LETTERS
get any work at all. They frighten the rest of us-and they should. We have improved the nutritional level for a small part of the world's population, but almost half of the people on the planet don't get enough to eat. There have been some vestigial efforts by this nation to reach out to the Third World, but I imagine that a hundred dollars to one have gone into war preparation during this period. That part of the daily grist that gives a lift to life is increased at almost all levels in western society, ranging from the arts to TV to consumer goods. But this has taken a course somewhat like the lightening of work; it has gone on until there is too much and we are disoriented. The craftsman with a single skill and strong purpose to follow it is a contemporary hero.
"There is hope in the fact that we have knowledge of what is wrong... and methods to communicate that knowledge as never bejore. " My great-great-grandfather, who knew how to make snowshoes and made them from oxbows, and sent his daughters over Donner Pass on the snowshoes to get help for the stranded wagon train, meets the dictionary's definition of that presently popular word "organic"-he was "not secondary, or accidental." The affluent citizen, practicing his hobby today, would be in seventh heaven if his special knowledge could count that much~if he could count that much .
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I read somewhere that hope is a kind of religion, and maybe that is so. Hope bubbles in some of us-the lucky ones. I am not ultimately discouraged or I wouldn't bother to save all this fine stuff around here or be a museum man . I just say that we are the bottom of a downswing . The massive structure of organized religion doesn't seem to make much difference, although I am sure we would be worse off without it. One thing is certain: only God's indulgence -up to now-lets this faulty crew stumble on. There is hope in the fact that we have knowledge of what is wrong as never before ... and methods to communicate that knowledge as never before. KARL KORTUM Director San Francisco Maritime Museum
8
Out of a Common Past ... a Future for Man
I don't know for sure who Clio wa:,, but I know that the ingenious men and women, the daring and hardworking people who during the last ten thousand years developed the art and craft of sailing, deserve to be remembered. They live on in us, of course, but we'll do a better job of steering for the future if we knew better from where we came. The history of boats and ships show that good ideas have come from every corner of the world. It's well-known that the invention of the compass came to Europe from China. Less well-known is the fact that the idea for retractable keels-daggerboards and later centerboards, also came from the Orient. The idea of tacking against the wind came to Europe from North Africa. In the 15th Century Italian sailors with their square-sailed ships were amazed to see Arab ships literally sailing rings around them with their triangular lateen rigs. The first Italian admiral who tried such triangular sails was threatened with excommunication if he used them. "Only someone in league with the devil could sail against the wind." Obviously somewhere along the line the admiral must have persuaded the authorities that the triangular sail was just a good idea that ought to be swi ped . Our nautical language holds bits and pieces from every continent. "Catamaran" from Malaya; "starboard" from the Viking's "steerboard" where the steering oar was held. And in tools, ropes, and materials we draw upon dozens of ancient cultures, perhaps hundreds of cultures.
* * * * * Now some say that technology, having made it easier and easier for few and fewer people to do more and more damage, has doomed the Human Race to an early death . They may be right, but they may not be. Old-time sailors knew that some mighty heavy jobs could be done if enough people hauled in rhythm upon a rope. And we know that the strongest ropes are only made up of tiny fibers which are only strong because they are in close contact with each other. May our four billion humans get in ever closer contact with each other, knowing our common past. Then we, and history, will have a future. PETE SEEGER Beacon, New York