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Show -f* Wednesday, March 23, 2005 Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Natalie Clemens VIEWPOINT [W HOOD Phone: 626-7121 V0TCR5 APPROua? vu>R0lW<b THAT Discrimination transcends gender, race In May of 1869, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the Woman Suffrage Association. Their main goal as an organization was to achieve voting rights for women by means of a congressional amendment to the Constitution. Utah was second only to Colorado in passing an amendment in 1893 granting women the right to vote at last. In I960, the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills for the first time. Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique in 1963, which became a best seller and galvanized the women's rights movement. Tide VII of the Civil Rights act, which was passed in 1964, barred discrimination in employment on the basis of race and sex. Roe v. Wade established a woman's right to have a safe and legal abortion in 1973, overriding the anti-abortion laws many states clung to. Women's rights have come a long way since Anthony and Stanton got the ball rolling. Disney's Mary Poppins featured Mrs. Banks, a crusader for women's rights, who marched around her home singing these words: We're clearly soldiers in petticoats And dauntless crusaders for woman's votes Though we adore men individually We agree that as a group they're rather stupid! The last phrase dealing with the intelligence of men is not shared by all feminists, and perhaps not even many feminists at all, but the attitude reflected in the methods many women use in promoting women's rights can sometimes convey that message. Discrimination is a delicate topic, and is hard to discuss without offending someone. It inspires images of the pregnant and barefoot wife slaving over a hot stove "where she belongs," and the determined woman in the power suit calling all of the shots as a leader "where she belongs." Signs posted recently around campus rely on the extremist view: "If February is Black History Month and March is Women's History Month, what do you call the rest of the year? Answer: Discrimination." This riddle is as extreme as the "submissive housewife" stereotype held by some men and women. Both are extremist views, and neither represents the true story. The posters were created by the people at guerrillagirls.com, who claim to represent the facts about the oppression that women face today. In reality, the site is filled with blanket statements and unqualified claims, interspersed with a few facts. Sites like this do very little in furthering the rights of anyone. Perhaps this group is trying to create awareness by being controversial, or perhaps they really believe that all women are heavily discriminated against right now. While discrimination still exists in the world, the truth is that discrimination transcends gender, race, age, religion and sexual preference. This is not to say that one should not favor a cause, or promote rights for a specific group. However, when crusading for rights, the methods employed should be as noble as the intended results. Unfortunately, the Guerrilla Girls appear to discriminate against men in their efforts to end discrimination against women. - The Signpost Editorial Board r-n e ^m^ m weoer state university Signpost Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Sports Editor Copy Editor Features Editor Entertainment Editor Business Editor Photo Editor Graphics Editor Online Editor Advertising Manager Office Manager Advisior Distribution Publisher Signpost Fax Natalie Clemens Maria Villasenor Heather Hunt-Wood Jon Nelson William Hampton Roy Pyatt Becky Palmer Candice Dallin Mo Williams Samuel T. Platt Nick Litster Devon Crus Georgia Edwards Allison Hess William Hampton Dr. Randy Scott 626-7121 626-7614 626-7655 626-7983 626-7659 626-7621 626-7105 626-7624 626-6358 626-7661 626-6358 626-6359 626-7974 626-7499 626-7974 626-6464 626-7401 The Signpost Is published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the semester. Subscription is $9 a semester. The first copy of The Signpost is free, each additional copy Is $.50. • The Signpost Is a student publication, written, edited and drafted by Weber State University students. Student fees partially fund the printing of this publication. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. • The Signpost welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must Include name, address, telephone number and the writer's signature. Anonymous letters will not be printed. • The Signpost reserves the right to edit letters for reasons of space and libel and also reserves the right to refuse to print any letter. Letters should not exceed 350 words. Bring letters to the editorial office In SUB 267, mail to: The Signpost, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408-2110. Attn: Editor in Chief, email thesignpost@weber.edu Odd pair comes together to protect environment By Jane Eisner Knight Ridder Tribune Deep into a long and controversial critique of , the environmental movement, Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus make this salient point: "Environmentalists are in a culture war whether we like it or not. It's a war over our core values as Americans and over our vision for the future, and it won't be won by appealing to the rational consideration of our collective self-interest." Shellenberger and Nordhaus' essay, "The Death of Environmentalism" (grist.org/news/maindish/2005/01/ 13/doe-reprint/), now circulating on the Internet, has prompted a wave of reaction and consternation, and the above paragraph tells you why. These young environmentalists, who came to their conclusions after talking to dozens of leaders in their community, are unafraid to answer a question many have been reluctant to ask: Why has the environmental movement failed to win American hearts and change American habits? Understanding the challenge as a culture war instead of an alarmist public education campaignshowsShellenberger and Nordhaus get it. They understand that effective environmentalism requires vision and values, not alarmism and sentimentalist nature-love. They may pick up an unlikely ally. While their essay was creating quite a buzz among the "Save the Earth" crowd, a new group walked into the room. Meeting last week in Washington, some conservative evangelical leaders said they'd use their Christian voice and political clout to fight what they call the urgent threat of global warming. This follows a position paper issued in October by the National Association of Evangelicals including a plank on "creation care." Christianity Today, an influential evangelical magazine, also weighed in: "Christians should make it clear to governments and businesses that we are willing to adapt our lifestyles and support steps toward changes that protect our environment." This could give a whole new meaning to the phrase culture war. It's fair to say that these groups traditionally have viewed each other with suspicion bordering on contempt. Accordingtostereotype.environmentalists are socialistic, pantheistic tree-huggers, interested only in extending the reach of suffocating government regulation, while conservative evangelicals care more about someone else's sexual behavior than the state of God's creation. Such stereotypes have a long shelf life. But get past them, and both sides may learn a lot from each other. "Today, environmentalism is just another special interest," Shellenberger and Nordhaus argue. It has become easy to dismiss or demean, and often is reduced to support for incremental legislation rather than a broader vision of preserving precious natural resources while maintaining economic strength and a family-friendly lifestyle. Meanwhile, it's losing ground fast, as suggested by the Senate vote Wednesday in favor of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Let's be honest: Environmentalists could learn a thing or two from evangelicals about promoting values and vision. At the same time, some evangelicals worry that their focus on abortion and same-sex marriage has squelched their voice on other faith-based concerns. "Hey, we're not two-trick ponies," Rich Cizik, NEA's vice president of government affairs, told NPR last Saturday. "You can't really talk about addressing, for example, global warming and climate change without understanding that it impacts people - people who suffer overseas," he said. "We have to understand it's not just one or the other." Of course, these agents provocateurs are already drawing criticism from inside their flanks. Columnist Cal Thomas wrote this week that a focus on global warming "distracts and dilutes the primary calling of evangelicals." Liberal evangelicals who ask, "What Would lesus Drive?" may wonder whether their conservative brethren will really challenge the Bush administration on its policies. Meantime, some environmentalist leaders (and their funders) contend that . Shellenberger and Nordhaus misunderstand the politics and history of their movement. Fine. As long as this hot air doesn't affect the global climate, it can only be for the good. We need a values-based debate about environmentalism before we wake up behind the wheel of an SUV and find it's too late. THESIGNPOST@WEBER, EDU |