Stilwell, James W.

English

Digital Commons @ Butler University

JV]ANUSCRI.PTSgive1l power of concern for those around me did more toward helpingme to adjust to my new world than all the medicine awl therapythat I was soon to receive.When the doctors decided that 1 was ready for it, I was put intoa rigid and somewhat torturing therapy program. For two verypainful hours each day, I was at the mercy of a therapist, who inmy mind was the image 0 f Luci fer himsel f. It seemed paradoxicalthat the pain inflicted upon me was for any real good; however, with-out this rigorous period of exercise, I probably never would haveacl;ieved a sitting position, much less a standing one. So 111yrchabili-tation became a challenge, and I went into the battle with the willto fight and win.The war is still being waged. ~o odds are being placed on whowill win, but I am still fighting and still gaining ground. The ultimateoutcome can never be predicted. My own battle, though, bas notovershadowed my concern for others who are handicapped. I reap mygreatest reward from helping others, and I believe that thus I alsohelp myself.One is not afflicted with a disease such as this or any other diseasewithout the power made available to see it thrul1gh to its richest ends.I can speak as an authority when I say that a disease such as polio,shocking as it may be to the patient, can show one life as it reallyis, full of promise and rich reward. I feel that Illy experience haschanged l11y life for the better in that it has given me a kind, moremature outlook on the world. Tn this and other ways, it makes up forwhat it took from me.It's Ours. Let's Use It!James W. StilwellFIlR W II .'\T reasons do individuals o f this decade pick one news-paper over another? lVlany of today's consumer purchases are_ made with only the thought of cost ill mind. As the variationo t newspaper prices is it relati vely small one, cost is not likely to beinvolved. Is it that we are all aware of the important effect 01\rreading material has on the shaping 0 f our thought channels, and thatwe realize how every paragraph we read leaves its mark 011 thecourse of om lives? If these were the thoughts of every person whenhe selects his newspaper, there would he no problem in getting thefacts 0 f the news to everyone. The public would shy away Irom thosetabloids which emphasize sensational and opinionated copy, and intime, out of necessity, all newspapers would print the detached newsstories. Sadly enough, the number of persons who analyze the truenews value of their paper is not sufficient to outweigh the mass ofcitizens who do not.In the case of Richard Rath, the choice is a matter of habit. Yearsago, for a reason which now evades him, he subscribed to the Herald.He has received prompt, courteous service from the carrier, and34 MANUSCRIPTSwouldn't think of changing for the world. Mrs. Cartier, who is verysocial-minded, considers only the society page. If proper coverage isgiven to the clubs with which she is affiliated, she is perfectly satis-fied. Bill Kaveney's paper has a three-page sports section, and it isbeyond him why anyone would take the other evening paper, whichbarely fills one page with the day's athletic events. The Coolidgesdon't especially like the Tribune, but grandma enjoys the crosswordpuzzle, and working it keeps her from turning the volume all the wayup on the T.V.To this cross-section of humanity, the local, national, and inter-national happenings are secondary. The bombs dropping on Quemoyare so far away that they hardly seem worth worrying about. What ishappening in Little Rock is a shame, but they brought it on them-selves, you know. Every time Bill Kaveney sees something about thehighway scandal it makes him mad, but what can he, an insurancesalesman, do about it?With the Raths, Coolidges, and millions of other similar familiesminimizing the value of the front-page stories, it would seem thatthe manner in which these articles are written is unimportant, andthat the impressions given to the readers are so sliJSht as no~ to haveany effect on their opinions. This is not true. As Mrs. C;artter scansthrough the stories on the front page, her mind is ahsorbing not onlywhat happened, but also what the writer thinks happened, anc! sorn~-times even what he thinks should be done about it. Unless an Issue mthe paper is completely in reverse of what Richard Ratl: already be-li~ves, he will take the reporter's ideas for his own, and If questionedwill pass them on as being original. .The task of newspaper reform is clearly not the Job of anyonehundred men. Until we all revolt, as one unit, anel let these monarchsof the press know that we want only the facts, we will be subjectedto the en~~tionally worded pleas, to the unusual and grotesque .. !heopportunities to use our own minds in forming our own OPI11I011Swill be lost in someone else's words.The RaceHoward G. HendersonWHILE living in California several years ago, I had what I lo~kback on now ,~s<l. very hur:10rous expe~·ience. I must admit,however, that It did not strike me as being very funny at thetime. My parents had gone to California because my father had anillness which doctors felt would be helped by the warm and genera.llydependable climate. I started to school at University High, whichwas close to, and affiliated with U.e.L.A. One of the people I metwhile at "Uni" was a boy named Eric Howard. He was a rather oclelperson, but his personality was greatly enhanced by the fact that heowned a sportscar, the now classic lVI.G., series T.e.Eric had reason to be strange, a fact which I learned within my

It\u27s Ours. Let\u27s Use It!

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It\u27s Ours. Let\u27s Use It!

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