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Show Wednesday, August 17, 1988 Chronicle - Page Six EDITORIAL RigBuits protect 'offensive' film Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ is easily one of the most controversial films ever made. The film's opponents cite the allegedly risque love scenes between Christ and Mary Magdalene as sufficient grounds for a total ban of the picture. Scorsese's defenders are hoping the First Amendment's expansive shield of protection will spare the film from the flames of the censor's torcn. The Chronicle opposes any form of censorship, fearing that if the ban is successful, the rape of the Bill of Rights would be far more obscene than anything Hollywood could create. The Constitutional guarantee of free speech was not designed to protect those ideas that the majority find palatable, such unthreatened ideologies need no protection. The purpose of the First Amendment is to defend the unpopular and often morally or politically offensive theories of minority positions. The most vociferous critics of the film proudly proclaim that they have not seen it. The limited release, in only nine cities, has added to the mystery of the content and to the ignorance of the protest. The Last Temptation, based on Nikos Kazantzakis' 1955 novel, shows a dream sequence in which Jesus contemplates how different his life would have been if he had been mortal. The marriage of Christ to Mary Magdalene, complete with all of the typical amenities of wedlock, is at the crux of the campaign to censor the movie. Protesters pointing to this scene have " damned the film, proclaiming that a human portrayal of Jesus is tantamount to sacrilege. contend-tha- t seeing a Proponents humanistic Christ will add to their faith, not detract from it. The issue of whether this film will serve as the catalyst that destroys Christianity, or whether it will act as a reaffirmation of faith is moot. Regardless of either inconceivable outcome, Scorsese's work is protected by the Constitution. The fundamentalists should not be allowed to protect the public from such sacrilege.. The beauty inherent in the Bill of Rights is the promise to be able to damn yourself, if that is what you want to do. The film's detractors have done nothing more than to encourage an otherwise apathetic public to flock to theaters in record numbers to "see Andrew Hunt J t Time to break the two-part- The Chronicle does not attempt to address the implied immorality of The Last Temptation. Nor does it wish to defend the film's artistic value. Simply stated, the decision to see the movie, or to ignore it, is freedom at work. Special interest groups attempting to ban the film are playing with fire. History has clearly shown that the power to stop the "offensive minorities" from corrupting the "pristine majority" inevitably gets out of control. The framers of the Constitution were aware of this when they safeguarded our right to be offensive. The torch the fundamentalists wish to apply to The Last Temptation is dangerously close to burning the Constitution. G HRONICLE The Summer Chronicle is ah independent student newspaper published weekly during summer quarter by the University Publications Council. Editorials reflect the opinion of the editorial board, and not necessarily the opinions of the student body or the administration. Subscriptions must be prepaid. Forward all subscription correspondence, including change of address, to the Business Manager,' Daily Utah Chronicle, 240 Union, Univeristy of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112 Editorial Board: Lori Bona, Tamara Hardesty, Darren Hawkins, Andrew Hunt, Justin Toth t? .... 1 . . , . f . .'." . . . ... .... . ...,'; . . . .' Darren Hawkins Assistant Copy Editor I .Andrev Hunt ? J Administration Reporter. .Lori BonaASUU Reporter. Justin Toth News Reporters. .Kent Condon .Deanie Wimmer . . Guy Elder .Ellon Garff Ed Ruiz ...... .Tamara Hardesty Feature Reporters. Sports Reporter.- Photographer. . - ...... , "," - . . . . . Assistant Photography Editor ....... Editor in Chief. . . VS ) Managing Editor.;! $ .". . News Editor. . .'. . Edtorial Editor Sports Editor Feature Editor Photography Editor Chief Copy Editor . Assistant News Editor . Assistant Editorial Editor Assistant Sports Editor Assistant Feature Editor. people go to the polls and vote for Tweedledum or ' .Tweedledee instead of 50 percent. If there's any logic in this argument, I implore the reader to point it out. If the electoral system is undemocratic, why should the citizens of this nation endorse it by voting one , , day out of every fourth year? J.i& IsovY boos to is Vote for a third party: This sure evoke and hisses from the lesser of two evils throng. "If you vote for a third party, you're throwing your vote away!" a Dukakis supporter warned me recently .v (whjchis akin to,the.pot calling the kettle black). The presidential candidate Eugene Debs great thfrd-part- y I once said (and paraphrase) it is better to .vote for a . good candidate who loses than a mediocre candidate who wins. I agree with Gene. In most Western European nations, there are a multitude of political parties on the ballot from which to choose. For the sake of achieving a more egalitarian political process (not to mention a bit of diversity), the Unitea States should follow the example of tne pluralistic political systems found in countries like West Germany and Sweden. A shift from a congress to a parliamentary system with proportional repre- - . sentation would be a leap in the right direction. In the meantime, I offer the following bit of advice to those who would castigate third-part- y supporters: Indeed, third parties have lost much power since the halcyon years of Debs, Robert LaFollette and Henry Wallace. Perhaps this wouldn't be the case if there weren't so many lesser of two evils theorists infesting our electorate. At this point, my list of options became exhausted. In all likelihood, of all the aforementioned "choiccandidate. Mike es," I'll cast my vote for a third-part- y Dukakis was correct about one thing. For good or ill, each eligible voter represents a sharenolder in this ' political system of ours. , When people go to the polls, they should act as a collective force working to alter society for the better, instead of allowing their minds to be controlled by all the BushakisManchurian Candidate media hoopla; If people begin to see elections in these terms and act on them, then perhaps some desperately needed, fundamental changes in our society can be implemented by the ballot. Andrew Hunt, a junior majoring in economics, is v managing editor of the Chronicle. ' National Convention with the opening episodes of the Republican National Convention, I came to the grim conclusion that nothing has changed in the ' threescore and 17 years since Keller penned the above passage. By the time of the Gipper's keynote address, I was overcome with despair. What grieved me was the menu of options (or lack y thereof) for voters wandering outside the herd. It goes without saying that our freedom of "choice" is limited strictly to two political monoliths that differ very little philosphically and are virtually identical in the economic systems they support. On the second day of the Republican festivities, in a fit of anguish, I scrawled a list of options available . for those of us who support neither Tweedledum (Mike) nor Tweedledee (George). What follows is the list I jotted on that fateful night: Vote for Tweedledum (Mike): The idea here (known as the "lesser of two evils" theory) is that you should vote for Mike because he is less despicable than George. Proponents of the lesser of two evils theory are lackluster, uncreative and have failed miser-;abl- y to adopt any viable means for achieving fundamental change. Perhaps the biggest check against this argument is that the lesser of two evils gang keeps the conservatives in power in the Democratic machine. Dukakis figures he has the vote of progressives and reformers sewn up, so, to appease critics, he turns around and names Lloyd Bentsen, a rightist who prothe holy bejesus out of Korea in the posed vice as his 1950s, president. As a matter of fact, Dukakis himself, amid his rapid ascent to power; has been drifting steadily rightward. Vote for Tweedledee (George): A close friend of mine, who happens to be a nihilist, is doing campaign work for George Bush because he belives the Republican presidential hopeful (and former CIA director) wiU lead the disillusioned American masses down the path of anarchy and destruction. While this proposal is bordering on lunacy, it makes more sense than anything I've heard from the Dukakis camp. Don't vote at all: There is a large school of thought what the fuss is about." The Summer in this nation that subscribes to the notion that the system is somehow improved if 70 percent of the In 1911, the blind and deaf humanist Helen Keller wrote, "Our democracy is but a name. We vote, but what does that mean? It means that we choose between two bodies of real, though not avowed autocrats. We choose between Tweedledum and " ' ' ; ; Tweedledee." Alas, after juxtaposing last month's Democratic -the-film mob two-part- y . . . .Dirk Facer .Sharon Deckert Aaron Ashcraft .Steve Moore . . . Ken Southwick . . . .,. . .Scott Stone Mike Allsop . Laura Lochhead Christian Aggoler .... Darren Tucker Kerry Shea . . Loren Jorgensen Andrew Holloway .......... .............. Business Manager . . . . . . . . Robert McOmber Accountant ... . . . -. . .Kay Anderson Classifieds .... Charlene Collins ,v .". Artists.'.'., Byron Williams ': e. f :' "' ,r vfI.V r .? 3 TV I f Charles Lai ifj . i Kim Bartel .';, i. ,.' . Accounting Clerk .Michael Allsop Collections Matt Dalton . , . ; Account Executives Production Managor . ... . . Michael Q. Geary Assistant Producit Kenny Watanabe inagei David Orchard Distribution . Christopher Stratford ........; ................ ...... ! . . , ' ,. ........ ..... ..,,'. ........... , |
