Editing 78-02-B2 (section)

=== Transcript ===
How can a $2.28 ash tray become a problem in international relations?
Sounds impossible and a little bit ridiculous doesn't it? But, never
underestimate bureaucracy .

There is a fellow in Philadelphia who has a cousin in Salisbury, Rhodesia.
The Philadelphia cousin has a birthday and the Salisbury cousin sends a
present--a $2.28 ashtray. The package arrives in Philadelphia and immediately
the postal and customs authorities go into action. The U.S. is, after all, a
party to United Nations sanctions against Rhodesia.

The Philadelphia cousin is notified that the package addressed to him is
an "unlicensed" import. Now, you and I would think a sample answer to this bit
of bureaucratic nonsense would be to return the package to the sender, namely
the Salisbury cousin. But, you and I don't realize the seriousness of the
situation. The Philadelphia cousin is told he will have to apply for a
re-exportation license to return the package to his Salisbury cousin. He appeals
to his Congressman who is unable to shake the Treasury department (there will
be no exceptions to the sanctions on Rhodesia). It's too bad the Salisbury
cousin didn't live in Moscow or Leningrad. If he had, the ashtray would have
been delivered right to Philadelphia cousin's door.

On another front, here's an item you could say had to happen after the
government put up $5 million for the recent International Women's Year
Commission. A man in Florida has brought suit on behalf of all American males,
demanding $5 million to be put up by the Federal government to fund a Men's
Year Commission.

And, I suppose this next item is also something we should have known was
bound to happen. With voluntary prayer banned from our public schools, Christmas
has been tolerated so long as there was no reference to its religious
significance. So there has been no singing of "Silent Night" or "Hark, the
Herald Angels Sing". They were replaced by "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph, The
Red-Nosed Reindeer". The star in the east and a babe in a manger were out,
but children were permitted a decorated tree and, of course, jolly old Santa
Claus. But maybe his days are numbered.

The Rhode Island branch of the American Civil Liberties union has decided
even the present method of recognizing Christmas threatens the Constitution.
A spokesman explains that Santa comes on Christmas Eve so he has acquired a
religious significance and must be expelled from the classroom. That goes for
the decorated tree and, naturally, singing about red-nosed Rudolph would remind
you of Santa , so it must join "Silent Night" and the other outlawed songs.

But when these zealous busybodies have had their way and every traditional
symbol of the day--the reindeers and sleigh, Santa and the lighted tree and of
course the nativity scene--have been banned in our schools, won't they come
to the name of the day itself? And what will they do about that? 

This is Ronald Reagan.

Thanks for listening.
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