Letter to the Editor (Vol. 30, Issue 2)

To the Editor: 

The results of The Commentator’s recent poll, Goldwater vs. Johnson, turned out pretty much as everyone expected. Johnson captured nine out of every ten votes cast. This is appalling.

Is Johnson such a representative candidate that he must be everyone’s choice? Or, to turn the question around, is Goldwater such an abominable candidate? I doubt both. Rather, I suspect that in Yeshiva’s intellectual atmosphere many students are being led, like donkeys, by their noses. Conformity seems to have become the vogue. 

Pros And Cons 

Certainly there are pros and cons for both candidates. Many people fear Goldwater's conservative ideas, or his attitudes toward our foreign policy. Other people find Johnson unsuitable for office because of his stand on Viet Nam, or because the Democrats have usually been in office since Franklin Roosevelt. But whatever the arguments, it must be clear that neither is the ideal candidate; the winner will be the lesser of two evils.

So why this lack of brainpower? Why conformity? It is unfortunate to come to Yeshiva and find the prejudices and biases concerning this issue which one could find anywhere else. If the day comes when everyone thinks alike, there is not much reason for living. Individuality is the spark of humanity. Let's hope it won't go out here.

Douglas Wertheimer, ’68