Word: consensus
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...good reason for beginning with a strictly medical approach. Some of the victims' symptoms included loss of feeling in the extremities and severe muscle weakness. In a few cases with paralysis, poliomyelitis was suspected-reasonably enough, since there was an outbreak of polio in the area. The eventual consensus was that some form of encephalitis had struck...
...connotative one) seemingly illogical hatred of cultural/political radicals. "False consciousness," "Mass-media indoctrination," "Counter-revolutionary schooling"-I have used them all to glibly dismiss red-neckism. These polemies are particularly convenient because they can be used, in one form or another, to ignore just about any mass consensus that is adverse to radical programs...
...that are subsequently modified for the sake of prudence. The Violence Commission, for instance, dropped a ringing line that appeared in an original draft: "As the early Christians showed, a prophetic minority sometimes shows more insight than a silent majority." Still, the tendency of a commission is to seek consensus since, without a unanimous report, its members know that their work will have little impact. Moreover, as ancient philosophers discovered, an extended symposium on human affairs is a powerful way of getting at the truth. Lloyd Cutler, executive director of the Violence Commission, puts it this way: "A commission...
...existence by famine." Only the most extreme efforts will succeed in avoiding this end, and those efforts will be effective only if they are instituted immediately. As for the "quality of human life," the only sure way to obtain quality is by limiting quantity. If there exists a broad consensus among scientists, it is that the imperative of our age is the population dynamic, and that, if the end comes, it comes not with a bang, nor even a whimper, but rather with a birth...
Although Nixon has not been hurt by either My Lai or the moratoriums, his consensus is still clouded. Americans may support his policy in the short run, but they remain disturbingly uncertain about both the success of Vietnamization and the ultimate outcome of the war. A plurality of 41% to 39% believe that South Viet Nam will be unable to defend itself without U.S. troops. More significant, the number who feel that South Viet Nam will eventually go Communist has not changed one point since October. It was 43% then and remains 43% now. The message seems clear: Americans...