Unfinished business

              (Unfinished business
(Last of a series)
The proposition that Greensboro
should "respond" to the events of last
November 3, or engage in "dialogue"
about them, means different things to
different people.
To some it means increased police
protection and tighter controls on the
exercise of free speech. To others it may
mean the rendering of a just verdict in
the courts. Still others have found in the
violence of November 3 and its aftermath the signs of some hidden problems
in the community or in the society at
These warning signs include worries
about an ugly resurgence of Ku Klux
Klan activity around the nation and a
new militance among leftist groups.
They also suggest a failure of communication between the races in Greensboro.
And they invite attention to some local
concerns whose consideration may have
been drowned out, postponed or altered
by the series of shocks the city has absorbed over the last year.
The power of words
The hardest job is to sort out these
concerns, to decide which can and
should be dealt with in our own community. Some of these, such as the potential for extremist activity, concern us
but at the same time do not admit to any
obvious "solution." That does not mean
they should be ignored or dismissed as
problems.
The power of words to do evil has already been amply demonstrated in
Greensboro. The power of words to do
good is an often forgotten art. That art,
the best antidote for extremism, should
be restored to its rightful place.
There are two ways to speak out positively. One of them is to denounce what
• or evil in our community'. The
other is to proclaim what is good and
what can be done to make Greensboro
better. Then we must set about the
business of doing it. All of us must be
more outspoken and n^ore forceful, in
word and deed, in this task.
Some have resi
sponded
A previous editorial noted the irony
that the political extremists in our midst
have been the ones to respond most
quickly to November 3. But this is not
the whole story. Gity government has
also responded, sometimes defensively,
but also at times constructively.
For example, the police department
has been substantially reorganized. Police officials have shown a commendable
willingness to learn from a bad experience. The Human Relations Commission's report on November 3 issued last
week also provides a useful starting
point.
Unfortunately that same responsiveness has not been much in evidence
among other leaders in the city. This
includes a wider circle than city government officials, though some of the initiative must begin there. There is a
tendency to expect miracles from the
mayor and city council, who in fact cannot do the job alone. They more often
act as the catalysts, not the agents, of
change.
Who will speak?
Ideas or action can come from a refreshing variety of sources. They can
come from highly organized and influential groups like the Chamber of Commerce. Or the informal group of clergy
and religious leaders who issued a statement on church-and-state politics last
week. Or the coalition of citizens' groups
that petitioned city council for a ward
system referendum earlier this year.
The important thing is that such
groups, whatever their point of view,
not stand silent on important issues that
face the community. The initiative must
be seized; and a positive agenda must be
set which people can talk about and,
yes, disagree about, too.
A proposed agenda
We make no claim to special understanding of what that agenda should be.
But several items of unfinished community business do stand out. Some of
them surfaced in the Human Relations I