March 15, 1972

Spent a day recently talking politics with a large group of high school students taking part in the University For Young Americans - a unique program operated by Baldwin-Wallace College to give Ohio youth an opportunity to pick the brains of adult leaders.

Each Saturday, B-W conducts a seminar on a topic selected by the young people themselves. I was asked to participate at Orrville on the topic "The Role of Young People in Politics."

On the whole, I found these youth intelligent, aware, motivated and informed at about the same degree as any hand-picked group of adults. In other words, the young folks were no more, and no less, elite than their elders - a fact I personally find reassuring.

Our young people are just as responsible and practical as their parents. They are somewhat prejudiced and naive - but no more so than adults.

The most disturbing question asked me was "When do politicians cease to be politicians and become people?"

I was so taken aback by the query that I am afraid I did not answer it as convincingly as I wanted. I wish I had said it in more detail as follows:

Politicians are people. They are not a special interest operating outside the general members of society. As a matter of fact, politicians are the broth of people because they are freely chosen on the basis they express the desires of people.

You may disagree strongly with politicians, but their strength comes from the people.

It is fashionable in some circles today to bad-mouth politics - to link it with greed, graft, corruption.

Indeed, the terms "smoke filled rooms," "pork-barrel," "log-rolling," "gerrymander," "ward-heeler," "fat cats," "spoils system" are emotional clich