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Eas‘ Edition Citizens January 31, 1996 Applauding students DearEditor: I am writing to voice my support of the brave East High School students starting the Gay/Straight Alliance. In spite of what a couple interviewees suggestedin “Citizenson the Street,” Jan. 10, the purposeofthis clubis not to recruit “new” members, but to create a support network for the gay/lesbian/bi students already at East. Anyone who does notbelieve that such a clubis necessary, I suggest they review the Statistics for teen-age suicide in Editor's Note: Tireless in the quest for citizens’ opinions, editor Vernon recently ambushed a few regular folks shopping downtown, pointed a camera at them and asked: Shouldcriminal charges be filed against Bill Clinton noworafter his presidency is over? “The authorities should probably wait until the presidency is over, because wecan't havea leader whois in trouble right now. 5 Weshouldn't convict President Clinton whileheis still the president.” Joey Babinsky Kaysville “No oneis above the law. President Clinton should be treated like a normalcitizen. The allegations (of sexual harassment) against him (by Paula Jones) should have been more timely. Whydidn't she complain sooner? She should have complained back whenit allegedly happened.” Lanny Raymond Bountiful “If President Clinton is accused of something,he should answerto it right then and not when heis released, because then heis getting away with somethingjust because he's the president.” Emily Hanberg Taylorsville Joey Babinsky “It doesn't matter.If the authorities have enoughinformation to charge him, then it’s irrelevant whether or not he’s the president.” Danica Aase Stewart West ValleyCity “T didn’t even know it was up for debate. I always thought there waspresidential immunity. Maybe that’s not the case anymore, but I thought that was the way it was. When he’s not president anymore, then he’s fair game.” Don T. WestValley City Li A “It's completely ridiculous for anyone to think about prosecuting the president on anything related to that issue. There’s no basis for herallegations, therefore, there should be no prosecution.” Joe C. Salt Lake City Danica Aase Stewart “We should treat President Clinton like anyoneelse. If he’s guilty, he should be prosecuted. The authorities wouldn't wait for meto finish college to prosecute meif I cheated on exams.” Francine Goodman Mill Valley, Calif. “President Clinton is not above the law, but the allegations need to be handledwith discretion. He needs to be held accountable for his actions like any othercitizen as long as they don't interfere with national security.” David Beagley “I think the authorities should wait until the presidencyis over. It won't be too long before it's over, so we might as well wait to prosecute him.” Josh Piper Kaysville “T think the authorities need to g fully investigate while President Clinton is still president, and if the evidence indicates the need for prosecution, then I don’t think he should be exempt from that.” Gary Adams Bountiful “If Paulaj Jones was sexually harassed by President Clinton, she should have come forward sooner, and like any other law, there should be a statute oflimitations about bringing charges against somebody for a crime.” Jaimie Martin Josh Piper West Valley City Editor's Note: If you are interested in writing an article for future publication in Citizens about this week’s question, please send your submission to Citizens, 135 8. Main St., Salt Lake City, UT 84111, or fax-us at 237-2519. are, we all know people who are gay and lesbian. They are our friends, our co-workers, our brothers, sisters, daughters and sons. Gays and lesbians do not want special treatment. Like everyone, they simply want to be loved and accepted. They want the same basic humanrights that others in our society enjoy, to associate freely and to not be discriminated against in work, schoolor society. I long for a future in which all people are accepted for their con- AIDS cure still eludes ple), by preventing tributions and qualities, and not for irrelevantdetails of their lives and personalities. Sadly, we are a jong way from that world, perhaps even further here in Utah than in many other places in our nation. That shortcoming means that it is the responsibility of our courts and school systems to ensure that these rights are upheld. It is ironic that many in our state support changing the Constitution to prohibit burning a particular piece of cloth while also trashing the very principles that cloth stands for — the rightto associate, the speak freely and to be the person you are regardless of how many myopic members ofthe community disagree. Thebeauty of our systemis not that the “majority rules;”it is that everyone is guaranteed equal access to the protection of the law This debacle makes me ashamed of many of my fellow Utahns and demonstrates the challenges these students face. I applaud them; I am proud of them;and| pray that these students will have the courage and commitment to follow through with their plans. Pete Kolbenschlag Salt LakeCity WHO CARES IF THERES NO BUDGET UNTIL THE ELECTION? ITS NOT LIKE WERE USING FEDERAL. WORKERS AS PAINNS OR HOSTAGES! EXQUSE Me., 1 GOTTA GET BACK TO WORK... tra mission or by both techniques (viruses transmitted bv insects, sewage, ete., for example). Peterson realize that much of the research on AIDSis already directed at the immune system, and attempts have been made to develop a vaccine and find ways to prevent HIV injury to the im- Positivism can heal bodyof disease Continued from page 1 for AIDS researchers. te ‘ the reason AIDSis so deadly, andit is the reason that Prospects for a cure are so remote. Even the develop- mentof a safe immunization may not be possible. Peterson failed to recognize the value of prevention. We now have sufficient knowledge about AIDS so that it can be eliminated. tests) most HIV |. Their contacts can be identi- fied and tested. If all the carriers were to follow wellknown methods to prevent transmission of the virus to others, the disease could be eliminated completely in about two generations. viv caries and eny ‘ r bility for the spread of the that researchers find a “magic bullet” to eure them. a tected by law. Keeping secret the identity of infected persons permits some of them to continue uninteneonworeaains ‘the dis- Magna “President Clinton should be prosecutedif the authorities find Francine Goodman sufficient evidence to bring charges against him,butso far, I haven't read about any sufficient evidence to prosecute the president. It’s all been hearsay and innuendoes.” John Roark Bountiful our region, and particularly of gay/lesbian/bi teen-agers. In spite of how insularourlives many conscientious HIV carriers who faithfully avoid those acts may must maintain a continual ritualism in his or her daily activities. And the problem with that is that selfishness is more negative than positive, which creates a healing process thatis at variance withitself. This eventually causesit to breakdown becausepositivism and negativism are incompatible. Negativism usually wins in this case since it can grow spontaneously like rust, and rot and decay, whereas positivism must be consciously practiced everyday. Thatis practically impossible to do when negativism has such a dominantpartin placebopositivism. Placebo positivism can be compared to an addiction to tobacco, alcohol or drugs. To maintain their euphoric effect in one’s life, they must be consumed every day. Whentheir carcinogens accumulatefaster than the body caneliminate them, the body eventually breaks downinto various forms of cancer, and one often dies prematurely with little hope. Evenif science could develop an anti-body for the AIDSvirus, for example, it would soonbecome ineffective because the virus can mutate so rapidly, Antibodies such as sulfa drugs andpenicillin, that were effective for years against ailments, have now becomeless effective because genetic mutations have developedresistance to them. Artificial medicines, as marvelous as they are for as long as theylast, are similar to placebo positivism. They both haverelatively short lives of effectiveness. Logic may betelling us that generations in the near future mayhaveto rely solely upon the powers of charitable positivism in their lives to maintain their health and strength. The human anatomyhasall the abilities and capacities of all the colleges and universities in the world put together, plus much more.It can instantly provide whateverit needs to honorablysustainitself to the last breath. The primary thing it needs is the power of charitable positivism. To think positive thoughts, to make positive comments, to perform positive deeds, to see the positives in life and to participate in wholesomeactivities that inspire positivism. If we cannot or will not commit ourselves to a charitable lifestyle, we may be aiding and abetting the bankruptcy of our great country. Those of us whoinsist that the governmentcontinue to pour hundreds of millions of dollars down the drain to try to arrest the AIDS virus that can mutate faster than scientists can develop anti-bodies, may be our own worst enemies. The moreweinsist that the governmentaddto its rapidly growing $4.69trillion national debt, the more we jeopardize ourlives and the lives of every other American resident. The things that made Americagreat in its past battle between right and wrongin the world wereloyalty,patriotism and theselflessnessofits citizens for one another. It’s almost unbelievable to realize that there are millions of Americans whoseem to be sayingby their attitudes and actions thatall the problemsinlife are the other person’s fault. We seem to be waiting aroundfor a government“Messiah” to solve all our problems. Probably no one could helpus solve our problems any faster than wearewilling to use ourinnate abilities to do good by helping each other learn how to develop charitable positivism in our lives. Our existence maybeoflittle value if all our doings have to be done by someoneelse. Oneof the best things we could do to help each otheris to cease to rationalize away the disquieting feelings of wrongdoings. To do this, we would do well to recognize shame, embarrassment, guilt, remorseandsorrow forpoordecisions and judgments even though they may be inadvertent. We may never learn to use our innate abilities and to solve our problems unless we honestly feel the poignant repercussions of negativism in ourlives. Negative repercussions are the logical consequencesof folly commissions, Unless we fully experience their bitter impact, so that we can eliminate their carcinogens from ourlives, no one can help us learn to develop charitable positivism and to enjoyits benefits in our lives. Another important thing we could do to divert selfishness from ourlives is to give our fellowmen the benefit of the doubt no matter how depravedhis or her perceptions may seem. Since everyone's perceptions representhis or her best understanding and ability, we may have to learn to graciously endure their impact upon society until we can help him or her improve them by our empathic persuasion.If we can’t or won't help him orherto do thelogical thing for society, then if we must blame anyonefor the discomforts they might cause us, we should blame ourselves. These types of repercussions are thelogical consequences of responsibility omissions. Even though truth is logical, logic may not always seem true. Whenit doesn’t seem true,butit is true, its a paradox. Anyone whohas a little experiencein life knowsthat you can find as many positive solutions to problems in the paradoxas in therationale. |
