Watching the World
Night Driving Dangerous
◆ Fifty-three percent of all highway fatalities last year in the United States happened at night. Statisticians say that, in view of the reduced flow of traffic at night, this means that the fatality rate is nearly three times as great as the day rate. If you must drive at night, then drive carefully.
Equal Rights for Women
◆ On August 10 the United States House of Representatives agreed on a constitutional change that would guarantee equal rights for women. Key words of the proposed constitutional amendment are: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Once congressional action is completed, the amendment would have to be ratified by three fourths of the States, or 38 States, before it becomes the law of the land. Representative Martha W. Griffiths of Michigan said the amendment could invalidate as many as 1,000 State laws that she believes discriminate against women.
‘The Major Business’
◆ Nobel Prize winner Dr. George Wald said that the huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons make college students feel unsure about the future and wonder whether they have a future at all. Eighteen months ago, he said, the United States and Russia had a combined nuclear arsenal that contained the equivalent of 15 tons of T.N.T. for every man, woman and child on earth. By 1975, nuclear stockpiles will be five times what they are now, he asserted. Wald, a professor in the Harvard University Biological Laboratories, said: ‘The major business in the United States is producing destructive goods—while the production of civilian goods is going down the drain.’
High Cost of Inflation
◆ The United States Savings and Loan League stated that if inflation runs at 6 percent, compounded annually, for the next 30 years, ‘a person earning $10,000 in 1970 will need $57,000 for the same standard of living. Today’s $30 bag of groceries would cost nearly $115. A TV set now selling for $500 would bring nearly $2,000. An auto with a current price tag of $3,000 would go for over $17,000. A home now selling for $25,000 would jump to more than $147,000.’
‘Do Something Soon or Perish’
◆ A rising population, increasing pollution and “a multiplied capacity of destruction” are problems that must be solved soon or humanity will perish, said Secretary-General U Thant of the United Nations on August 23. Science and technology, he said, have “multiplied man’s capacity for destruction.” He also declared that “the degradation of our environment is now so serious that unless immediate measures are taken, the very capacity of the planet itself to sustain human life will be in doubt.” Why has not the United Nations solved these problems? Because, said U Thant, the United Nations was in a “crisis of authority” crippled by “outmoded and unworkable concepts of national sovereignty.” The solution lies, not with man, but with God, and that solution is clearly set out in the Bible.
Young Girls Having Abortions
◆ It is reported that during the first nine months of Britain’s Abortion Act, 543 girls under the age of 16 had abortions. Three girls aged 11, six aged 12, 21 aged 13 and 150 aged 14 had abortions during that period. The figures, published by the Registrar-General, show that women between 19 and 24 had the highest number of abortions of any age-group, with each age in that range accounting for more than 1,000 abortions during the nine-month period. The next-highest age was 18, with 945 abortions. About half of all women who had abortions were single.
Convent Recruits
◆ The flow out of Roman Catholic institutions has forced the Catholic church to engage in what a high-ranking Vatican official recently called “a slave trade.” The Sunday Times of London reportedly said that more than 1,500 girls from Kerala, India, had been recruited for European convents at an average cost to the convents of some $700 each. These peasant girls from India were brought in by the Vatican to understaffed convents in Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany. Charges have been made that the girls were maltreated. The Vatican said that such reports were exaggerated, but suspended the practice after widespread adverse publicity.
Parishioners Complain
◆ Growing numbers of parishioners complain that the churches have failed the people. A businesswoman in Atlanta said her new pastor “ignored the human element and preached a vague, watered-down brand of Cristianity . . . and said absolutely nothing.” An executive stated: “My church has lost a lot in terms of direct religion. It has become a business. There is something in every service about money.” And still another church member declared: “There is a clique in my church. If you are a member of the clique, you are ‘in’ with the pastor. If you aren’t, he doesn’t know you exist.” Is this what you find in your church? Why not turn to the Bible for help? With one of Jehovah’s witnesses to assist you, you will in your Bible studies find the love, peace and satisfaction obviously lost by attending churches.
Dumping Nerve Gas
◆ The World War II ship LeBaron Russell Briggs and her cargo of 12,540 rockets of GB nerve gas and a single container of more toxic VX gas were on August 18 deliberately sunk in 16,000 feet of water east of the Florida coast. Chemical experts said most of the gas would eventually leak as the concrete and steel coffins eroded and were subjected to the extreme pressure in the ocean depths. It is said that the gas will be neutralized when mixed with sea water and will be rendered harmless within ten hours. It is argued that little damage will result to sea life. “Experts” have been proved wrong before, however.
30,000 Miles of Highway
◆ When the United States Interstate Highway System is completed it is reported that it will be thirty times the length of the Great Wall of China. Almost 30,000 miles of the system have already been completed. The highway system was estimated initially to cost $27,600,000,000, but by the time it is completed, it is expected that the final bill will be well over $60,000,000,000.