DETENTE AND THE SQUARE

To the Editors of The Crimson:

Since it looks as if I am going to be in Cambridge four a couple of years, and I have written letters on quite a few occasions to The Crimson in the past, to the point of being quite well know there, I imagine, I feel that I should make my position clear at the outset.

To start with, I am one of those who finds the present state of Cambridge, and in particular Harvard Square, quite depressing and deplorable.

I also consider that the student body at Harvard, and all the other young people, students or otherwise, who mill around there at most times of the day, responsible in a large measure for this state of affairs. They are, generally speaking, undisciplined, disorderly to a high degree, and extremely inconsiderate of the rights of others, for all kinds of reasons which they rationalize no doubt into being excellent, but are usually purely selfish and very limited, I consider.

At the same time, we live in a society which is very far from perfect, especially at present. I sympathize completely with any feeling that people around Harvard may have that this is the case; and I am convinced that the younger one is, the more clearly one sees the imperfections of others, however little experience one may have as to solutions.

Finally, and I don't really know if this is relevant, whereas I can't say I like Communism, I am a very enthusiastic believer in detente, and in accepting the Communist countries on their own evaluation of themselves, that is as equals. But I am not sure that most political activists these days know that much about politics--at least European politics!

I hope these views don't seem too paradoxical. Jerome Minot'46