Word: pendulum
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Educating our children to protect themselves against sexual abuse [EDUCATION, Nov. 12] is commendable and necessary. However, the pendulum may be swinging too far in the other direction. It would be a tragedy to deny children the warmth of a relationship with a well-meaning adult like a neighbor who touches the youngster's head or pats his back. Many people may now refrain from any contact with a child for fear of being branded an "Uncle Harry...
Nevertheless, the fear remains that last month's election results may reverberate in the judicial arm for decades to come. To some, it would signify the long last return of the pendulum form the liberal days of the Warren Court. Others would say such a court would be an expression of the polity. But as Weinreb of the Law School puts it, "the hope in the Constitution is that the Court would restrain public opinion. A Reagan Court may facilitate...
Even if Deng's regime does abide by the terms of the treaty, its successors could easily reverse or rewrite it. China has proved to be singularly unpredictable in years past, with its violent and frequent pendulum swings from left to right. Clearly, the Communist nation has much to gain from protecting its capitalist jewel: the per capita gross domestic product of Hong Kong is 18 times that of China, and already the 400-sq.-mile colony supplies its colossal neighbor with up to 40% of its entire foreign-exchange earnings. Even those practical considerations, however, could be swept...
Fraser thinks the 17th century woman's limited emancipation crested in midcentury, when Oliver Cromwell shook the established ways of English society. By the end of the century the punishing cycle of a woman's life and the pendulum of history had swung women's status back to just about where it was 100 years before. But in the meantime, women had talked. Women had thought for themselves. In Eraser's phrase, history held the door open briefly and, as we who read the 17th century with 20th century eyes know, nothing was ever quite...
...legal drinking age in many states has taken a double pendulum swing over the past two decades. During the late '60s and early '70s, when teen-agers were being drafted for military service in Viet Nam, more than half of all state legislatures lowered the minimum to 18 or 19. Since 1976, however, at least 20 states have voted to raise their drinking age. Last fall a presidential commission on drunken driving strongly recommended a uniform drinking age of 21. But since autumn, only four additional states have boosted age requirements; 19 states have considered and rejected such...