THE staff position attempts to point out many ironies in the American system that have been magnified by the changes in Eastern Europe. It is more ironic that at this time of ideological change, staunch liberals call on the government to reassess its ideology, but do not do so themselves.

The staff does little more than apply old liberal guidelines to a quickly changing world. The over-simplified conclusions in the editorial show that the liberal staff members are the ones who have stopped being progressive.

For example, the editorial praises the "courage and foresight of Mikhail Gorbachev" and says Gorbachev changed mostly because he realized that spending too much on the military reduced his country's ability to provide basic needs. While this may be true, it leaves aside the other reasons cited--freedom and democracy. Are the liberals putting aside the causes of freedom, human rights and democracy in favor of dollar signs?

The staff also gets carried away with its attack on military spending. To link military spending to high infant mortality rates without any analysis is irresponsible.

It would have been more constructive to use the changes in Eastern Europe to take a real progressive look at the world. If we are going to do this, then we should all take a look at our thinking. If there is one thing we should learn from the changes, it is that every group can redefine its policies--even if they have always insisted that these were morally right.