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Opinion Summer is Fair lime Summertime is fun time! It's a time to head out, enjoy yourself, and not worry about what others are going to say about "bumpkin" behavior. The youngster in all of us loves carnival rides and games. The re­ cent county fairs and the Illinois State Fair have provided us with the opportunity to really ham it up. What with animal shows, food-tast- ing and -judging contests, and all the other gloriously simple events taking place, it helps to remMd us that in this crazy, fast-paced, ever- changing world there is a sanctu­ ary of sanity. Yes, we"ll all admit that some of the events at these fairs can be rather frivolous. But even those of us who have been 'cityfied' recog­ nize the importance of being able to act a little goofy during the summer. This entertainment is reasonable to the pocketbook, and presents a welcome respite to the always-se­ rious, hectic work week. So, relax. Enjoy the pig-calling contests, the Judging of barnyard beasts, etc. You'll be back to the grind of everyday life and work soon enough. People who like to stand back from the hurly-burly of daily events and take a longer view of historical trends are beginning to wonder if a time is coming when the United States will decide to acknowledge, by the formal pro­ cess of an amendment to its Con­ stitution, the existence of a Su­ preme Being. No thoughtful person can deny the importance, indeed the abso­ lute centricity, of the point. As author Richard Weaver observed long ago, every individual's specif­ ic ideas and general convictions are referred for ultimate verifica­ tion to his "metaphysical dream of the world" -- his basic notion of how the cosmos is designed. On this subject, there are essentially two opposed views: the religious view that it was created and is ruled by a Supreme Being, and the secular view that it is the uncreat­ ed and random byproduct of pure­ ly material forces. There is no doubt as to which view prevailed among the Found­ ing Fathers and for easily the first century of our national life. From the moment the framers of the Declaration of Independence ap­ pealed "to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions" and proclaimed their "firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence," the exis­ tence of the deity was simply tak­ en for granted by most Americans. The founders wisely decided, how­ ever, to prohibit (in the First Amendment) the designation of any particular denomination as an "established," or official, religion; and they also guaranteed the "free exercise" of religion -- and, for that matter, of irreligion. In a plu­ ralistic society, no other course was desirable, or even possible. But the United States was found­ ed in the late 18th century, in the heyday of the Enlightenment, and in the ensuing two centuries -- and especially in our own -- the im­ pressive progress of science has encouraged many people to as­ sume that God is an outmoded and unnecessary concept, and that henceforth mankind can, and in­ deed must, find its way alone. In terms of our national life, the ex- William Rusher pression of this development has taken the form of an increasingly passionate insistence upon a total "separation of church and state," allegedly as commanded by the First Amendment. In the opinion of many, this separation has some- times been carried to almost ridic­ ulous lengths; but that very fact bespeaks the intensity of the con­ victions involved. As America begins to turn the long corner into the 21st century, however, a number of circum­ stances -- the growing scientific doubts about the infallibility of the great secular trinity of Marx, Dar­ win and Freud, for example, and the perceived need for a more clear-cut philosophical confronta­ tion with Marxism-Leninism -- are prompting certain observers to ask whether the time isn't ap­ proaching for the United States to affirm in a formal way, by means of a constitutional amendment, its own dependence upon a Supreme Being. No religion would be "es­ tablished" by such an amendment, nor would any impediment be in­ terposed to the free exercise of any religion (or none at all). It would simply acknowledge the depen­ dence of the American nation on a divine creator, a belief in whose existence is shared by the world's major religions and certainly by those represented in uie United States. Everything would depend, of course, on the careful phrasing of the amendment. In general, the simpler the better. A beginning has already been made in the 1954 act of Congress that added "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. No doubt there are pitfalls to be avoided sedulously; but argu­ ments of the "slipping slope" vari­ ety (we mustn't go as far as X, lest we get carried beyond it to Y or Z) ought not to deter us. That sort of timid "prudence" simply plays into the hands of those who have a very different concept of Ameri­ ca's provenance and destiny. (William Rusher is a columnist for N e w s p a p e r E n t e r p r i s e Association) HeY, WHeRe's Trie NavieaToR? mmm y . Twewf mm. MtWS-HSA NORTHWIST HERALD "What greater ca­ lamity can fall upon a nation than the loss of worship." Thomas Carlyle ROBERTA. SHAW Editor and Publisher LEONARD M. INGRASSIA Executive Editor STEVEN H. HUNTER Marketing Director MICHAEL E. MORSCH News Editor/Regional DENNIS M. McNAMARA Editorial Page Editor RONALD L. STANLEY Circulation Director /I THE TUm>1MmC\ 1 ("BSWBS) I rSURE^\ ML * \v K W\' * ^ YLJTJ V 1 K. •« 'Supreme Being9 amendment? ffMHSMMftMftMl canetn+xurnKt [MAY VTNEVEPI HAPPEN AGAIN ASR OVER A constitutional convention? Maybe WASHINGTON - There is a Chinese proverb, so I am told, to this effect: A wise man digs a well before he gets thirsty. The Senate Judiciary Committee had that sound advice in mind last month when it approved a bill to provide the machinery for calling a consti­ tutional convention. No such convention has been held since the summer of 1787, and it seems to me unlikely that anoth­ er one will be held any time soon. Even so, prudence is an admirable virtue. By some accounts, 32 states have applied to ^Congress for a convention that would submit an their request. If two-thirds of the states filed similar and valid peti­ tions in a span of seven years, and none of them rescinded or with­ drew its resolution in the mean­ time, Congress would issue the call. iamMJ. KMpatrick amendment to require a balanced federal budget. The applications of two more states might possibly trigger the call required by Article V of the Constitution. It will do no harm, and it might avoid much confusion, to get the pending bill (S. 40) onto the statute books. The Senate has been kicking this matter around for the past 18 years. North Carolina's Sam Er- vin, patron saint of the legislation, held extensive hearings in 1967. In 1971 he managed to get his bill through the Senate 84-0. Again in 1973 the Senate approved an Ervin bill, but when Senator Sam retired most of the steam leaked out. Now the campaign for a balanced bud­ get amendment has the movement fired up again, and the pending bill, sponsored by Utah's Orrin Hatch, will be on the calendar when Congress gets back to work after Labor Day. Under the Hatch bill, the states would be required to apply for a constitutional convention to pro­ pose "one or more specific amend­ ments" to the Constitution. The state resolutions would not have to spell out precise language; they need only state the substance of The convention, like Congress, would consist of 535 members, cho­ sen by the states as senators and representatives are chosen. No member of Congress could become a delegate. Members of the con­ vention would be paid as members of Congress are paid. The conven­ tion would have to wind up its business in six months unless Con­ gress extended the period. Hatch's bill contains this key provision: "No convention called under this act may propose any amendment or amendments of a subject matter different from that stated in the concurrent resolution calling the convention." Would that provision survive challenge in court? No one knows. The question never has arisen. A few days ago two law professors testified before a House subcom­ mittee that any attempt to limit a constitutional convention would in itself be "profoundly unconstitu­ tional." Other scholars take a dif­ ferent view. I said, 'Water, water everywhere' WASHINGTON (UPI) - There is talk that unpolluted water even­ tually will become even more valu­ able than oil, a result of shrinking s u p p l y a n d i n c r e a s i n g consumption. As early as the year 2000; the National Geographic Society pre­ dicts, "water quantity may Join today's more urgent issue of water quality as a crisis concern." Such forecasts appear to pre­ sage a period of frantic water well drilling, during which divining rods will replace geologists and landowners who discover under­ ground springs on their will obtain water leas< millions. There also may be massive fed­ eral programs to spur the develop­ ment of synthetic fluids. There­ fore, equal wealth will accure to those who go into the business of extracting water from cheese. It will be found, for instance, that water can be obtained from curds, but the process is so expen­ sive only the rich can afford to drink it. The less affluent will be urged to switch to more abundant potations such as whey, root beer and ginger ale. T pnvleinn hoth MQchAiuMi Dick West property & worth United States being lined with nu­ clear desalination plants, thereby adding to the controversy over dis­ posal of radioactive waste. The island of Pago Pago is one of the places where important new water deposits are found. Fresh water also is discovered under the ocean floor off the coast of Alaska. Meanwhile, camels and any oth­ er animals capable of taking infre­ quent swallows will be at a premium. Into this situation there is bound to be organized an international cartel of water-exporting nations, known as OWEC. Its members meet occasionally to fix world prices and set production quotas. American banks will lend bil­ lions to emerging nations seeking Beyond question, the states that have asked for a convention on a balanced budget amendment be­ lieve that a convention may be so limited. Most of the 32 have ap­ plied for a convention "for the specific and exclusive purpose" of propounding this one resolution. Eleven states have been even more emphatic. Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Missouri, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah have resolved that their applica­ tions "be deemed null and void, rescinded, and of no effect" if a convention is not so limited. What all this suggests, among other things, is that a long, long road of litigation would have to be traveled before a gavel could fall. Four of the applications (from Maryland, Mississippi, Delaware and North Dakota) date from 1975. Eight others were adopted in 1978, three in 1977. These are getting a little long in the tooth. There is a further problem with North Dako­ ta's resolution: It was not ad­ dressed to the Congress, as the Constitution requires, but to sister states, and was not even mailed to the Senate until 1979. Is it valid? Again, who knows? For reasons I have spelled out many times, I am opposed to a balanced budget amendment. Nev­ ertheless, Congress has shown it­ self unwilling or incapable of matching income with outgo, an# popular demand is rising for some disciplinary machinery that would compel fiscal sanity. A constitu­ tional convention is not probable, but it is possible. Sen. Hatch jp urging that we dig the well befoi we get thirsty. The thought mak< sense. a (James Kilpatrick is a columnist for Universal Press Syndicate) -- •• I «# 1 1 Since oversupply almost invari* ably is followed by price drops;; this could cause a number of b ' to fail. Many restaurants, as a publicity gimmick, start serving free glassC es of water with meals. Motorist^ will be able to drive into gasoline^ stations and fill their radiators without extra charge. Several cities, striving to attract^ new residents, will even go so fart as to claim the water used to fighti fires is drinkable. Needless to say, there will be*' great consternation . in taverns*' where patrons have learned to: drink their whiskey neat. When^ branch water again becomes abun-i dant, bartenders will be pushing^; chasers. I wouldn't even attempt J to speculate how that will effect* club soda stock prices. Oh, I'm sure there will be plenty J of Cassandras -- experts warning *: the surplus is only temporary and ( licit! to thus that the earth rapidly is running I out of drinking water. Basically, however, they will be as voices crying in the rain forest that has grown up where the pro­ verbial wilderness used to thrive* (Dick West is a columnist for Unit- contributing Wave of inflation. The big danger, of course, is that a water glut will be created. In other words, the world will find itself pumping more water than it needs for highballs, washing cars