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WCU - Western Carolina University Publications

Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Item 1 - Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24
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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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Western Carolinian Volume 39 Number 24

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  • Page 2 THE WESTERN CAROLINIAN Thursday November 15, 1973 What can just one private citizen do? Ralph Nader urges you to become a Public Citizen l I ! ! ! ! ! Dear Fellow Citizen: Imagine that 25 or 30 years ago citizens concerned about the future quality of life in America had gotten together to do something about it. Suppose they had begun an effective citizen's campaign to make government agencies and industry management sensitive and responsive to the needs of the people. The real needs, of all the people. Think how much that was already wrong would have been corrected by now. Think how much that has gone wrong since then would never have been allowed to happen. If the public had acted years ago, we would long ago have eliminated or minimized the inexcusable pockets of poverty in our land of plenty; the vile and Violent contaminants that pollute our air and water; the ravaging of our land by insensitive corporate and government forces; the sickening, often lethal, chemicals, gases and dust in many of our factories, foundries and mines; the unrestrained power and expenditures of our military establishment; the inequities in taxation that takes 20% of workers' wages while many with enormous incomes pay little or nothing. Our people would not be disenchanted and disillusioned. And the prevailing mood in America would not have turned from confidence and pride and hope to growing feelings of frustration and outrage and hopelessness. What if we don't act now? In another 30 years our population will have doubled. What if our rampant economic "growth" is allowed to continue indiscriminately—mindless of the public's hopes and indifferent to their problems? What if we continue to do nothing because we assume that others are taking care of these problems? Who is taking care of them? It is clear that our institutions, public and private, are not really performing their regulatory functions. They tend not to control power democratically, but to concentrate it and to serve special interest groups at the expense of voiceless citizens. Almost all the organized legal representation in our country is working to protect private interests and private wealth. Who represents the citizen? Only ourselves. And that is why I urge you, as a public citizen — a citizen concerned about your community and your country—to support Public Citizen. If we do not speak up in the public interest now, if we allow the problems to multiply, life in America could be intolerable. Perhaps impossible. Citizen Advocates-Citizen Supporters A Cause for Optimism We have seen how a few determined citizens can overcome overwhelming odds to better their communities. What has been accomplished so far is not the work of one person but of more than 30 young men and women—lawyers, other professionals and students. If more valiant and dedicated people were able to work on a broader scale, think how much more could be accomplished. Thousands of graduates of law, medical, science and engineering schools and other disciplines want to work long hours, at minimal wages in the public interest. They know that our society cannot solve its problems if all our most highly trained professionals work for private industry or government agencies. If these selfless young people are willing to sacrifice conventional rewards to pioneer the future, other public spirited citizens will surely want to make it possible for them to do so. Through Public Citizen, we ask concerned students to contribute $5.00 (non- students are sending $15.00 or more) to support a lean, hard-working group of these citizen-advocates. Through published studies and documentation, they will help to sharpen public awareness of our problems. Public awareness leads to public action. Historically, the idealism and energy of students has been a potent force for change. We hope to provide a dynamic vehicle and clear goals for those hopeful qualities by organizing student supported public interest groups throughout the country to work for lasting change through an orderly, democratic system. They will represent disadvantaged minority groups, before the various legal agencies of state and federal governments. They will seek to temper the actions of large corporations that have acquired power far out of proportion to their contributions to society. In some important way, every major company touches on the lives of thousands of people—employees, consumers, retailers, taxpayers and whole communities. Shouldn't these people have a voice about policies that directly and adversely affect them? Must not a just legal system accord victims the ability to deter forces that tend to victimize them? A way must be found to make a real impact on corporate boardrooms—and on government agencies that often serve as protectors, even service arms, of the industries they are supposed to regulate. Bureaucrats cannot easily resist the overwhelming pressures of special interest lobbies in Washington and state capitals. But there can be a greater countervailing pressure—the determination of citizens lobbying for the public interest. Once a year, as a Public Citizen supporter, you will receive a report on significant new citizen involvements that have been effective in achieving reform or relief at the local, state, or national level. Hopefully, you will apply them in the areas of your own commitment to action. Citizenship skills must be continually sharpened and used if we are to succeed in preventing or diminishing injustice. Potentially, there are 200 million of us unable to work full-time for the public interest but with a full-time anxiety about it. Think how much can be accomplished if enough private citizens become public citizens. Please mail the coupon and your check for $5 or more to help Public Citizen continue and expand the work that is already under way. Let it not be said by a future, forlorn generation that we wasted and lost our great potential because our despair was so deep we didn't even try, or because each of us thought someone else was worrying about our problems. Sincerely, Public Citizen, Inc. P.O. Box 19404, Washington, D.C. 20036 I am a Public Citizen. Enclosed is my □ Student contribution of $5.00. 3 Non-student contribution of $15.00. 3 Additional contribution of $. Please don't waste any of it sending me a thank-you letter, a membership card or literature. I know what's wrong. What I want is to see something done about it. Name Address. City State Zip- Please make check payable to: Public Citizen, Inc. j [)° L J
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Western Carolina University Publications

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University’s student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolin...

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