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Show OPINIONS A7 Historic event in Ven vela Chavez's victory in Venezuela has one student remembering the past By Mara Orchard Staff Writer The historic election in Venezuela on Oct. 7 has inspired me to write my thoughts. I am just a citizen focusing on analyzing the political situations instead of blinding myself or shouting with radicalism. I'm going to focus on and explain events from my point of view, based on my experiences. I still remember the failed coup of the current president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez Frias, in 1994, an event that frames the history and direction of the country. In the government of Carlos Andrez Perez, popular discontent was beginning to emerge. The so-called "economic paquetazo" enraged a people who cried for change, for more equality and better lifestyles. Without too many details, that discontent was also planted in the armed forces. After the failure of the coup of Commander Chavez, the government made the mistake of transmitting the face of the leader of the failed coup over television. The people were able to identify a leader. People recognized him, a leader willing to fight for their interests, fight for their discontent. When they imprisoned Chavez, the presidential candidate Rafael Caldera used it as a political strategy. Congress would mandate his release and the release of all those involved in the failed coup. The people, people driven by political parties, supported freeing the man who faced off against the Carlos Andres Perez government. Caldera won the election, and Chavez was released. I still remember Chavez was participating in the elections of 1999.1 was teaching history at an educational institute, a private, prestigious school. The students were the future generations of the Venezuelan elite, children and grandchildren of the most prestigious leaders and former presidents of Venezuela. I was just a student of social sciences of the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, managing to start my learning at an early age. My students saw with fear the emergence of this social leader. I remember mentioning the word Socialist before the political strategy of Chavez had been portrayal that way. But I wondered, who among the Venezuelan people would identify with this Socialist leader? You simply have to read Venezuelan history. In general, Venezuelan political parties focused on keeping power in their hands and educated an ignorant people so they would be easy to handle. In other words, we were form- ing our own history. We are the product of leaders past. To change that way of thinking it was going to take time, so we matured and prepared so that future generations wouldn't have to live with the mistakes of the past. In 1996, Chavez won by a landslide as the second candidate in Venezuelan history with record participation. It was anticipated this year's election would yield similar results, but that may not have been the case. Another historical moment, the leading opposition, in only three months campaigning, Henrique Capriles Radosky achieveed the support of more than six million Venezuelans who hoped for change, a hope that was formed not by a social leader, but a political analyst, a key used by the government to confuse and manipulate the people once more. There was once more as much electoral participation. Let me explain another historic moment once more. When the primary won the presidential candidate for Henrique Capriles, the opposition, the media circulated a picture of all the opposing candidates holding hands. Once more, the Venezuelan people will identify with an image. The image of the unit, the image of the political hope of change from so many years of power concentrated in one person. The opposition is United, which it has not been previously. The opposition was organized, and the leader of progress was Henrique Capriles Radosky. The campaign took another course. He traveled town by town planting an ideology of change and hope, ideology to build a new country where all rights would be respected and equality would exist for all Venezuelans. Capriles did not commit the error of previous opposition candidates. He did not focus his campaign on hatred or attacks against president Chavez but focused on "Progress for a better Venezuela." For the first time, the government had a This has not been a defeat. This was the beginning of what is going to lead to a change in all sectors of the country. great opponent. Fear was planted in many sectors of the government, and the policy to frighten the people changed because there was no longer any fear. President Chavez has concentrated mostly on international affairs and has forgetten the internal affairs of the country. Chavez feared the emergence of this young leader prepared and willing to take leadership. Many people woke up, many people followed and many people supported him. Capriles Randosky lost the presidential elections, but Venezuela won a 11 der. The people gave a message to the go ernment that half of Venezuelan citizens are not in accordance with its policy. Change is going to take more time than I thought, but the seeds are sown and Capriles Randosky has given the message of hope that united you can build a better future. This has not been a defeat. This was the beginning of what is going to lead to a change in all sectors of the country. I'm not politically radical, but I do not think a person should stay so long in government. Ideals of hatred and exclusion should not be grown within Venezuelans. A leader guides, not condemns Past governments have left us with the outcome of the elections on Oct. 7. A town can be manipulated, but a born leader can teach people to have hope, that they still have the power and that opposition needs to reorganized. There are future generations who deserve to live in a better Venezuela. This is just the beginning. I understand the Venezuelans who woke up disappointed after the elections, but I ask, 'How can I make a difference?' I'm following my training at UVU in international studies and preparing once more, not in the field of education, but in the international field. I am achieving my goals to bring something to my society. The same Venezuela sounds great, always ready and fighting for your ideals, but only if you never lose hope. Hugo Chavez survived a tight election to maintain control. PHOTO BY MARCELLO CASAL JR./ABR Pil The emasculation of men Society has started degrading men as women begin to rise By Bryce Jolley Staff Writer jolleyness@gmail.com I am all about progress. I like the progress that society has made for the equality of women in a historically predominant male hierarchy. I think the sexes should be given equal opportunity and power. However, with that being said, there is another problem beginning to lurk in the doorways of social structure. With women on the rise, men are being emasculated. Where I felt there was inequality before, there is inequality again. But it has just flip-flopped positions. Media, especially TV and movies, depicts men as incompe- tent, self-absorbed and immature. It hasn't been enough for women to be on an equal plane as men. Society takes one step more and puts down. For example, it's not enough for women to join the workplace as equal career partners being mothers. They have to make men seem incapable of performing their former duties in the home. In March, there was a Huggies commercial that caused a lot of controversy for this very reason. Men were portrayed as being incompetent at raising children, particularly at changing diapers. They were also shown as self-absorbed, consumed with watching sports and neglecting their babies. Why can men and women have equal place in the workforce, but only women can be good at raising children? Why is a father's role being downplayed and degraded to make women feel more equal? Both sexes should be viewed as being competent in both work and parent roles. That would be true equality. However, society has the notion that for women to achieve true equality with men, they must be one step ahead, slightly raised on the pedestal of power. In a recent speech, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke to men and encouraged them to not give themselves an excuse to mold into these portrayals incom- Why is a father's role being downplayed and degraded to make women feel more equal? petent, self-absorbed or weak men. "In their zeal to promote opportunity for women, something we applaud, there are those that denigrate men and their contributions. They seem to think as life as a competition between male and female. That one must dominate the other. And now it's the women's turn . . . this cultural emasculation of men is having a damaging effect," Elder D. Todd Christofferson said. Think of your favorite movies or TV shows. In shows like "King of Queens," "Two and a Half Men" and "How I Met Your Mother," men are portrayed as lazy, unintelligent womanizers. This is a gross stereotype creeping into our society and could have a lasting effect for years to come. I am all about equality and having women run right along with men, but women, don't trample us while you are at it. The jobs report: Part one of many Sometimes, jobs suck. Sometimes, they don't We've all had them, but first jobs are absolutely the worst By Nick Boyer Staff Writer senorboyero@gmail.com It seems like a buzzword today is "jobs." You hear it all the time from political agenda machines. But you also hear it from people who need jobs. What's so great about jobs? We all know that Steve Jobs was amazing at his job, but, I'm sure most people look at having a job as a necessary evil. Some even refer to it as a "living." I remember Mick, Rocky's trainer in the movie series, telling Rocky what he thought of him working for a loan shark. Rocky said, "It's a living," and Mick replied, "It's a waste of life." Pursuing education to get a better job while having to get some "living" job in the meantime is probably where a large majority of students find them- My boss was 16 years old, same as me. He liked it when I would make prank phone calls to adult men's clubs, pretending to be a professional stripper looking for work. ERIC GONZALEZ/UVU REVIEW selves. Me being in that population of not having the graces of Big Daddy's pocket, I've gone through my fair share of terrible jobs. My first job was working for a kid's play place with those huge inflatable things kids pillage all over with their dirty little faces. Nobody seemed to notice that I wasn't too committed to the job, but being fresh in the workplace, I did my best. Sometimes my best meant taking a nap in the back. My boss was 16 years old, same as me. He liked when I made prank phone calls to adult men's clubs, pretending to be professional stripper looking for work. During the prank call, I told them my audition was electric and consisted of throwing salsa on the crowd, dressed as Whoopi Goldberg from her role in "Sister Act." I wonder how my life would've been different if I gotten that job. Another time, my coworkers showed me a hole in the wall of the "employees only" area that led to people working out at the Gold's Gym located next door. We came up with an idea to squirt water at people as they worked out, except we used fountain drinks, such as root beer or Sprite. The innocent muscle heads would look around in bewilderment for the cause of the raining root beer. Even with such freedom, I still was annoyed at having to vacuum every night, finding band aids, and, without fail, one giant sock. I also had to set up for birthday parties, which sometimes happened when our manager would book a local punk or metal band to play. I have to say it was a strange juxtaposition: Seeing mothers and metalheads trying their best to have a good time in proximity. My youthful age had no sense of discipline, and so I quit the minimum wage job for greater heights. |
