals are overlooked because of economics. On the other hand, if the person is an adult, he should take responsibility. There are no easy answers. CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Hubert A. Nieuwendijk, 23, management trainee: They shouldn't be able to sue because everyone knows the unhealthy effects of smoking. If you do it, you might as well take responsibility for it. I'm from Europe. In Europe they don't sue all the time. It was weird in the beginning to see warnings on the packages. TOPIC - SOUTH AFRICA: Independent Development Trust Chairman Jan H. Steyn and Wiseman Nkuhlu, principal of the University of Transkei, were interviewed by USA TODAY International's Gary H. Rawlins. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM OF BLACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA? NKUHLU: Fundamentally, the real problem is poverty. It's estimated that over 50% of blacks are unemployed. DO YOU CONSIDER WHERE BLACKS LIVE AND WHERE JOBS ARE? STEYN: One of the tasks we face is to work toward the reintegration of our cities to bring people closer to jobs and to give them access to housing. I don't think you can look at urban and rural in isolation. WHY HASN'T THE NATIONAL PARTY BEEN ABLE TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS? STEYN: The government had an economically indefensible decentralization policy, which artificially created jobs. Because the underlying motivation was separate development and not economic rationality, it was bound to fail. Issues & Debate Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM