The Green caldron - University Library

4 The Green Caldron
a debating club with West versus East. Nothing can be accompHshed without
the concession of both patries. Russia wants Communist China on the
Security Council to achieve that wanted balance of power. The West wants
her out of the Council because, as it stands, the West has the advantage.
Therefore, in spite of all the promising alliances and organizations, the
world is no closer to achieving unification than it was a century or more ago.
As countless nations join the ranks of the independent, older ones are
anxiously trying to preserve the old balance of power.
THE
Footprints on the Ceiling
Richard Storinger
Rhetoric 101, Theme 3
FOOTPRINTS ON THE CEILING: SOME CHARACTER
who had the room last semester or the semester before or some time
since they last painted the ceiling probably stretched himself out on
the top bunk with his shoes on. And then maybe he got a crazy idea and
put his feet up to the ceiling and made a pattern of footprints stretching
over the area above the bed. I'd say the guy was probably just goofing off
a little like you do sometimes. But then this type of jerk that calls Elvis
Presley a sex-symbol would probably say that the fellow with the feet was
rebelling against society or some trash like that.
There are always characters like that. I mean the guy that tells you
why you do things, giving you deep, dark psychologically confused motiva-
tions when really you only do things because they're the natural thing to
do and maybe you sort of enjoy doing them.
Of course, even I'd have to admit that there are some people who
everything they do is like a rebellion against society. They're called
"Beatniks" now. They're pretty obviously messed up in their minds and
they're mad at everybody, probably just because they haven't got the guts
to absorb a little intellectual opposition. Because there are certain things
that they don't like, they draw themselves into a little corner and yell that
everybody is crazy but them.
But the normal people, like the guy who put his footprints on the ceiling,
maybe they're experimenting a little, you know, like trying to see just
what rules can be broken and what rules can't.
Well, what the heck, they come into the world and they don't have a
thing to say about how things are or how they're going to be. Let's face it.
All the rules have been made, and they've been made for a long time. Sure,