Summons to a New Cause

PRESIDENT Nixon's State of the Union message illustrated anew how swiftly a once radical idea can become national consensus and good politics. Only a few years ago, the notion that the quality of life in America is not good enough, and that the U.S. is wantonly despoiling its physical environment was the concern mainly of left-wing critics, grumpy academics and dedicated conservationists well out of the mainstream of U.S. politics. Yet last week the President effectively moved to assume personal command of the gathering battle for a better environment.

Eloquently limning the broad goals for the 1970s, summoning Americans to a new "age of reform," Richard Nixon was inspiring in evoking the image of a refurbished and replanned America. Perhaps the finest line in his speech was the assertion that "our recognition of the truth that wealth and happiness are not the same thing requires us to measure success or failure by new criteria." He issued a timely call for a new selflessness: "The greatest privilege an individual can have is to serve in a cause bigger than himself."

Peace with Nature. With what the President said, few could disagree. Yet what he chose not to say was somewhat disturbing. While properly focusing the energies of the nation on the need to remedy its physical ills, an undesirable byproduct of its growth and affluence, the President referred to the problems of the nation's blacks only fleetingly in endorsing "equal voting rights, equal employment opportunity and new opportunities for expanded ownership." There was no mention of racial tension--a curious omission in describing the State of the Union in 1970. No one could quarrel with the President's desire to combat crime, but blacks--though they themselves suffer more from crime than anyone else--could hardly welcome the President's priorities. The only area in which he promised immediate new funds was that of law enforcement.

Even the most partisan Democrats could only cheer the President's desire for the nation to "make our peace with nature." Environmental ills certainly constitute one of the greatest dangers facing the U.S. (see cover story, page 56). Attacking those ailments has a special appeal for Americans; in large part they are technical and mechanistic problems that involve processes, flows, things, and the American genius seems to run that way. Yet there is perhaps also the subtle danger that U.S. opinion may succumb to an element of escapism in a massive concentration on environmental problems. It could lead to a shifting of priorities in which the overriding need to improve the social environment would be slighted. Certainly it is necessary to clean up Lake Erie, but this is also much easier than improving living conditions in Harlem.

True, a genuine restructuring of the U.S. landscape that would reverse the flow of black migrants from farms to crowded cities would ease the problems of the ghetto, perhaps even give the hard-pressed cities time and room enough to do more in eradicating slums. To some extent, improving the quality of life of any American sooner or later improves the quality of life of all Americans: water, air and green space know no class or color distinctions. The President quotes Theodore Roosevelt in a special statement in the current issue of FORTUNE magazine, which is devoted to environment. Roosevelt, writes Nixon, "described the conservation and proper use of natural resources as 'the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life.' " Today, that may be true in a general sense. But it should not divert the nation's attention from the very specific and urgent problems of social justice and racial equality.

Only 40%. In a general State of the Union speech, the President was justifiably vague on precisely how the pollution problems will be attacked. He promised a new program for purchasing open spaces and park lands, intensified research and stricter standards for control of automobile exhausts, and "the most comprehensive and costly program in America's history" to clean up water pollution. For this, the only specific proposal in his speech, he said he would ask Congress to support a $10 billion program to put modern waste-treatment plants in U.S. cities. But as later detailed by aides, the Federal Government would provide only 40% of that amount, with states and cities paying the rest.

The President commendably gave high priority to "a total reform of our welfare system" and properly chided Congress for not having taken any action on his plan to have the Federal Government finance all welfare payments, including a guaranteed minimum income for all families. He promised a separate message later on foreign affairs, but he did reaffirm a policy of diminished U.S. global involvement. He also claimed that in Viet Nam "the prospects for peace are far greater today than they were a year ago."

Progress by 1976. Over the long range, Nixon indicated that he expects the nation's economic growth to provide ample funds for handling new programs. For the short run, he warned of the dangers of inflation, promised to produce a tight and balanced federal budget, and blamed the spending policies of Democratic Administrations of the 1960s for virtually the entire rise in the decade's cost of living.

While a successor will have to complete Nixon's dream for the nation later in the decade, the President was optimistic enough to expect great progress by 1976, when the U.S. celebrates its 200th anniversary. "I see an America in which we have abolished hunger, in which we've checked inflation and waged a winning war against crime. I see an America at peace with all the nations of the world." Clearly, Richard Nixon has every intention of presiding over the fetes and fireworks of America's entry into its third century.

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