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PAGE 20 - PLAINDEALER-FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10. 1975 Paul Revere Rides Again Older Americans In Our Society Nort'i Area The mural depicting the ride of Paul Revere 1s finished on the barn on the Victor Miller property, north on Rt. 31. A hot air balloon floats overhead reminding everyone that they too will be 200 years old in 1983, the anniversary of the peace treaty between England and the New United States of America. PHOTOGRAPHY BY HANK MILLER The Northland Area Art League, Inc., McHenry, has added painting to the barn- raising and other barn traditions with a huge 15 by 30 foot rendition of Paul Revere on the barn of Victor Miller off of route 31, north of McHenry. All the league members are cooperating in the project which will see at least five more designs reproduced in heroic dimensions on area barns this fall and next spring as their "Happy Birthday, America" celebration. "The great mid-American barn is the most widely recognized landmark and of­ fers area, plus visability, without blocking out the natural landscape," said Sally Miller, League president. "The theme typifies this area of the country and would make • the maximum use of our ar­ tists' talents," Sally added. League members are en­ couraged to participate by designing murals to be painted, finding farmers with ap­ propriate barns and doing the actual painting. X Illinois History Quiz Prepared by the Prepared by the Illinois State Historical Society Old State Capitol. Springfield 62706 1. What is Gov. Daniel Walker's age? a-47;b-49;c-51; d--53 2. In what year was the Fort Dearborn Massacre? a-1778;b-1812;c-1824; d-1832 3. At what Illinois town was the first observance of Memorial Day held? a-Alton; b-Benton; c-Carbondale; d-Decatur 4. What is the youngest of Illinois' 102 counties? a-Will; b-Logan; c-Ford; d-Douglas 5. What former congressman from Washington was later thrice elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois? a-James Shields; b-Richard J. Oglesby; c-James H. Lewis; d-Richard Yates Illinois History Quiz Answers 1-d, 53; he was born Aug. 6, 1922 in Washington, D.C. 2-b, 1812. The date was Aug. 15, and U.S. troops and civilians were massacred as they attempted to evacuate the fort. 3-c, Carbondale. The date of the first observance, which was then called Decoration Day, was Apr. 29, 1866. 4-c, Ford. The county was estab­ lished Feb. 17, 1859 and named for Gov. Thomas Ford. 5-c, James Hamilton Lewis. He represented Washington in the House, 1897-99, and then came to Illinois where he was elected to the Senate in 1912, 1930, and 1936. He died in office Mar. 9, 1939. A MORE PERFECT UNION By William Peirce Randel Professor Emeritus, University of Maine "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age." If this has a familiar ring, it is because it exactly duplicates, except for the final word, the 27th Amendment now awaiting ratification by the necessary thirty-eight states. When we think of the long struggle for equality of the sexes, the prospect of a parallel amendment for the benefit of the elderly seems dim and remote. But it is not impossible. Nothing is, if the people concerned can mount a strong enough campaign, develop the most effective methods, and keep up the pressure despite every frustration and delay. Since equality of rights can have no stronger support than an Amendment to the Constitution, achieving it would mark the climax of relations between the elderly and their government. Whether or not they ever campaign for an amendment, it is reasonable to ask if the aging are really disadvantaged to the degree of needing relief through legislation. Or can we detect the "me too" impulse at work here? Before considering these matters, we might pause to consider the national commitment to the welfare of the population at large. One purpose of the constitution, as its preamble asserts, is to "promote the general welfare." Fair enough: yet each word in that phrase needs interpretation and invites particular questions. Does "general" mean the great majority or all segments of the population, at all times and in every circumstance? Who is to determine what Welfare (or "faring well") really means, and can government be depended on to promote it wisely and fairly? How active, moreover, should government be in promoting it? The whole phrase must also be questioned: is it possible, or feasible, or even desirable for government to assume responsibility for whatever we may decide the general welfare is? One thing is quite clear: at no point in our history has the government, or anyone else, ever worked out guiding principles for promoting the general welfare, or set up a list of priorities. Welfare as mentioned in the body of the Constitution, specifically in Section 8 of Article I, relates to such things as coinage, postal service, copyright, and the militia. Even in the original ten amendments, the famous Bill of Rights, the freedoms guaranteed relate more to the aims of the Revolution than to any concerted effort to anticipate future conditions. The one provision most helpful to extending the general welfare is Article V, setting up the machinery for amendments; but the built-in difficulty of the process suggests very little enthusiasm for change of whatever sort. Henry Thoreau, in "Civil Disobedience," spoke for all his impatient contemporaries when he remarked that the American people would have achieved more "if the government had not sometimes got in its way." Yet the fact remains that the government is the only agency we have for extending the general welfare to particular groups, whether through legislative, judicial, or executive action. Problems Of Influence In that same essay Thoreau identified another perennial handicap to change, the ability of strong individuals and "selfish interests" to influence government at every level against any change in the status quo or any lessening of their own special privilege. Any group seeking relief through government action must acknowledge these handicaps and gird with great care for long, hard action. "The battle," Patrick Henry insisted in 1775, "is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave." Entrenched interests, simply by being entrenched, have a powerful advantage. Superior force alone can overcome it. Laws relating to the well being of citizens result not by implementing some grand design worked out in advance, but from successful ad hoc efforts by individuals and groups to overcome opposition and influence law makers. Recent efforts by our elderly and on their behalf have produced landmark legislation. Majorities in Congress must have been convinced that disadvantage did exist and needed correction. Medicare, the medical insurance program, was added to Social Security in 1965. In that same year the Older Americans Act established, within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, an Administration on Aging that makes grants for special services. In 1972 an amendment to this Act provided for meals for the needy aged. Other important Congressional measures have included addition of a cost-of-living adjustment to Social Security, establishment of federal minimus for old age assistance, protection for individuals in private pensions plans, and authorization of federal loans for housing for the elderly. A Beneficial Decade In their relations with their government, it must be concluded, America's elders have fared much better in the last ten years than they could have hoped to at any time earlier. Their welfare, moreover, has become a federal concern not only at HEW, which has principal responsibility, but in bureaus and agencies in several other departments. The Older Americans Act provides for Presidential Councils for liaison and general overview. Whether the elderly would be better served by a Department on the Aging under a Cabinet-level Secretary is comparable to the question of whether a Constitutional Amendment is desirable or necessary. If Congress has come to view the aging as disadvantaged and in need of legislative relief, so also, and for a longer time, have an impressive number of organized private groups. Some experts in gerontology, the scientific study of aging, insist that these groups have been more effective in securing aid for the aging than the aging themselves, who, being as diverse as the population at large, cannot easily be molded into a group capable of effective action. Many Groups, Many Goals A 1971 directory of organizations active or interested in programs for the aging lists more than 300. A few are exclusively for older people. In the majority, the welfare of the aging is only one facet of concern. The directoiy lists fraternal orders, veteran's associations, religious denominations. Also included are professional bodies such as the Gerontological Society and The National Council on the Aging. The existence of so many groups, all engaged in efforts to improve conditions for America's oldest citizens, proves beyond question that the aging are not merely indulging a "me too" impulse. The sheer multiplicity of effort, however, may have a distracting effect on legislators, notoriously the victims of many pressures. A thoughtful objective observer might see the desirability of an umbrella organization, large enough to cover all the concerned groups and also the millions of the aging not now enrolled in old-age associations. No component unit in this conjectural super-group would need to surrender its special concerns and activities, but the super-organization, more than 20 million strong, would constitute the largest and potentially the most powerful special-interest body in the nation. Once created and operative, this massive pressure group could be expected to push Congress even further along the road to a maximum aid to the aging. Of necessity, its campaign would be stripped of all demands narrowly limited to particular sub-groups within the total. Instead, it would concentrate on what concerns all our aging, and on what is exclusively their concern, it would not overreach by seeking privileges denied to other age groups; but it would hardly need to. Simply catching up, gaining an equal share of the general welfare cited in the preamble to the Constitution, would be victory enough. Given the necessary limitations to its program and the advantage of concentrating on the fewest possible demands, in the simplest and clearest wording, the ultimate goal might best be framed as a single statement. If so, we come full circle, back to what could be an all-embracing Amendment, the ultimate in any group's relation to the government: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age." This is not an impossible dream. JENNIFER CULLEN WALKATHON -- Jennifer Cullen. McHenry County Poster Child for 1976, asks that you lend a foot to the MARCH OF DIMES Walkathon on Oct. 12. The sixteen mile walk to aid in the fight against birth defects will begin at the Fairgrounds in Woodstock and at St. Thomas Church on Oak street in Crystal Lake at 10 a.m. Ten speed bikes will be awarded to the boy and girl turning in the most money by November 1, and there will be a drawing on that date for other prizes as well. Registration forms are available at both high schools in McHenry or by phoning 338-4083, 459-4708 or 459-8481. m e r i c a n V i e w p o i n t s I hope to meet each of you in heaven. Be good, children, all of you, and strive to be ready when the change comes. Andrew Jackson Final Words June 8,1845 We Invite You To Open A New Door In . • • "Essex" from $38,500 J 'Canterbury' from $41,900 IN AN ESTABLISHED PRESTIGE COMMUNITY LARGE, FULLY IMPROVED LOTS, CONCRETE DRIVEWAYS AND WALKS AND MUCH MORE IN A MOST PICTURESQUE AREA the ROBINO'LADD company BUILDERS AND DEVELOPERS or Phone: (815) 385-8830 UENDW 409 Kensington Dr. - McHenry, Cambridge from $45,500 if Nottingham from $44,900 if Financing Available To Qualified Buyers Visit Our Facility Daily Or Drop Us A Card For A Free Brouchure Crystal Lake Rd. West On Rte. 120 To Crystal Lake Rd. then 1 Mile South To FOX RIDGE.