September 8

Page Two

Work should give a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Yet the number of people who are dissatisfied with their work seems to be on the increase. What can be done to make the work one has more satisfying? The following articles will provide interesting material on these questions

Do You Enjoy Your Work? 3

Can You Make Your Work More Pleasant? 5

Prolong Your Life Through Work! 8

Do You Enjoy Your Work?

The number of people dissatisfied with their work seems to be growing. Are you one of them? Can your work be made more pleasurable? If so, how would this benefit you?

SOME call their work a dream. Others would sooner call it a nightmare. Apparently, the number of people belonging to the second group is not small.

A recent study, prepared for the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, says that “significant numbers of American workers are dissatisfied with the quality of their working lives.” They include “workers at all occupational levels.”

Among West Germans, long known for their industriousness, work has now been pushed out of its perennial number one spot. It has been relegated to fourth place​—behind family, leisure and friendship, in that order.

A drop in work satisfaction exists in many parts of the world, and various things have contributed to this trend. Can anything be done to counteract it? We shall see. But first, an important definition.

What Is Work?

“Work” is often thought of as “paid employment.” This definition, however, seriously limits what we are talking about. For example, it would mean that a woman who cares for her home and children is not working, whereas if she accepted payment to care for someone else’s home and children, she would be working.

A better definition of “work” might be the one used by the above-mentioned U.S. study. According to it, “work” is “an activity that produces something of value for other people.”

How Important Is Work Satisfaction?

“If the opportunity to work is absent,” this study continues, “or if the nature of work is dissatisfying (or worse), severe repercussions are likely to be experienced in other parts of the social system.” These repercussions can include a decline in physical and mental health or a breakdown in family relationships. Some dissatisfied workers become apathetic, others even antisocial in their behavior. Such factors can lead to excessive drinking, drug abuse, aggressiveness and crime.

Obviously, then, we have much to gain by trying to counteract work dissatisfaction, at least in our own lives. The late Albert Camus, French writer who won the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature, once said: “Without work all life goes rotten. But when work is soulless, life stifles and dies.”

Who wants his life to stifle and die? So is it possible to put life into our work so as to make it more interesting and rewarding? Just how satisfying is your work? To check yourself, consider the questions in the box below.

[Box on page 4]

Is Your Work a Pleasure?

YES NO

□ □ Do you feel well trained for your work?

□ □ Would you consider your job performance above average?

□ □ Are the surroundings in which you work pleasant?

□ □ Do you see other people benefiting from your work?

The more questions you have answered with “YES,” the more satisfying your work is. The more “NO” answers you have given, the less satisfying it is. What can be done to change some of those “NO” answer to “YES”?

Can You Make Your Work More Pleasant?

“AT TIMES the stress is almost unbearable. Without an occasional shot of booze, I’d never make it,” said one worker. “The poor working conditions and old equipment are a constant source of irritation,” said another. Others say:

“I’ve had my fill of working with chronic complainers, some of whom are filthy-minded and filthy-mouthed to boot.”

“I’m just a housewife. It’s so dull. I feel so unfulfilled.”

“Racial discrimination is the main problem. Opportunities for promotion are few, and in slack periods we are the first ones to be let go.”

Do some of these complaints from discontented workers sound familiar? An individual’s ability to change these reasons for work dissatisfaction often is frustratingly limited. But one change is always possible​—a change in personal attitude.

The Importance of Attitude

It is unwise to pigeonhole types of work into superior and inferior, noble and ignoble, or prestigious and nonprestigious. Unless it is morally objectionable, all work is equally honorable and noble. In actual fact, however, most people do not view work in that way. Why?

Types of work are often judged as to relative importance on a monetary scale. But is the entertainer’s work, perhaps earning him well into six figures, really that much more important than the garbage collector’s work, which makes a direct contribution to public health? Is the loving care of a mother, who works for “nothing,” less important than the paid care provided for her child by a teacher at school? The U.S. study on Work in America concludes that no one is “worth a hundred times more than another merely because he is paid a hundred times as much.”

It is also unwise to judge work satisfaction on the basis of the prestige a certain type of work may seem to offer. What is important is accomplishment. To illustrate: An architect who has lost his knack for designing has less immediate reason for satisfaction, despite possible prestige, than does the janitor who succeeds in keeping his building spotless. Work should be seen within the framework of what it accomplishes for others, not just in the light of what it does for us in the way of salary or prestige. Learning to recognize this will increase our work contentment in harmony with the Bible principle that “there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.”​—Acts 20:35.

How to Increase Work Enjoyment

Strive for quality. Good work habits include setting goals of performance and then striving to reach them. But a word of caution: Goals should be practical and attainable. Otherwise, failure to achieve them will lead to discouragement and greater dissatisfaction. Be determined to give your best, but do not expect perfection.

Young people can lay a foundation for doing high-quality work by getting a good education. This does not mean going to college. Rather, mastering the arts of reading, studying and learning will enable them to develop new skills later in life and to improve upon the ones they have already acquired. Remember, the better our work, the greater the benefits for ourselves and others. So keep up to date with new developments in your field of work and adopt them if possible and when feasible.

Be conscientious. Work done well and completed on time promotes the satisfying feeling of accomplishment and is reason for unpretentious pride. It is also a blessing to others. On the other hand, work done in a negligent way can cost us our self-esteem, while costing others frayed nerves or possibly worse. For example, think of the potential damage that mechanics, doctors or nurses can do if they are negligent at their work!

Avoid getting into a rut. With time, everyone develops a certain pattern of doing things. To prevent this from deteriorating into a dull routine, some have found it helpful to change their work pattern from time to time. Perhaps the order in which certain tasks are performed can be changed. After all, there is no law that says Monday must be wash day, is there? Or must certain factory chores always be done in the same order?

Of course, not everyone can make big changes in his work pattern. But many an office worker has found that simply moving his desk to a new position has given him a new start and has added freshness to his work. Have those housewives with the reputation of being constant furniture movers discovered the same thing?

Keep physically fit. This is a must if you are to enjoy your work. Get enough sleep at night. Spend your weekends in such a way that you will not end up doing substandard work on a Blue Monday. That always-tired feeling can turn you into a clock-watcher or an I-can’t-wait-until-the-weekend worker. Why, then you may feel like nothing more than an inmate serving time in a prison!

Contribute to a cheerful atmosphere. Keep your own working space, as well as the lavatories and washrooms, as clean and neat as possible. You might be permitted to cheer things up with a potted plant or a tasteful picture. By trying to improve the environment, your example may catch on and give management the necessary push to make other desirable changes.

Be pleasant and friendly. Doubtless you would not want to join your workmates in questionable practices, but you can still follow the Scriptural counsel: “If possible, as far as it depends upon you, be peaceable with all men.” (Romans 12:18) Do not allow differences of opinion or personality clashes to disrupt the work flow. Avoid confrontations. Above all, do not allow the discontentment of others to rub off on you. Keep a positive spirit. Why should you be miserable just because others may be?

Keep the mind alert. So-called dull jobs are generally those that require little or no mental effort. If your work is in this category, then it may be a real challenge to keep your mind active. Try meditating on previously learned material. Of course, this is no encouragement to daydream on the job or to create hazards by thinking about other things while doing work that requires concentration. But for work that does not fully occupy the mind, keep it alert by giving it something to do.

Persevere! Do not allow problems that may arise at work to rob you of your contentment. Either solve them or learn to live with them. Apply the Scriptural principle: “Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good.”​—Romans 12:21.

Be balanced. Hard work is a good thing. But too much of a good thing does not automatically make it better. Persons to whom work is everything (more important than friends or family) are called workaholics. They lack balance. Although their extremely heavy work schedule may make them happy, it seldom makes those who must work or live with them happy.

A workaholic should not be deceived into thinking he is being driven by sheer love for work. The underlying cause may very well be a feeling of insecurity or a spirit of ambition, even greed. It may be a vain “striving after the wind” that can lead to serious personal problems and even to an early grave. The Bible’s counsel is to “do hard work,” but workaholics ignore its statement that “better is a handful of rest than a double handful of hard work and striving after the wind.” Work can only be enjoyed to the full when it is kept in proper balance with other activities.​—Ecclesiastes 4:6; Ephesians 4:28.

By doing some of the things just mentioned, you may make your work more pleasant. But, besides that, did you know that work can prolong your life?

[Picture on page 5]

For work satisfaction, accomplishment is important

[Picture on page 6]

Conscientious work brings happiness

[Picture on page 7]

A cheerful atmosphere can make work pleasant

Prolong Your Life Through Work!

WORK, especially when it is a pleasure, can prolong life. This has scientific backing. For example, one 15-year study of aging found work satisfaction to be the strongest predictor of longevity. In second place was happiness.

Some years ago, anthropologist Sula Benet made a study of the Abkhasian people of the Soviet Union. The study revealed that, compared to other Soviet citizens, 25 times as many Abkhasians lived to be 90 or older. How did she explain her findings? She wrote: “Both the Soviet medical profession and the Abkhasians agree that their work habits have a great deal to do with their longevity.”

People who continue working throughout life have a better chance of living longer. In the long run, those of retirement age who devote much time to travel and hobbies do not find them totally satisfying. Why? Because these activities are not work that produces “something of value for other people.” Only by doing things for others​—to the extent that health and circumstances permit—​can our satisfaction be maintained.

The ability of work to prolong life, of course, is limited. Sooner or later, regardless of how satisfying our work may have been, death eventually comes. But there is another kind of work, the doing of which holds the promise of prolonging life eternally! Is that really possible? What kind of work could it be?

The Most Pleasant and Rewarding Work

God’s Word, the Bible, says at 1 John 2:17: “The world is passing away . . ., but he that does the will of God remains forever.” Yes, it is the doing of God’s will that can prolong life into all eternity. Today this doing of his will would include following the apostle Paul’s counsel to Timothy: “Make the preaching of the Good News your life’s work, in thoroughgoing service.”​—2 Timothy 4:5, The Jerusalem Bible (Catholic).

Today a very significant part of the “Good News” is this: God’s Kingdom, for which Christians have long prayed, has now been established in the heavens. It is presently gathering subjects together here on earth and is preparing them to survive the end of Satan’s wicked system of things.​—Matthew 6:10; Daniel 2:44.

Could there be anything more pleasant and rewarding than spending time telling others about this marvelous hope? Many thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses would answer, No. That is why they endeavor to make it their “life’s work,” the most important activity in their life.

They have benefited greatly by doing this. First of all, the joy and gratification that it brings help to counterbalance the unpleasant features of other kinds of work they must do. This helps the Witnesses to maintain a happy spirit regardless of their secular working conditions.

The good news also holds promise of life in God’s new system, where all work will be a pleasure. They hope to participate in a fulfillment of these prophetic words: “They will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be; and the work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full. They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bring to birth for disturbance; because they are the offspring made up of the chosen ones of Jehovah, and their descendants with them.”​—Isaiah 65:21-23.

Are you worried about man’s polluting of the environment? Then you would undoubtedly enjoy helping transform the earth into a global Paradise. Are you concerned about disappearing animal species or with man’s mistreatment of animals? Then you would most likely enjoy helping to care for these lower creatures in a loving way. Are you worried about the future of today’s children? Then you would enjoy rearing children under righteous conditions.

The doing of such joyful work in Jehovah God’s new system of things could by no means be called a nightmare. And if you take positive steps now so that you can participate in that grand work, you will surely find it to be far more than just a dream.

[Picture on page 9]

In God’s new system all work will be a pleasure

New Zealand’s Little Flycatcher

By “Awake!” correspondent in New Zealand

If you have ever had the opportunity of trekking into the bushlands or mountains of New Zealand, you have certainly met New Zealand’s little flycatcher, the pied fantail. He is the small bird who cheekily followed along behind you, hoping to catch the odd insect that you stirred up. Likely you couldn’t resist his charm.

The fantail is aptly named because he cannot resist displaying his colourful fanlike tail. He emits a trilling, chirpy sound while on the move and sometimes, just to attract your attention, he will sit on a twig and call: “Cheet, cheet!” As soon as you glance up he will open his “fan” and then take off in short, acrobatic flights back and forth. Sometimes, if you will not look his way, he will daringly sidle up to within a metre of you, then dart off to start his trilling again.

He is about as large as a house sparrow. On his head and back he sports a coat of dark olive brown extending down to the tip of two of his middle tail feathers. The rest of his tail is white. He has a yellowish-buff waistcoat on his stomach, and his throat sports a white necktie, while he has a little white bar above his eye.

While usually living in the bushland, sometimes the fantail will venture into gardens, even flitting through an open window in his constant search for flies and small insects. Bird lovers can entice him into their garden by planting abelia hedge plants or similar insect-attracting shrubs. But a word of warning: This friendly little low-flying bird is easy prey for cats. Hence, if you prefer feline friends, do not try to attract the fantail.

The fantail makes a beautifully compact, cup-shaped nest out of fibres, moss and bark, lined inside with horsehair and a coating of cobwebs. He may have four or five broods in one season (usually between August and January), and the tiny chicks are hatched in 15 days. The work of nest building is carried out by both Mother and Father. At least, that is the case with the first nest of the season. Somehow, though, Dad gets tired of nest building after that and takes on feeding duties.

It is little wonder that people take pleasure in this little bird. Its beauty and delightful traits reflect great credit on its Creator, Jehovah God.

Part 1​—The First World War—​Was It the Prelude to Man’s Final Era?

This is the first of three articles to appear in successive issues.

“STRAIGHT through to Paris” boasted the handwritten slogan scrawled on the side of the railroad coach. The train sped toward the war front, groaning under its load of exuberant German soldiers. Speedy victory​—for the Kaiser and for the fatherland—​seemed inevitable! It was August 1914.

A wild euphoria seized Germany when Kaiser Wilhelm II declared from his palace balcony: “There are no more parties or confessions; I see only Germans; today all of us are brothers, nothing more. If our neighbor does not will it otherwise, if he begrudges us peace, then I hope to God that our reliable German sword may emerge from this difficult fight victoriously.” Within days, 1,200,000 German men answered this call to arms. “Peace was so dull, so very dull!” wrote one volunteer.

Few, however, foresaw the horrors of modern war. Still fewer foresaw that war would be, not a speedy contest of military prowess, but, rather, a prolonged nightmare of attrition, exhaustion and starvation. Before war’s sword was sheathed, the fields of battle would be saturated with the blood of millions. National boundaries would be altered beyond recognition. And proud nations would choke on the humiliating cup of defeat.

Statesmen and scholars would lavish their well-turned phrases upon the war, calling it ‘a turning point in history,’ ‘the war to end all wars.’ Volumes would be written about it. Debates, almost as fierce as the fighting in the trenches, would rage over who was to blame for it. And frightened men, groping for reassurance, would hungrily embrace predictions of peace. The predictions would fail, however, as world war struck again, leaving as its legacy the prospect of nuclear annihilation.

Though nearly 70 years removed from the first world war’s brutal start, we dare not forget it. National rivalries and tensions now threaten the very survival of humanity. Could it be that this first of world wars was just a rehearsal for thermonuclear disaster​—a prelude to man’s final era? Or has man learned from his mistakes? Perhaps we can gain some satisfactory answers by exploring how this war was allowed to happen.

Origins of a Global War

The seeds of the so-called Great War were sown in the 1800’s. By that era’s end, imperialist nations had so thoroughly parceled out the world, there was little left to conquer. ‘Expansion is necessary for our survival and prosperity,’ claimed the conquerors. But imperialism also bred tension. And when Germany, in 1871, consolidated its political and military power by forming the second German Reich, European tensions multiplied. Faced with a united front, Germany’s rivals felt obliged to arm themselves so as to maintain a balance of power. The bitter arms race that ensued, however, had the momentum of the industrial revolution behind it. New technologies spawned new instruments of terror that would forever change the nature of war.

The turn of the century also saw the founding of national movements for self-rule. Ethnic groups, such as the French in German-controlled Alsace-Lorraine and the Yugoslavs scattered throughout Austria-Hungary and Serbia, felt trapped by national boundaries that paid no respect to language or culture. Their restless desire for unity and political freedom was a constant source of friction between them and their governments.

Yet another factor was the increasingly popular theory of evolution. Some saw in the notion of natural selection (survival of the fittest) a way to explain political conflicts. The book Juli 1914 by German historian Imanuel Geiss shows the results of such thinking: “The idea, nourished by leading German historians, had become firmly entrenched in German minds that . . . Germany had the choice of either becoming stagnant, thus losing its position as a major European state, or becoming a world power of equal standing itself. The background [for this view] was provided in a biological socialistic Darwinism, especially virulent in Germany, that rejected a rational and peaceful world order as being impossible and utopian, and that replaced it with a struggle of each against all.” (Italics ours.) This warped ideology furthered the spirit that war was inevitable.

The Prewar Lineup

Prior to the Great War the nations unwittingly took yet another step toward war​—they scrambled to establish military alliances. The German Reich formed an alliance with Austria-Hungary in 1879, which in 1882 it extended to include Italy. It was called the Triple Alliance. But German diplomats failed to reach any such agreement with England, Russia or France. Faced with an aspiring Germany, these nations were forced to put aside their differences and pursue a common goal: maintaining their own positions of power.

England, boasting of supremacy on the seas, especially felt threatened by Germany’s rapid naval expansion. So in 1904 Britain reached an understanding with France formulated in the Entente Cordiale. Three years later it was extended, in the Triple Entente, to include Russia, which in 1894 had already allied itself with France.

Thus, without a single shot’s having been fired, the belligerents were irrevocably lined up against one another. Had these alliances not been made, war might at least have been delayed by prolonged negotiations. But as there was now little question of who supported whom, such negotiations would prove hopelessly futile. Europe’s patchwork of alliances, supposedly established to extinguish the threat of war, instead made that continent a tinderbox. And lurking in secret, ready to hasten the rush to battle, was Germany’s “foolproof” war plan. With it, victory seemed certain​—if the Germans struck first.

War’s Unexpected Trigger

On June 28, 1914, Crown Prince Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife, Sophie, were murdered while on a state visit to Sarajevo. Ferdinand, who in life played but a minor role in history, became in death the trigger of a global holocaust. His assassin? A man of Serbian blood. Austria-Hungary angrily blamed Serbia.

But why such hostility toward this tiny country? For one thing, Serbia was flush with the success of recent military and economic victories. Austria-Hungary’s leaders feared this could inspire the Yugoslavs, still under Austria-Hungary’s rule, to fight for unity with their kinsmen in Serbia. The specter of intervention by Serbia’s powerful ally Russia, too, was most threatening to Austria-Hungary.

The murder of Ferdinand by a Serbian thus gave Austria-Hungary a chance to humble Serbia under the guise of moral outrage. Of course, even the strongest advocates of war realized the need for German support if such a war was to be won. So on July 5, 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II hastily promised that “Germany in its customary bond of loyalty” would back Austria-Hungary if Russia intervened. This decision proved to have far-reaching consequences.

Though at first it seemed possible that such a war could be localized, it soon became sadly apparent that the struggle would escalate at least into a continental war. German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg realized as early as July 7 that “an action against Serbia can lead to world war.” (Italics ours.) Germany, however, was willing to take this risk.

With a “blank check” of German support in hand, Austria-Hungary gave Serbia, on July 23, a devastating ultimatum, with an almost impossible to meet 48-hour deadline. Austria-Hungary prepared for war. But to her surprise Serbia removed any real reason for war by accepting practically all the harsh demands! The nations’ leaders, however, had lost control of events. War had gained a momentum of its own. Committed to her war plans, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia anyway. Russia responded by mobilizing her troops. German military advisers pressured government leaders to act quickly​—their war plan demanded it! Inept and indecisive leaders on both sides responded by making blunder after incredible blunder.

The war’s advance thus became irresistible, as unstoppable as that train rushing German troops to the front.

Part II, in our next issue, will discuss the war’s outcome.

[Blurb on page 12]

Kaiser Wilhelm had little difficulty in stirring up support for a war destined to become the first of its kind​—a world war

[Blurb on page 13]

World War I was “a war no one wanted and a catastrophe that no one could have imagined.”​—Henry Kissinger, Years of Upheaval

[Box on page 12]

The Causes of the Great War

● Political Alliances

● Imperialism

● Industrialization

● National Movements for Self-Rule

● Socialistic Darwinism

[Map on page 13]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Central European Powers in 1914

GERMAN EMPIRE

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

ENGLAND

NORTH SEA

BALTIC SEA

RUSSIA

POLAND

RUMANIA

BLACK SEA

SERBIA

ADRIATIC SEA

ITALY

SWITZ.

FRANCE

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

LUX.

BEL.

THE NETHERLANDS

Crossword Puzzle

Clues Across

1. Forbidden by the eighth commandment (Exodus 20:15)

5. To move to action (Hebrews 10:24, 25)

8. The good news must be preached before this (Matthew 24:14)

9. Also known as an ‘older man’ (Acts 20:17, 28)

10. Sarah ‐‐‐‐‐‐ Abraham (1 Peter 3:6)

11. Used to pierce ears (Exodus 21:6)

12. Divine chastisement (Romans 2:5-9)

14. A son of Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:48)

16. He was thought to be Abel’s replacement (Genesis 4:25)

18. Always (Philippians 4:20)

19. Ruth did not want to do this to Naomi (Ruth 1:16)

22. Bird of prey (Leviticus 11:13-17)

23. Jesus set one for us to follow (John 13:15)

25. Month of the Jewish sacred calendar (Esther 9:1)

26. The collective waters of the earth (Genesis 1:10)

28. The Passover was an ‐‐‐‐‐‐ event (Exodus 13:3-10)

31. Disobedient angels are kept in this kind of darkness (Jude 6)

33. Two of David’s “mighty men” (2 Samuel 23:8, 26, 38)

35. Traveling merchants had this kind of spice in stock (Revelation 18:11-13)

36. Jezebel had a man killed to get one for Ahab (1 Kings 21:5-16)

37. High priest and judge of Israel (1 Samuel 2:11; 4:18)

38. Land given to Joseph’s family (Genesis 47:5, 6)

39. People with these tried to touch Jesus (Mark 3:10)

Clues Down

1. Jeremiah and Paul were both put in these (Jeremiah 20:2; Acts 16:19, 24)

2. Jehovah planted a garden here (Genesis 2:8)

3. King Darius did not want to be one (Daniel 6:1, 2)

4. A 20th of a shekel (Leviticus 27:25)

5. We must guard ourselves from them (1 John 5:21)

6. Paul left Titus on this island (Titus 1:5)

7. Those who keep doing this are pronounced happy (James 1:12)

12. An enemy sowed weeds among this (Matthew 13:25)

13. Jehovah’s is in the heavens (Psalm 11:4)

15. What Aaron’s rod did (Numbers 17:8)

17. Jesus was questioned here by Pilate (John 18:33-38)

20. Moses’ mother was paid to do this (Exodus 2:7-9)

21. Jesus’ disciples could not stop doing this (Acts 4:20)

24. Number of horns on the scarlet-colored wild beast (Revelation 17:3)

27. Jesus said this congregation had to wake up spiritually (Revelation 3:1-3)

29. Bath-sheba’s first husband (2 Samuel 11:3)

30. Jesus’ body was wrapped in this (Matthew 27:58-60)

31. Bath-sheba’s second husband (2 Samuel 11:26, 27)

32. Type of wall built around Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1)

34. Moses wore a veil because of these (Exodus 34:29-35)

CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS PAGE 20

Answers Across

1. STEALING

5. INCITE

8. END

9. OVERSEER

10. OBEYED

11. AWL

12. WRATH

14. SHEBER

16. SETH

18. EVER

19. ABANDON

22. OWL

23. PATTERN

25. ADAR

26. SEAS

28. ANNUAL

31. DENSE

33. IRA

35. INDIAN

36. VINEYARD

37. ELI

38. GOSHEN

39. DISEASES

Answers Down

1. STOCKS

2. EDEN

3. LOSER

4. GERAH

5. IDOLS

6. CRETE

7. ENDURING

12. WHEAT

13. THRONE

15. BUD

17. PALACE

20. NURSE

21. SPEAKING

24. TEN

27. SARDIS

29. URIAH

30. LINEN

31. DAVID

32. SIEGE

34. RAYS

Young People Ask . . .

Are Violent Video Games Really Harmful?

‘I AM surrounded by alien attackers, all shooting bombs at my plane. How can I protect my “men” from being kidnapped by these aliens?’ pondered 18-year-old Kym as she stared into a large color screen filled with pulsating images and battle sounds. ‘I know,’ thought Kym, as her blistered fingers pressed a series of buttons. ‘I’ll fire my “smart bomb.” That will blast them all to pieces! Wow! I’ve even destroyed four pods​—10,000 points just for that! I’m going to make 100,000 points this time.’

Thus went a typical day at the video-game arcade. Perhaps you’ve played or watched others play these very popular games.a You may consider them a harmless diversion after long hours of study or work. Yet some authorities have claimed that these games are addictive and mentally damaging. Kym, for example, admits that the games left her emotionally drained. Nevertheless, she felt compelled to play them, saying: “It is just you against impossible odds. Your destiny is in your own hands.”

Are They Addictive?

Of course, any game can become addictive. But violent video games are especially so. “Your mind can wander in a game like chess. But these video games, even more than pinball, demand total concentration,” explained Sherry Turkle, a sociologist with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Once you enter that world you’ve got to stay.”

Kym agrees: “The game almost hypnotizes you. You don’t hear anything. You escape from the world and all its problems. It is like being drugged. But the biggest hook is when you catch on to the game and become good at it. When you make a stupid mistake and get blown up, you know you can do better. So in goes another quarter​—and another—​and another. I’ve spent up to $40 [U.S.] each week. Lunch money, grocery money and money begged from my relatives​—all went into the machine.”

Though most players usually can enjoy a game or two and walk away, the possibilities of addiction are real. “I never thought it would happen to me,” confessed Kym. “But I got to the point where I wore the skin off several fingers because of long hours with the games. These became my whole life.”

The Christian apostle Paul wrote: “All things are lawful for me; but not all things are advantageous.” Yes, at times even legitimate pleasures can be harmful or at least not advantageous. He added: “I will not let myself be brought under authority by anything.” (1 Corinthians 6:12) He would not let “anything” make him its slave. Should you not feel the same?

‘But what if you don’t become addicted,’ some may argue. ‘After all, these are only games.’ But even in play we can learn certain lessons. So what do the games teach?

‘Violence and Instant Gratification’

This is what Kym said she learned. However, some advocates say that the violent games merely teach you to defend or protect. “Rather than blowing up at my history teacher, I can take it out on Asteroids,” argued a 16-year-old. Some adults, like 40-year-old Gary, even claim, “It’s like good training for life. You gotta learn how to dodge and learn when to shoot.”

But note in the accompanying box the themes of the most popular games. Are these really “good training” for life? Will they help you get along better with others? Or could they encourage the kind of thinking displayed by an 11-year-old girl charged with stabbing a 14-year-old boy to death in an argument? He had interrupted her while she was playing a video game.

“He that is slow to anger is better than a mighty man, and he that is controlling his spirit than the one capturing a city,” says Proverbs 16:32. Will you learn this lesson from violent video games? On the contrary, could your heart gradually begin to ‘love violence’ to your detriment?​—Psalm 11:5.

“With the game I would either get blown up or get instant gratification. But the outside world is not like that. I became very impatient,” reported Kym. This desire for quick payoffs hurt Kym’s grades for she did light preparation for schoolwork that required much more time and thought. But to become an effective adult, sustained attention to many long-term activities is needed.

“Empty Glory”

“I loved the games because I could show everybody that I could do something right,” admitted Kym. “I would especially go out and play them when I felt ‘put down’ after an argument with my mom or brother. You see, once you got on a video game it didn’t matter if you were short or tall, skinny or fat, athletically inclined or not. All that counted were fast hands and outsmarting the machine. When others said of me, ‘She’s good. She can really play!’ I felt as though I was on top of the world.”

Kym’s admission is echoed by many youths deeply involved with the games. “People with trouble in the family can find a place to go where they don’t have to deal with all that they haven’t been successful at,” stated Sherry Turkle. “A place where they are totally successful.”

But how meaningful is such praise or success? The apostle Paul commanded Christians: “Let us not become egotistical, stirring up competition with one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:26) The Greek word used for “egotistical” meant “empty glory.” It suggested the strong desire to have praise from others but for valueless, empty, reasons.

Would not the “glory” from becoming the “fastest gun in space” really be empty? Would it help you to get and keep a job? Would it enrich your personality? And when your game is wiped out, is not your ego shattered?

And just who are those that are giving you such praise? “The association is terrible,” said Kym. “Filthy language and emotional outbursts were common, and the boys were always making sexual advances toward me.” So is empty praise from such individuals really what you want? Or would you not rather have genuine commendation for a meaningful accomplishment from those worthy of your respect?​—1 Corinthians 15:33.

How Some Broke Free

Avoiding video-game parlors helped Kym. But she also got her mind active in other things. She forced herself to dig deeper into the Bible lessons she prepared for the weekly meetings at the Kingdom Hall she went to. When families in the congregation got together to play basketball or softball, she joined in and was refreshed. “It still took real effort. I recall praying to Jehovah God and begging him to help me not to go back to the violent games,” said Kym.

Kym was successful. So was Claudelle, a teenager whose addiction to the game Omega Race caused him to cut school classes. “I had my name on the game board in lights with the highest score,” said Claudelle, nicknamed Omega Man. “But then after I had put dollars and dollars into the game, I realized that all of this was just a racket to get my money​—and it worked!”

So Claudelle began spending his leisure time learning how to swim. “This was a lot more useful​—and it sure was cheaper,” continued Claudelle. “I took more interest in school and my grades improved. With the money I saved from not playing the game, I bought some nice-looking clothes. I can now concentrate easier on more serious things of life.”

Should not the “serious things of life” really be our major concern? These, which include our friendship with God and others, as well as proper work, make life genuinely satisfying. Still, to relax by playing certain games is not wrong. However, let your recreation be that which creates a refreshed and peaceful spirit that shows respect for life and love for our Creator.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 18]

Themes of the Most Popular Video Games

● “Eat others before you are eaten”

● “Destroy the alien hordes or they will smother you”

● ‘Dodge certain large rocks or blast them’

● Protect six cities by destroying any missiles with missiles of your own

● Kill a jewel-bright centipede or a spider that jumps across the screen before it lands on you

● You must shoot your way out of a “maze world littered with homicidal robots”

● You are in a giant tank on a three-dimensional battlefield and must shoot down all your enemies

Tobacco’s Growing List of Dangers

BY NOW most people know that smoking contributes to lung cancer, heart attack and many other ailments, killing hundreds of thousands of people each year.a “It is by far and away our most serious health problem,” says the director of public education for the Canadian Cancer Society. And the U.S. surgeon general calls smoking “the chief preventable cause of death in our society.”

As if all of this is not bad enough, researchers continue to uncover more and more health hazards caused by smoking. Following are some recent items in tobacco’s growing list of dangers.

● Smokers are more likely to catch the flu during an epidemic and they usually have it worse than nonsmokers, according to a study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. “The risk for all influenza (both mild and severe) increased from 47 percent in nonsmokers to 72 percent in the heavy smokers [more than one pack a day],” says the report. Smokers also lost 20.5 percent more workdays due to the flu. The report says that the difference would have been even greater were it not for the fact that the nonsmokers were often confined to the same smoke-filled rooms as the smokers. Nonsmokers, beware of danger!

● Smoking destroys the vitamin C that a person takes in from food and drink. “One cigarette destroys 25 mg. of vitamin C in the body, which means that 500 mg. are neutralized for every package of cigarettes smoked,” says Richard Lucas in his book Nature’s Medicines. And a report in the American Journal of Digestive Diseases adds that nicotine decreased the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) content of the blood by 24 to 31 percent. Thus smokers are in much greater need of this essential vitamin. “This may explain why those who smoke generally are more prone to infections than those who do not,” says Lucas.

● Smoking poses a “special risk of hearing loss” for “people who work or live in high-noise-level environments,” reports Family Health magazine. Two researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center found that the hearing of smokers who were exposed to loud noise for several minutes “took much longer to return to normal” than that of nonsmokers. But when the smokers desisted from smoking for 12 hours, their hearing recovered almost as quickly. The report in Family Health suggests that “posting ‘No Smoking’ signs and enforcing the rules” would be an effective way to reduce hearing loss in industry.

● Smoking during pregnancy damages fetal arteries, according to a Dutch researcher at Rotterdam University Hospital’s Thoraxcenter. “Severe vessel-wall changes were seen in scanning electron micrographs of umbilical arteries from infants born to women who smoked 10 or more cigarettes a day,” says a report in the magazine Medical World News. The researcher noted that “some of the cells were irregularly shaped, abnormally large, and had very rough fissured surfaces . . . In none of the non-smoking mothers’ umbilical arteries did we see such damage.” A Cornell University professor commented: “That fetal vessels are injured, I think, goes along with what we know about the low birthweights and high incidence of congenital malformations and premature separations among babies of women who smoke.”

● Even “fathers’ smoking may harm fetuses,” reports The New York Times. A study made at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital/​Case Western Reserve University shows that “when a nonsmoking pregnant woman is exposed to the cigarette smoke of other people [such as the father], the fetal blood contains significant amounts of tobacco smoke by-products.”

● What about infants whose parents smoke? “Because the brain’s barrier to drugs and the liver, which detoxifies nicotine, are less well developed in infants than in adults,” passive smoking is particularly harmful to them, reports Science News magazine. Damages could range from aversion to certain foods, due to nausea caused by tobacco smoke, to sudden infant death syndrome.

● ‘Where there is smoke, there is fire’ is really more than a figure of speech. Nearly one third of the deaths and injuries in residential fires occur in blazes started by smoldering cigarettes, far more than any other single cause, according to the New York City Fire Department. Although at least 2,300 people are killed and 5,800 are injured each year in the United States due to cigarette-related fires, this “health problem” has received little public attention, complains the director of the Burn Council in San Francisco.

With such a continuing flow of health hazards steadily coming to light, it is not surprising that many agencies are protesting the woefully inadequate warnings on cigarette packages and ads. A survey shows that less than 3 percent of the people even notice such warnings, let alone give heed to them. But powerful lobbying by the tobacco industry still has the upper hand. And millions of people around the world continue to succumb to the smoke of what has been called the “most important health issue of our time.”

[Footnotes]

Skating to Stardom​—It Was Everything to Me

AS A child I wanted to be a ballet dancer, possibly even become a star. My Jewish parents had me start learning ballet at an early age. For ten years I studied in such famous schools as Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Fokine Ballet Company and the American Ballet Theater. However, because of arch problems, my feet were not perfectly suited to ballet so I decided to try jazz dancing in Broadway shows.

While on the road with a New York-based company in the show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, I met some very interesting people from the Ice Capades skating show. They invited me to watch their rehearsals. Truly gifted skaters combined the fine lines of ballet with skating techniques, and it was so beautiful. Ice Capades agents thought they could train me to be an acrobatic pair skater since I was already a dancer. I therefore quit the Broadway show that took me so long to get into and started traveling with the skaters. It was the beginning of a challenging new career.

The Hard Road to Stardom

With much practice we combined acrobatics and ballet style with the skating flow and freedom of the ice. Success also depends largely on suitable partners, their personality, physical appearance and compatibility. It is something like a marriage, and teamwork is a must.

In the course of the years I have had several partners. Once, in a spin with a former partner, we fell and I broke my back. After the removal of a disk from my spine and a period of one year’s convalescence, I returned to the ice.

Another of my partners suddenly decided to quit while we were performing in South Africa. He had been on drugs. He was very depressed and thought he could better himself financially somewhere else. Without consideration for the company or for me, he just took off​—with all my money. It seemed as if the bottom had fallen out of my career, so I too started taking amphetamines. It was a terrible period for me. I just wanted to end my life.

Eventually I went to Germany to work for a skating school run by the U.S. Army. The pay was small, so my diet was mostly bread and cheese. After trying various partners, I found one with whom I could work well. We became an international success and stayed together for seven years.

Our reputation did not come without a great deal of hard work, rehearsals and problems. The struggle to be a star was so important to me that I wanted nothing to go wrong. If a small mistake was made during a performance, I blamed my partner, argued about it and fiercely defended myself. Each of us had to be “right.” It was a “life and death” business. Once we were fined $25 each for arguing so loudly backstage that the audience in the front rows could hear us. It became well known that more interesting scenes took place between us backstage than on the ice. Stardom was worth fighting for, I thought. Yet for some reason it did not bring me personal happiness or a sense of stability and well-being in life.

Nevertheless, the challenge I accepted was met. I became a star and performed in some of the world’s best night spots. But where was all the happiness that I was supposed to feel? I just felt terribly lonely. Old age would eventually catch up with me and, although I was financially secure, life would be pretty empty if this was all there was to living. What did I really have to look forward to? Death, like everyone else.

Why Do People Go Into Show Business?

Well, speaking for myself and from what I have seen, many artists grow up with an inferiority complex. They develop a desire to change into someone better through the world of theater. The putting on of makeup and costumes seems to help to this end. Many people are also in dire need of love, and it is a common belief that in show business one has lots of friends and admirers. Some believe that the applause of the audience satisfies their craving and that it will result in happiness. In reality this is seldom what happens.

I know there are many in show business who feel the same as I did. They succeed and get to the top. Then, realizing they are still not genuinely loved and feeling incomplete, they turn to drugs or other false pleasures. They involve themselves in constant parties and nightlife to pass away the lonely hours and insecurity. But this is a superficial happiness, just playing games with one another. Real love is seldom involved.

Could Religion Help Me?

An incident happened that weighed heavily on my mind. A young and beautiful skater I knew was tragically killed. She had been driving after a party. I knew that girl and how unhappy she was, although a star. Her death made no sense. I was obsessed with its state of nothingness.

While in Germany I reached a crisis in my life. I felt lost, despondent and so very sad. Alone in my hotel room, I burst into tears and cried for help. Though knowing little or nothing about God and not considering myself religious, I sincerely prayed, “If there is a God, please do something to help. This world seems so sick and life is so pointless.”

I did not really expect ever to receive an answer to that prayer as I never knew a God. No religion of any sort ever satisfied me, not even my own Jewish faith. I studied the Jewish Talmud and I looked into Zen Buddhism. I also read up on psychology and even dabbled in the occult and the use of the Ouija board. None of these had answers to the simple questions about the purpose of life and death and the course to happiness.

My Prayer Answered?

Arriving back home in California I contacted my girl friend, Trish, a former Las Vegas dancer, and asked if I could come and visit her for “two or three days.” After discussing how we would spend our time together, she told me she would be going to a meeting the next day.

“But,” she said, “you are very welcome to come along.”

“What sort of meeting is this?” I asked.

“Oh,” she said, “I am now one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and we have regular Bible meetings each week.”

I absolutely froze. Whatever had I got myself into? I imagined emotion-charged meetings like those of the Holy Rollers and Billy Graham, and I felt scared. Nevertheless, I agreed to go with her.

When we got to the Kingdom Hall we were welcomed, and the program soon started. I do not remember much about the subject material discussed, but gradually I began to feel at ease, not uncomfortable. There were no images, no crosses, no dark rooms. The men who spoke from the platform seemed to be ordinary, natural, intelligent humans. Everyone had a Bible, and all shared in studying it. To my surprise, there was no extreme emotionalism. It was nothing like what I had imagined!

Then something made a tremendous impact on me. There seemed to be a marvelous quality of love among these people. Husbands and wives were sitting together in genuine compassion and respect. I know phoniness when I see it. I have seen plenty of it in the theater, where I have never seen a truly happy marriage. Now, here in this hall, I remember seeing a gentleman caringly put a coat on his wife’s shoulders because she was cold. That gesture really touched me.

Children and teenagers were with their parents and were actually enjoying the meeting as if they were all on the same wavelength. Their religion was not sad and scary. I was impressed. Was this what I was searching for? Something that thrived in an atmosphere of genuine love and happiness? After we got home I asked Trish if she could find one of those little books she had spoken about. Very modestly she said she would try to “dig one up” for me.

My prayer of two weeks previous was beginning to be answered. From then on I just read continuously and researched each point, delving into science, history, archaeology and medicine. Those “two or three days” turned out to be three months. Without noticing it, happiness was creeping up on me. On awakening in the morning the worries of getting older or dying were no longer there. Instead of thinking of dying, I thought of living.

I came to realize that others in show business like me had learned the Bible truth too and had made great changes in their life. Trish was one. Then I read with great interest the moving story published in the April 22, 1977, issue of Awake! of Teresa Graves (“Christie Love”), a star in the entertainment world who had chosen between two loves. Her example was a tremendous help to me.

A Smoker’s Dessert?

It was time to go back to work, so my partner and I accepted a job at La Scala nightclub, in Barcelona, Spain. By now I had made many changes in my life and it showed. My view of morals changed. I also did not fight with my partner anymore, and a new circle of friends was being added to my life. My sick and lonely feelings occurred far less frequently.

When we arrived in Spain I contacted Jehovah’s Witnesses in Barcelona, and Eric and Hazel, British missionaries, continued my Bible study and answered my many questions. They also helped me break yet another bad habit. I was a heavy smoker.

It was not easy to give up smoking. I remember asking Eric, “What can I do to break the habit?”

“Do you have cigarettes in your room, Elyn?” he asked.

“Of course,” was my reply.

“Then don’t you think you should get rid of them? How can you give up smoking if you have packs right in your room?”

I decided the break had to be sudden and drastic. I had invited a comedian friend from the theater for supper. When it came time to serve the dessert, I took all my packs of cigarettes and dropped them into a bowl. Then, to his amazement, I poured water all over them. He was intrigued and wanted to know what kind of dessert this was going to be. Then I explained to him that because of my new belief I was giving up smoking forever. He was relieved to get that explanation!

Terrorism in the Theater

Four months after my beginning work in Spain, some terrorists rushed into the theater one Sunday morning and threw Molotov cocktails, completely destroying the building. Four people were killed and 350 persons were made jobless. How fortunate that most of us were not in the building at that moment! My costumes and skates were destroyed, along with some precious books, but I still had my life.

The other artists were in a state of panic and distress. I started explaining to everyone that this was just one of the many evidences that we are truly living in what the Bible calls “the last days” and that shortly Jehovah God will introduce a new system under his Kingdom that will bring peace to the whole earth.​—2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Peter 3:13.

Now I knew what it was to be a Witness, and this was bringing me joy. It is the happiness of giving rather than receiving. (Acts 20:35) Since we were now out of work, there was plenty of time to study the Bible with others, and I started studies with various international artists.

As a result of the fire, I had a three months’ break during which I was baptized on March 26, 1978, in Barcelona. Some of my “theater studies” came along to the baptism, and my friend Trish flew over from California. It was truly a joyous occasion, the happiest day of my life!

Is Stardom Everything?

For the last four years I have been a regular pioneer minister, spending an average of 90 hours a month preaching. I have supported myself with occasional theater engagements. After the Barcelona disaster, I found a new partner and started training all over again, which was not easy. Then when good contracts came along I had to turn them down because many times the show offered to us was of an immoral nature, and I was no longer willing to compromise in that way. It was difficult to refuse​—they were often lucrative jobs, and my new partner, not a Witness, suffered the loss with me. At first he did not understand my Bible-based principles. But now we are getting good international spots to fill, and I can still preach most of the time, even when working in the theater.

Because of their unusual schedule, theater people seldom receive a direct witness. Thus when I am on the road, the theater company becomes my special witnessing “territory.” As a result, some artists have studied the Bible and attended congregation meetings with me. They have specially enjoyed seeing the worldwide brotherhood of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Wherever I happen to be​—Australia, Europe, Singapore, Japan—​there is much to do in the service of my God. I have found the deeper happiness of learning that there is a God who cares and that he shows unending love for his creatures. The tinsel glory of the theater is shallow in comparison. Appreciating this fact is a tremendous joy now in a sad world.​—1 John 4:8.

To have a share in being part of this worldwide brotherhood of God’s people is an incredible dream come true​—I have literally seen it in my travels. It is a living testimony to a living, loving God. There is nothing more beautiful, more perfect and real, than the truth. What a privilege it is that Jehovah has opened my heart! The crowning hope of living to time indefinite in an earth filled with love is what Jehovah has put into the heart of man, mine included, and I eagerly look forward to the day of its grand realization.​—As told by Elyn Tia.

[Blurb on page 22]

It seemed as if the bottom had fallen out of my career. I just wanted to end my life

[Blurb on page 23]

Stardom was worth fighting for, I thought

[Blurb on page 23]

I sincerely prayed, “If there is a God, please do something to help”

[Blurb on page 24]

Instead of thinking of dying, I thought of living

[Blurb on page 24]

Some terrorists rushed into the theater and threw Molotov cocktails

[Blurb on page 25]

I have found the deeper happiness of learning that there is a God who cares

Two Fine Decisions in Swaziland

By “Awake!” correspondent in Swaziland

ON DECEMBER 22, 1982, the High Court of Swaziland in southern Africa rendered a courageous decision favouring religious freedom. The case involved two young children, Celiwe and Sivikelo, who two years previously had been expelled from the Emhlangeni Primary School because of their religious beliefs. On the above date, Swaziland Judge Hassanali ordered that these children be readmitted to school.

What caused the problem? Celiwe and Sivikelo are children of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Since 1970 more than 90 Witness children have been expelled from various schools, in all cases because they did not join in the saying of prayers or the singing of hymns and anthems, usually performed during morning school assembly. Of course, they did nothing to disturb such proceedings. But Jehovah’s Witnesses, while believing in religious toleration, do not believe in interfaith. And many of the hymns, anthems and prayers contain religious thoughts and sentiments that do not match what the children have learned from their study of the Bible. Hence, they stood respectfully silent while their schoolmates sang or bowed their heads in prayer. (Matthew 4:10; 1 Corinthians 10:14, 21, 22) Principals and teachers took exception to the Witness children’s nonparticipation. Hence the expulsions.

It should be noted that Emhlangeni Primary School did not act out of blind prejudice when the authorities there expelled Celiwe and Sivikelo. In fact, the school had accepted these children after they had been expelled from other schools. However, outsiders brought pressure on the school authorities and finally the expulsions occurred. The father of Celiwe and Sivikelo took legal action and, as we have seen, the final decision was favorable.

It is of interest that the original Swaziland constitution, adopted when the country gained independence in 1968, made provision for this type of problem. Under the heading “Protection of freedom of conscience,” the following was stated: “Except with his own consent (or, if he is a minor, the consent of his guardian), no person attending any place of education shall be required to receive religious instruction or to take part in or attend any religious ceremony or observance if that instruction, ceremony or observance relates to a religion that he does not profess.”

In 1973 the Swaziland constitution was suspended with a view to forming a new one more in line with the Swazi way of life. It is hoped that commendable guarantees, like those contained in the original constitution, will again be adopted. In the meantime, Jehovah’s Witnesses deeply appreciate the High Court ruling, which is a precedent in favour of such religious freedom.

Problems Over Mourning Rites

In the February 1, 1983, issue of our companion magazine, The Watchtower, information was published about another problem relative to freedom of worship in Swaziland. Jehovah’s Witnesses there were being physically abused and unjustly imprisoned because of not taking part in certain mourning rites for the late King Sobhuza II.

The issue was not one of respect or obedience. Jehovah’s Witnesses take seriously the apostle Peter’s words: “Be in fear of God, have honor for the king.” (1 Peter 2:17; Romans 13:1-7) However, the problem arose when an official directive commanded all in the Swazi nation to shave their heads in honor of the late king. Such shaving of the head is a religious rite, related to a belief in the immortality of the soul. Hence, Swazi Witnesses of Jehovah, out of “fear of God,” could not conscientiously comply. Persecution arose when various authorities tried to force them to go against their conscience.

Many who heard of this felt strongly that an injustice had been committed, and they wrote to various government officials to express their feelings. The result? On February 18, 1983, the newspaper The Times of Swaziland said there had been a “letter ‘blitz.’” It reported: “The cabinet ministers are understood to be overwhelmed by this influx of overseas correspondence . . . The ministers are so concerned by the matter that it is to be discussed at cabinet level.”

According to the above newspaper report, one high official, Chief Justice Charles Nathan, personally opened 2,000 of the letters and then was so kind as to write to the Watchtower Society’s headquarters in New York, U.S.A., explaining that he could no longer make individual acknowledgments of the letters. Jehovah’s Witnesses in Swaziland are grateful for the love and concern their brothers in other lands thus manifested.

On Friday, April 8, 1983, The Times of Swaziland carried a further report. It revealed that Chief Justice Nathan heard the appeal of 13 Jehovah’s Witnesses who by a National Court had been found guilty of failing to comply with the Royal Order to cut their hair in mourning. The Chief Justice decided that the trial of the Witnesses had involved “substantial irregularity” and thus he “upheld their application and set aside both the conviction and sentence.” This was a fair decision, and it was hoped that it would influence other similar cases that were pending.

Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to pray that the authorities will understand and accommodate their sincere religious convictions. They and their children deeply respect all such authority and seek to comply with all instructions that do not conflict with their beliefs. They ask to be allowed to continue living a calm, quiet life in worship of the Creator, Jehovah God.​—1 Timothy 2:1, 2.

[Box on page 26]

IN THE HIGH COURT OF SWAZILAND

HOLDEN AT MBABANE ON THE 22ND DAY OF DECEMBER, 1982 BEFORE THE HON. MR. JUSTICE HASSANALI.

CIV. T. NO. 520/82

In the matter of:

JOHN NDZIMANDZE Plaintiff

and

JOSEPH HLATSHWAYO 1st Defendant

ABRAHAM MABUZA 2nd Defendant

BEING: A Suit;

WHEREUPON: Having heard Counsel for the Plaintiff and evidence adduced, there being no appearance by or on behalf of the Defendants;

IT IS ORDERED.

1. That Plaintiff’s said minor children be re-admitted as scholars at Emhlangeni Primary School, Bhunya;

2. That judgment by default be and is hereby granted against 1st and 2nd Defendants for the sums of (i) E80.00, (ii) E240.00, E1000.00 and E100.00 jointly and severally the one paying the other to be absolved.

3. That the Defendants do pay costs of this suit.

BY ORDER OF THE COURT

GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND SEAL OF THE COURT AT MBABANE THIS 22ND DAY OF DECEMBER, 1982

REGISTRAR OF THE HIGH COURT

From Our Readers

Ballet Dancing

Since I am an ardent ballet dancer, I was absolutely furious when I read your alleged first-person story “My Ballet Career​—The Beauty and the Beast of It.” (February 8, 1983) It is the height of impudence the way you try to run down ballet! You picture dancing as a painful experience, depressive, frustrating and full of perversions. To drag one of the fine arts through the mud like this is downright obscenity!

K. F. (15 years old), Germany

We agree with you and the author that ballet is a beautiful art and we believe that our article showed that. However, the author also pointed out the negative aspects of professional ballet dancing, not caused by ballet dancing itself but by selfish people who can be found in all walks of life. She showed that professional ballet dancing is not all beauty. When you get a little more experience in life you will likely also come to acknowledge the truth in this.​—ED.

Learning Problems

I am writing to thank you for the marvelous articles on “Learning Problems.” (May 8, 1983) As the mother of a nine-year-old boy who has this problem, plus hyperactivity, I was really upbuilt after reading it. People in general are very unsympathetic and label a child as naughty or undisciplined. Hopefully, now mothers, like myself, and children, like my son, will have more sympathy from others. After all, if our children had a physical handicap we would receive more understanding from others.

J. S., Wales

A million thanks for the wonderful articles on “Learning Problems.” Having battled many years under the banners of “your son is bone idle” and “your son is useless,” at last someone who understands.

R. P., England

It is impossible to express the joy I have received from reading your article on “Learning Problems.” For seven long years I have been aware of a problem but did not know what it was or how to deal with it. The morning I was to meet with our son’s teacher to inform her that there was a problem, I sat down to read Awake! I was numb. My son was right there being written about in those pages. I carried the articles with me to the conference, and for the first time I could explain the problem. I knew what was wrong and I knew why. I could get help. I knew this time we were on our way to a fuller understanding of our son. Thanks!

A. C., Germany

Thank you very much for your articles on “Learning Problems.” They were a great help to me and my family because we just recently found out that our son, who is five years old, has a learning disability. The articles have helped us to be more understanding and sympathetic toward our son with his problems, which he has little control over. Please continue to publish more articles on this subject because they are of great benefit to families that have children with learning problems.

J. T., Ohio

Watching the World

UN Controversy

● Two agencies of the United Nations are engaged in an apparent conflict of interest. The issue is tobacco cultivation in Third World countries. In its official journal, Ceres, the Food and Agriculture Organization maintains that “tobacco provides rural work, industrial employment, and national income. . . . Tobacco is, in fact, one commodity in which even smaller developing countries can find immediate, tangible, social and economic benefits.” The World Health Organization, on the other hand, “considers that the control of cigarette smoking in the developing countries ‘could do more to improve health and prolong life . . . than any other single action in the whole field of preventative medicine,’” according to The Journal of Toronto, Canada. A recent meeting of the two agencies in Geneva was described as “revealing considerable differences of approach to the problem and reflecting very different constituencies,” says The Journal.

Luther Honored at Home

● Along with celebrating the 100th anniversary of the death of Karl Marx, this year the German Democratic Republic is also commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of native son Martin Luther. Luther was discredited by the communist state partly due to his popularity with the Nazi regime and partly for his opposition to the peasant rebellion of 1524-26. Lest the present change of position be mistaken for a sign of religious revival, East German leader Erich Honecker was quick to point out that “our socialist state considers it a noble duty to care for and advance the progressive inheritance of our people,” and that the observance will “strengthen their feelings of nationality and homeland.”

Another African Drought

● Africa has been once again ravaged by drought and famine far worse than in the early 1970’s, when at least 200,000 people died of starvation. At that time, disaster was confined mainly to Ethiopia and other sub-Saharan countries. But this year some 18 countries from Morocco to South Africa have been hard hit, with the resulting food shortages presenting “a forbidding picture,” according to a World Bank official. In South Africa the drought has been described as the “worst in 200 years”​—so bad that it could even bring the wheels of industry to a halt. The situation is said to be seriously compounded by border and internal unrest among several of the affected nations. Problems with government bureaucracy and lack of food emergency programs have left some nations almost powerless to help their people.

Buddhist Nuns’ Rights

● It appears that equal rights and ordination of women are not issues unique to the Western world. Many of the 20,000 Buddhist nuns in Thailand are becoming dissatisfied with their status in the Buddhist hierarchy. Traditionally, their role is to serve the monks​—cook their meals, tidy up their premises and even go begging for them. A recent study shows that “80 out of 100 nuns think that they can contribute more to society if they are not limited to doing menial labour in the temples,” says The Bangkok Post. Improvements sought by the nuns include “reviving the status of women priests . . . giving the nuns a rightful place as members of the clergy in the ecclesiastic hierarchy. Develop ‘New Nuns’ who take more part in social welfare activities and give them the necessary training in medicine, home economics, and other sciences.”

Earthquake Hits Japan

● The earthquake that hit northern Japan on May 26 registered 7.7 on the Richter scale, with an epicenter about 200 kilometers (125 mi) off the coast in the Sea of Japan. Resulting waves (tsunami), as high as 3 meters (10 ft), lashed the coastal region, causing most of the reported toll of more than a hundred killed or missing and presumed dead. The quake damaged a power station, cutting off electricity to about 30,000 homes. Telephone and rail services were interrupted. The Daily Yomiuri reported that “43 pupils of Aikawa-Minami Primary School in Aikawa-machi, Akita-ken, on an excursion to the beach of nearby Oga, were swept away by tidal waves.” The Japan branch office of the Watch Tower Society reported that missionary homes in Akita and Yamagata were not damaged, and none of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the area were harmed.

Mafia Power Play

● After centuries of silence on the part of his church, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Palermo, Sicily, finally spoke out and condemned the Mafia (underworld) by name for its criminal activities, including 150 slayings last year in Sicily. The result? The National Catholic Reporter disclosed that at the annual Mass held in the city prison, all 850 inmates stayed away, leaving the archbishop standing alone before the altar in an empty courtyard. Why? According to prison officials, word got around that the Mafia would consider anyone attending the Mass an “undesirable element.” After waiting for an hour, the archbishop, “grim-faced, boarded his car and drove back to his offices,” said the Catholic journal.

Costly Thirst

● According to the Sunday Times of London, even though the Falkland Islands get about 76 centimeters (30 in.) of rain a year, it costs British taxpayers five pence (8 cents, U.S.) per 0.5 liter (a pint) to supply the 4,000 troops stationed there with fresh water. This is because there are no lakes or reservoirs on the Falklands, and the desalination plant can turn out only enough water for the 1,500 local residents. Now, a 33,000-ton tanker, Fort Toronto, carrying six million gallons of fresh water, is permanently moored outside Port Stanley as a reservoir, and at least three other vessels are employed to replenish its supply. The total bill for quenching the soldiers’ thirst thus far has run well over £2,500,000 ($3.8 million, U.S.).

Academic Epidemic

● American government statistics show that one in every four students who enter a U.S. public high school as freshmen will not receive a diploma four years later. A review of the class of 1981, for example, shows that of the nearly 3.8 million students who enrolled as freshmen four years earlier, over one million failed to graduate. Experts at the National Center for Education Statistics report that most of them simply dropped out of school.

● While many students are failing, what about their teachers? A school principal in Florida had a group of sixth graders take an exam made up of 20 questions involving reading and mathematics selected from a teacher-competency test. The result? “The lowest score was 70 percent, the highest 100 percent,” reports The New York Times. But last year when 14,000 prospective teachers took the test, only 85 percent of them passed on their first try. “We did not do this to pit our kids against adults,” said the principal. “I just feel that the teachers’ standards should be raised.”

● What about the echelons of higher education? The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) has uncovered at least 38 mail-order “universities” in the United States, Canada and Europe that offer “diplomas and medical degrees for a fee without requiring their graduates to do any school work or even attend classes,” reports The Globe and Mail of Toronto, Canada. A medical degree can be bought for as little as $600 (U.S.), but in at least one case, a Ph.D. costs $5,000. None of these “universities” actually exist, says the FBI, and many addresses turned out to be mail-service agencies, which forwarded the mail to a New York City apartment. Who are the “graduates”? They include “a high-ranking Washington official, a National Football League player, employees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and state, municipal and federal employees in the United States,” says the report.

Insecure Securities

● Bonds and securities may be some people’s idea of sound investment, but to Edwin S. Marks of a Wall Street securities firm and others, some of them are a source of aggravation. These are owners of bonds and securities issued decades ago by countries that have since come under communistic rule and decline to honor the commitment. According to a report in The New York Times, lawsuits amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars are in the courts, but some governments, such as the Soviet Union and China, have flatly refused to pay. One owner said of his bonds: “They have Chinese characters on them, they have attractive illustrations, they look very nice framed.” Another man who owns czarist bonds said, “A friend of mine once offered me a nickel apiece” because he “wanted to paper his bathroom wall with them.” Marks, who owns “carloads” of such bonds said, “We don’t count them. We weigh them.”

Churches “Pressure” Politicians

● After concluding a three-day conference in Vienna, Austria, Christian and Muslim leaders united to call for a ban on nuclear weapons. They urged fellow clergymen to put pressure on politicians for disarmament. According to the Associated Press, Theodore Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame University, declared: “For the first time we have had sessions among church leaders of many different faiths from all over the world. Politicians tend to react to public pressure and public discussion.”

Astronomical Economics

● Argentina’s huge foreign debt is not only a heavy burden on the country’s economy but also a headache to the bookkeepers. The foreign debt recently was about two quadrillion pesos ($38.5 billion, U.S.), or 2 followed by 15 zeros. Such astronomical and unwieldy numbers confounded even the Central Bank’s computers. They “couldn’t handle any more zeros,” proclaimed Economy Minister Jorge Wehbe. In June the country instituted a monetary reform by cutting off four zeros in the currency. Ten thousand old Argentine pesos suddenly became just one new peso.

Dearer Is Better?

● With so much talk about pollution these days, many people do not mind paying extra for health foods in exchange for a little peace of mind. And pay they do, for the Consumer Affairs Department of New York found that 11 out of 30 common items are more than twice as expensive in health-food stores as in supermarkets. For example, whole chicken is higher by 244 percent, cabbage by 234.8 percent, tuna fish by 189.3 percent, and so on. But are they safer? “The department says that pesticide analyses by two independent laboratories turned up no evidence” that they are safer, reports the consumer magazine Changing Times.

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