New Bookmark

Many sincere people believed that the vari ous proposals offered rational courses of ac tion. They denounced the desire to make a profit or suggested that any action other than preservation was a. submission to the vice of greed. Most, however, saw no inconsistency in their hope to earn a profit when they sold their own homes. The efforts to stop the demolition of the old house are a symptom of a growing problem-cultural or historical illiteracy. The goal of preserving historic landmarks is ad mirable, but the preservation shouldn't be at the expense of values which permitted the cre ation of an historic site in the first place. The actions taken and suggested in this in stance resembled those of a lynch mob from our not-too-distant past-ordinarily associated with the rather immediate denial of someone's LEE OWNBY civil rights without due process of law. The Fifth Amendment prohibits the taking of pri vate property for public use without compen sation. A disturbing aspect of this affair was the complete absence of this concept from any public discussion of the event. Many sugges tions focused on what the oil company and/or the property owners could contribute for the public benefit. People just couldn't seem to grasp the idea of paying a market price to en joy an aesthetic benefit.

It is ironic that this landmark-built in an era when most economic liberties were de fended by law-today was defended by those who don't seem to recognize the importance of such liberties. In today's cultural environment, the elevation to virtue or the devolution to vice became synonymous with being for or against preservation of the house. That the issue was considered on these terms suggests that some of the values embodied in our Constitution have suffered serious erosion and are in des perate need of historical restoration. 0 307 Private Preservation of Wildlife: A Visit to the South African Lowveld by Nancy Seijas and Frank Vorhies I t is their three-inch eyelashes that give gi raffes their sleepy, serene look. Giraffes blink slowly, their lashes sweeping grace fully down, and then gently back up. Outin the bush of South Africa, this is a common sight. In an area called the lowveld, giraffes stroll right across the road, with a languid, swaying stride that seems utterly relaxed.