parable concerns a world called All, a world not unlike our own. In All, there a e a large num ber of islands. Two islands are selected at random for this story: one island called We and another called On each of these islands there are creatures quite similar to human beings, and each creature has the name of He. know what occupation He has makes no difference to this story. He might be a housewife, a preacher, a senator, or a teacher. The life He leads is as yours and mine. In the social structure of each island, there are groups composed of Hes. These groups are called They. As the story goes, the island of We and the island called Them are involved in a struggle of entangled and crossed purposes. The groups, They, have some vital decisions to make, not unlike the decisions faced by the groups and institutions in our world. One bright day, where They could hear, He ques tioned a decision They had made. What is the reason for the insistence and emphasis on only one specific means for the resolution of the conflicts of All? They answered, This method is the most important, prac tical, and certain means whereby We can protect our interests from the interests of Them. He reflected and responded, What is really more important, love or the law of gravity? They could see that He did not agree with the decision They had made, so He was given some derisive looks and there was much questioning of loyalty. He stopped talking. He became frightened and confused ; understandably so, because He had a family of creatures to support and to whom He was respon sible. At that same time, there were other He creatures who had heard the dialog, but most just rocked from side to side, and some anxiously shuffled their feet. In our world He would be considered either insane or courageous, because at a later time He again ques tioned where They could hear. What is the reason for spending hundreds, thousands, millions, or even billions in time and money to create a sphere of influence and power that could destroy All? They answered, To stop investing in a sphere of influence and power could mean that We would be destroyed by Them ! We would lose respect, freedom, and liberty. He again reflected and responded, spending for power and influence is not stopped and those monies and man hours directed toward better means, will We not be destroyed with Them Will respect, freedom, or liberty have any meaning? They considered this to be the final, irrational af front, so He was brought before a committee They had formed. He was asked, Was He or had He ever been one of them ? He responded, What is meant by 'One of Them'? They deliberated for many days and came back to say that They were not sure what 'One of Them' was; but, They concluded, He is not what We are, He must be one of Them. He was broken economically, psychologically, and spiritually. He became an outcast, a stranger; and He was heard sobbing, Where can the decisions that They make be questioned without fear of sanction ? At the same time, the other He creatures stopped rocking and shuffling their feet, and were enlightened by what He said, and the tragic drama He was undergoing. So a large number of these other He creatures formu lated a new group, but this new group was in many ways different from the other groups. There was much con cern over what to call this evolving group, because of a general rejection for continuing the polarities of He and They, and We and The title Us was con sidered and forgotten. Ultimately, it was unanimously resolved that this new group would be called Process. It was determined that the Process would be guided by the ideal that thought and action are means directed toward only one object?the welfare of All. Thought fulness, tentativity, integrity, change, historical per spective, and justification by objective truth were con sidered to be other significent guidelines. It was also re solved that these guidelines would direct a tenacious commitment to the principles We had: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of dissent, and fredom from fear. Finally, it was understood that by using these guidelines, the Process would be ever ex panding and self-correcting; and, therefore, the Process could question, investigate, evaluate, and speak out without fear. The Process continues, the parable has no ending. exercise in the persuasive parable dramatizes one path open to higher education if our country should become irresistably drawn into ideological closure. If this path is followed, higher learning must be prepared to stand fast in defense of the most precious process by which truth is sought and found. The community of scholars must be prepared to clarify, and when possible, eliminate the clouded confusion of the We-Them, He They, Us-Them dichotomies. Higher education must champion the process of competition of ideas, where all sides win in varying degrees, and it must resist the at traction of the senseless and non-winning conflict. The 200