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Show Editorial The Signpost Viewpoint WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2011 3 THE SIGNPOST Root for something, not just against Rivalries bring out a lot in people. This can be easily observed in our state whenever the local college football teams play each other. Last week, Brigham Young University's football team played Utah State University's, and Facebook became predictably obnoxious. There was a lot of trash talk, a lot of criticism about BYU being holierthan-thou, a lot of Aggies being called common cow-herders and a lot of plain ugliness. What is ironic is how little of the discourse surrounding the game, which BYU won on a last-minute lucky touchdown, actually involved the game. So many sports fans define themselves not by whom they support, but by which teams they hate. We all have co-workers, neighbors, annoying cousins, grocery store clerks and possibly even spouses who we absolutely hate to talk to after a big game. Whether or not their team wins doesn't matter, because either outcome gives them sufficient ammunition to lob at the team they hate so much. Boston sports teams, especially, have this problem. The Red Sox, Boston's historically tumultuous team, recently suffered through one of Major League Baseball's worst lateseason collapses ever. They missed making the playoffs by one game after the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees on an Evan Longoria walk-off home run. Red Sox fans were, at first, shamefaced and despondent, but then they ident George W. Bush inventrilatched onto their true pas- cates a new word, or when Govsion: rooting for Yankees to get ernor Rick Perry back-pedals knocked out of the playoffs. and sweats over the racially ofAlmost as long as Boston's tra- fensive nickname of a hunting dition of losing (minus cham- retreat (the rich have problems pionships in 2004 and 2007) we could never understand). is Boston's tradition of hating Those who choose not to veer their pinstriped neighbors to from the conservative path want nothing more than for the southwest. These little brother-symp- President Barack Obama to slip toms are simply signs of great- up and blow it, or for Nancy er insecurities. How many of Pelosi's face to finally implode us know someone who hates after sucking on that lemon for to see others succeed? Do they the past 20 years. define their own happiness The problem is that, when and self-worth not by personal we root for those in positions achievement, but by the failure of political power to fail based on their party affiliation, we of others around them? This same partisan sniping root for bad things to happen can be seen in politics. If we fall to our country. Religion is not immune on the liberal side of the line, we laugh and sneer when Pres- to these problems. Religious people can be raised to shake their heads at the motivations of atheists and agnostics, ignoring the backgrounds and formative factors that would cause a person to question the existence of a God. Conversely, Hollywood trendily encourages the mocking of the highly religious as brainwashed zealots, refusing to acknowledge the good that many religious organizations spread throughout the world. At some point, our allegiances need to lie not with our disagreements, but with our agreements. Do we define ourselves by the things we are for, or the things we're against? Comment on this column at wsusignpost.corn. Pragmatic Perspective Recommended reading for students It would Nathan Mikami be safe to say that there is an • unwritten list The Signpost of must-read columnist books that any good student should at least be aware of before they graduate from college. Among that list of books, there are certainly political commentaries and books on current events and issues. I want to submit my own small list of books that I feel any well-rounded college student should read before graduating. My first submission actually isn't a book, but rather daily newspapers. Anyone can flip through 24-hour news channels, but only the truly learned will read a daily newspaper. Few things sadden me more than seeing a full stack of The Signpost and a full stack of The New York Times at 10:30 in the morning. Why don't people pick them up and read them? The newspaper provides something that news networks will never have, and that is the simple element of reading. There is too much audio-visual stimulation in the world, and the newspaper is one of the last daily fixes of reading one can get. The next time you enter any building on campus, pick up the Times and The Signpost in order to strengthen your college experience. The second submission is the irrefutable George Orwell classic, 1984. Most people were required to read this in high school, which means most high-schoolers have read the Sparknotes to 1984 and have forgotten all about it. It's an incredible work of fiction addressing the dangers of fascism, totalitarian governments and the destruction of the individual. This is an important book, and if you don't understand big-brother puns, jokes or references, then you should take that as a subtle hint to pick up 1984. The third recommendation is an extremely readable and insightful look into America and the world's future. The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria is one of my favorite perspectives into what Mr. Zakaria calls the rise of the rest: the rise of Asia and, more specifically, a 21stcentury China, India and America's relative decline and future role within the global economy and international politics. For a modern student living in the modem world, this is an important work from one of the great thinkers of our day. You don't have to agree with me or with the man, but Plato's Republic is the first major work on politics that, amazingly, continues to be the center of discussion among political theorists today. Plato's age-old question about whether it is better to be just or unjust continues to rack the brains of modern-day philosophers. Plato's theories and style helps the reader develop the ability to think, rather than telling the reader what to think. An important read for any modern-day college student. The final book I'm going to recommend combines solid information with an interesting and attention-grabbing twist. There is a trend these days amongst many authors of using a zombie metaphor within a seemingly normal subject. Daniel Drezner's book Theories of International Politics and Zombies is an adorable look into how the world confronts global issues. Using zombies as a metaphorical and troublesome people, Drezner goes over all of the basics of international law and organization and how the world would react to the zombie problem. Only a couple hundred pages, this is an insightful and fun read that would be great for a busy college student. Some of my suggestions will never be named among classic literature, but are great reading for any student who seeks to be well-rounded and knowledgeable on a variety of subjects. Political science is so much more than the bantering we see all over television, and my hope is that, through meaningful reading, the students of today can realize that fact. Comment on this column at wsusignpost.corn. 7; //0000,--vreg:STING nu: STANDARD *THE SitRivogi HIGHER for CA1VIPUS NEWS Editor in Chief Managing Editor News Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Business Editor Spencer Garn Stephanie Simonson Ka'sey Van Dyke Nathan Davis Bryan Butterfield Cole Spicker 626-7121 626-7614 626-7655 626-7983 626-8071 626-7621 ,Features Editor A&E Editor Copy.Editor Adviser Ads Manager Office'Manager Jerrica Archibald Kory Wood Alexandria Waltz _Shane Farver Shelley Hart Georgia Edwards .626-7624 626-7105 62627659 .626-7526 626-6359 626-7974 The Signpost is a stude nt publication, written, edited and drafted by Weber State The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and also reserves the right-to University students. Student fees fund the printing of this publication. Options or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by'the university. refuse to print any letter. Letters should not exceed 350 words. Letters should be submitted online 'to thesignpost@weber.edu and read Letter to theEditor in the subject box. |
