79-12-A6
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Waiting in Line[edit]
Transcript[edit]Tempers flared often when, several months ago, many Americans were forced to wait in lines for hours to buy gasoline. When we didn't have to wait in those lines, we were fascinated by the phenomenon. News media interviewed frustrated motorists, asking them how long they had been waiting, or what they did to pass the time. Camera crews took to the air to get good aerial pictures of the long lines. These reactions are understandable for a society not used to the experience of facing shortages of popular consumer goods. But in the midst of our frustration with gas lines during the early part of the summer, in Russia writers reminded us that waiting in line for almost everything is an everyday occurrence in the Soviet Union. Yuri Druzhnikov is a dissident Russian writer of children's books who still lives in the Soviet Union. Recently he reminded Americans of the dreary reality of life in the Soviet Union in an article for the Washington Post. This writer was born in a line. That' right. His mother was waiting in line to be admitted to the maternity hospital when she discovered that she had forgotten her internal passport, which is required of all citizens. By the time her husband retrieved the passport from home, the baby was born in the corridor. If you wish to see a movie in the Soviet Union, you must purchase a ticket a month in advance, then stand in line for about six hours before the movie. It would take you about three years on a waiting list to buy a new refrigerator. Do you have any complaints about the phone company? If so, consider this: in the Soviet Union it takes from five to seven years just to buy a telephone. And it takes about seven years on a waiting list to buy a car. Citizens of the Soviet Union must wait in countless other lines simply to secure the basic necessities of life. Food lines are common. So are waiting lists for government-owned housing. But there is one class of citizens who can go to the head of all lines. In this supposedly classless society, large numbers of government and party officials have special allotments and privileges. This writer explains--"As to higher officials in general ... Their chauffeurs, secretaries, and maids go to special distribution centers and serve as stand-ins for the VIPs. VIPs are busy pondering our future and cannot stand in line for caviar, French wines, American cognac and out-of-season fruit flown in from exotic places. Ordinary people stand in line for ordinary potatoes." Druzhnikov was born in a line--and when he dies, his obituary will have to wait in line. For when a writer dies in the Soviet Union, his obituary is held back from the newspapers until his life has been investigated for any political indiscretions. When considered next to the endless lines which are a way of life in the Soviet Union, our month or two of long gasoline lines seems like a minor inconvenience. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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