Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1986. július-december (40. évfolyam, 27-49. szám)
1986-07-03 / 27. szám
Thursday, July 3. 1986. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZO 15. IVAN WALTER v. WAYDITCH: Reflections on the Statue Now that the clamor of processions and patriotic platitudes have been placed before the irridescent beam of democracy; the Statue of Liberty, may she somehow condescent to allow this son of a Hungarian immigrant to be near her feet where I can humbly look . up at her massive presence and thence scan clear skies of reality which hover over her head and torch. I find that she is mute indeed a mere statue. She is no more real than those other masterpieces created by the idealistic sculptors of the past. She is but a mere symbol like statuary within a Church-a stone representation of some sculptor's conception of what 'should be' and 'could be'. There is no more true spirit of anything nor any power whatsoever within that metal body than there was within the marble ones of Baal, Ishtar, Horus, Zeus and Jupiter. She is astutely covered with metallic lines by the high priests of our era. They cause the pulsating voice of -democracy to issue forth from her but of course it is not the spirit which speaks. It is but the static intonation of the crafty priests themselves. I say she is only a statue and nothing more, otherwise she would be able to turn her head and after looking back to 1492In December 1984, I visited Cuba at the invitation of the Cuban Academy of Sciences (CAS). The purpose of this visit was to explore ways to open contacts between Cuban and U.S. physicists. I also gave lectures on my special field of interest, cosmic ray physics, a subject of international interest and research, in which I had been active for more than 20 years at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Upon my return to the U.S., I arranged to make a presentation describing my visit and the interests of the CAS in furthering scientific exchange, to the Subcommittee on International Scientific Affairs (SISA), of the American Physical Society, (APS), in Baltimore on March 23rd, 1985. The SISA was very receptive to the idea of cooperation in physics between Cuba and the APS, and I was asked to continue my informal discussions. These led to an invitation for three physicists to attend the annual meeting of the Cuban Physics Society, (CPS) in Santiago de Cuba. Dr. R. Park, University of Maryland, Dr. B. Crasemann, University of Oregon, and I, formerly of the NRL (because, presumably as a result of these activities, I had allegedly become a national security risk), attended this meeting in June of 1985, and presented talks on our respective when America was discovered - she would discover that the same clouds prevail over this continent. Yes, the.; idealistic sun still shines: the land which Columbus called a natural paradise is still so, but the turgid clouds of hypocrisy and injustice are also still there to vitiate the atmosphere. The mad quest for gold is still here. Perhaps the priests don't practise mercantilism or colonialism anymore. At least, they don't call the ailment, by that name, anymore. It has become just plain commercialism. And the slaves who serve these new masters are not shackled by irons anymore. Why shackle them? Just let them be bogged down in the mud of poverty and indifference. After all, how many of them shall ever have the opportunity to leave the torrid jungle of commercialism in order to live in the manor itself?? I ask, as we look back to 1492 how many of us know the very name of that unfortunate sailor; Rodrigo de Triana, the man who sighted America first, but was cheated out of his due monetary and historical honors by a selfish Columbus himself??? Thusly permit me to conclude, dear readers, that very few know of my composer- father who sighted that torch of hope held by the iron-clad lady in the bay and lay 14 painstakingly created grand operas before her feet. He was rewarded by just letting him lie there-without a dollar in his pocket: on the family dole. And like the Mozart of old, he was hurriedly driven off without much ado to be buried. The priests of course, for personal and perhaps embarrassing reasons hope that he and his art are buried forever within that Long Island vault. research interests. In addition, we visited the Physics Departments of the Universities of Oriente and Havana, plus a number of other scientific institutes. We also took with us an invitation from the President of the APS, Dr. R. R. Wilson, for Dr. D. Stolik, the President of the CPS, to attend the International Conference on Research and Communication in Physics, to be held in Washington, D.C., during April, 1986. In October, 1985, President Reagan issued a proclamation suspending entry into the U.S., of all Cuban government employees! Nevertheless, we urged Dr. Stolik to apply for an entry visa and he did. The denial of his visa by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, was issued to him just two days prior to his sheduled departure for the U.S. Upon learning of this denial, we immediately asked the major scientific societes in the U.S. to join with us in making protests to the Department of State. The visa was finally issued and Dr. Stolik arrived in Washington one day after the opening of the meeting, which was attended by delegates from 60 countries including the USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia. He invited Dr. R. R. Wilson and Dr. S. Drell, the newly elected President of the APS, to visit Cuba and to continue discussions in connection with student exchanges. IN MEMÓRIÁM OF HELEN KOVÁCS May peace be with you in your eternal sleep and may nothing disturb the memory of our eternal love. In life we were able to find laughter and were blessed with good friends. Now that you are gone I humbly ask your forgiveness if I have offended you in any way. Your memory will be with me until I die. You know very well, my beloved how I fed you in the hospital with unrealistic optimism and at the same time I saw the . cruel reality that all my efforts were in vain, ruining my optimism and hope. Helen, part of my life died with you but your rhemory is treasured by me. I find you even in my dreams. Only those who lived through such horrendous experiences can feel the heartache that I feel. Sleep in peace, my lifecompanion. There is a pit that separates us now, dark like the night. I find emptiness as I approach old age without you by my side. It is like a wilting flower, which has blossomed, matured, lost its petals and disintegrated slowly. Helen, dear, destiny cruelly separated us with its long and emaciated hand but it cannot tarnish our love. May you rest in peace, dear Helen. . Steve Kovács Toronto, THE CLOCK OF LIFE The clock of life is wound but once And no man has the power To tell just when the hands will stop At late or early hour. Now is the only time you own, Live, love, respect others. toil with a will. Place no faith in "tomorrow" for The clock may then be still. (In memory of my husband M.B.) These visits have given the U.S. physics community its first look at physics in Cuba since the Revolution. There are about 300 members in the CPS, which is only 4 years old. They publish their own physics journal and also publish in foreign journals. The teaching facilities at the two Universities are inadequate, and laboratories have mostly antiquated Russian equipment. Their journal libraries are largely incomplete, and we are in the midst of a campaign to obtain all possible missing U.S. physics journals for them. The physics institutes are generally devoted to applied physics, which is, naturally, more important than cosmology and elementary particle research in a developing country. Much of this research centers on solid state physics and the design of computing systems for industry and manufacturing. These institutes are much better equipped with research tools, most of it from Western Europe, altough we did spot a few pieces of U.S. equipment as well. In summary, Cuban physics is alive and growing, even if not yet well. It is far ahead of any other country in the Caribbean and Central America. I intend to help it develop in any possible way, despite the U.S. embargo, because I believe that the Cuban revolution poses no threat to anyone, and our support will be used to continue to improve the quality of life in Cuba. Bertram Stiller US AND CUBAN PHSYICISTS EXCHANGE VISITS
