Show &: ft o nucDnu Wednesday March 13 2002 A4 j The Herald Journal Regional view Gimmicks won’t solve voter turnout problem From the Deseret News M Utah residents like to see themselves as more active in civic affairs than their peers nationally which is why the news from the Census Bureau in recent days was so jarring Voter turnout in the Beehive State was only 28th best in 2000 among the SO states and the District ‘ ofColumbia That’s hardly anything to cele- - - brate' In 2000 slightly more than 60 percitizen cent of the state’s voting-ag- e ballot bothered a to cast population The national average was S9S percent Any of a number of factors could be blamed but they all boil down to one fundamental failure: Too many people do not consider civil involvement to be meaningful in their lives That may be because this is an age of relative ease and luxury without many perceived threats to stir the masses It may be due to a sense of hopelessness and feeling that the “system” is too big or beyond the reach pf the average citizen But freedom liberty and security cannot continue indefinitely if the' electorate gives up abdicating its rights to a precious few who bother to become engaged in the world around them Some may feel that 60 percent is a good turnout But it is daunting to percent of eligible contemplate Utah residents should do better North Dakota the state with the highest turnout had more than 70 percent show up at the polls This year the Census Bureau changed the way it looks at the issue Rather than simply calculating the ' percentage of people over 18 who cast ballots it looked at the percent- age of citizens over! 8 who voted That’s important considering a large number of immigrants have not been naturalized and can’t vote This refiguring automatically made the Voting percentages jump The statistics can be made to look even better if only registered voters are considered About 86 percent of them cast ballots nationwide in 2000 But of course you can play with numbers all day but you can’t hide the problem Millions of Americans don’t vote and don’t care The experts havemany answers States should make registration easier they say Some states allow people to register on Election Day But these are just explanations and silly gimmicks The answer doesn’t lie in making registration simpler People who care will find way to St Patrick’s s d John Stewart became its patron saint No doubt he would be grieved to see the continuing turmoil and warfare that has racked Ireland these unday is also SL Patrick’s and I that trust if you are of past several centuries as fighting Day continues between Catholics and Irish descent or a friend of one such Protestants intermixed with exployou will be for “a wearing of the sive politics of vs green’ and kissing the Blarney Stone sentiments My friend and or some suitable semblance of it neighbor Reed Broadbent served as Especially I hope that in church LDS Mission president to Ireland a Bart Weston few years ago and got a orand Bruce O' Very will glimpse of bow lively and intense such differences of opinion can sing toe “Lonbecome Perhaps it is comparable to donderry die ongoing Aire” more feuding between Israelies and Palestinians and commonly Alex Haley told me that when he fondly known was resiearching for his book “Roots” as “Danny his hunt for ancestral records took Boy” ode of him to Ireland He said he feared that my favorite songs Hearing it gives me obis being black would make itdiffi-cu- lt for his obtaining any records pleasurable sadness beyond expresthere that there would be too much sion A few years ago as master of cereprejudice against him But to his sur-monies at the annual Golden Spike prise his being black was no detriEleasked ment Rather what caused him I fee Corinne ceremony problems was that he was Protestant mentary School youngsters to sing How sad it is that all down through “Danny Boy” for us What a great fob those little long dreary history of mankind performance darling boys and girls did Ireland's ambassador to the United hatred and wars and endless shed instead of succeufifeypromot-in- g States was there as a guest to dedicate an Irish stone as a moniiment to brotherly love and compassionate the hundreds of Irishmen who helped understanding Cache Valley and build America’s first transcontinental most of Utah and much of Idaho were settled by pioneers who had railroad the childreqsang tears been brutally driven from their flowed down his cheeks and to fee homes in Missouri and IUinais just audience he later commented that it because they were Mormons — was always his dear dead mother’s members of fee Church of Jesus favorite melody Christ of Latter-da- y Saints Sometimes while showering I One of many reasons feat I greatly attempt to sing “Danny Boy” but I admire fee Joseph Smith isbecause always get overcome wife emotion when he wife bis followers estaband run fee risk of drowning So for safety sake I give up on it But I love lished the cityofNauvoo in Illinois it The song that is: If by chance I go after having been imprisoned Yf' robbed and driven out of fee slave up instead of down I hope to some state of Missouri he proclaimed that dky meet Danny Boy and Saint Y men and women of every creed and Patrick Patrick you will recall was color and nationality were welcome the Fifth Century traveling preacher to settle in Nauvoo who brought fee Catholic version of It did not matter whether they were Christianity to Ireland and thus By i register ' Instead schools churches civil ' groups politicians and every other official comer ofsociety needs to teach and stress the importance of civic involvement Democracy won’t work well if only wealthy educated married landowners vote Day reflections pro-Engla- ' citizens staying home' And besides Mormon Catholic Protestant Jew Muslim Cherokee Hindu or of any other faith or of no faith nor whether they were black white brown red or any other color All were free to come and live in peace and be respected and protected in their rights and freedom I was pleased to read in the HJ of March 7 an Associated Press article stating "The Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches has ranked fee Mormon Church among fee nation’s five largest religious bodies for fee first time” It reported 5125919 LDS in fee United States which is approximately half fee total membership of the church I wonder whether books written by the uninformed or prejudiced authors or compilers will finally quit referring to the LDS Church as a cult Mormons have been called worse things than cubists' From fee first day of publication of the Book of Mormon and formal establishment of the church in April 1830 it has been a victim of vitriolic attack mainly by jealous preachers of some other churches and byslavcht in Missouri and infuriated by fee LDS policy of abolition of slavery and fair treatment of blacks and Native Americans While I was in graduate school at fee University of Oregoni in Eugene my wife Alice and daughters Rebecca and Mary and I lived in fee student housing project where we had fee importunity cif getting acquainted with students of many feiths and nationalities All in all it was a pleasant experience wife one exception: Frequently the area was flooded wife Who was behind it and why I never did learn but I thought foot and since what a sad and despicable thing feat feere are people in our Society who waste tneir time and talent on such nonsense rather than trying to build friendship and understanding anti-Engla- nd nd first-han- Your view Aggie fans exhibit class To the editor As Aggie supporters in California we could not have been more proud of the team the coaches the band the spirit squad the cheerleaders and the fans who watched a team put on a great show of athleticism spirit and class (even after losing in the championship game) at the Big West ' Tournament last weekend Sitting in' the middle of the Aggie cheering section we didn't hear a single “cuss word” or other act of unsportsmanship but we certainly saw high spirits great cheerinjg and most of all a : ' great effort by the team and the Coaches Thanks for a great experi- ence Good luck in the NIT never-endin- this one Russa’s Lennin once said we will not conquer you from without but will destroy you from within In my humble opinion you two factions are doing your best to make that statement come true ' To you people who ask me It’s been a long time when is your next letter coming out? I handed one in last month but the Herald refused to print it as a letter or a paid display all-ti- advertisement ' I see that Lee L West of Logan writes many letters to the editor concerning religion quoting many scrip-- : tures Studying the scriptures is a good habit for everyone much good and thought will conie from iLThe bad thing in his case is that nofeing seems to penetrate his brain: I now find myself getting in bed with the mayor on this tenth west Eldon arid Clco Hugie (‘54 j bypass road The road was built with Bakersfield California ' that in mind and is being used for that purpose The semaphore lights are installed The entrance for the ' buses is how where it should have been in the first place Now puta To the editor crossing guard for the kids and forget '' I am just so thankful so thankful it Besides that I think it’s about time that Karen Borg start eating her that President Bush and his hand- ' words Quote “We are supposed to ' picked cabinet members are running even this war That not one member gOVem for all the people not just a1 few” unquote of two different groups of our sup-The story in the Herald 15102 posed to be patriotic citizens has tells me that die mayor wears two anything to do with jt except to blow off steam The first group is the liber? hats No 1 as a procrastinator the ' al news media They are nothing other as a prevaricator Claimed he was lam filing his candidate finance more than a large gathering of Monday morning quarterbacks who think ' statement because of illness comput-e- r they know the score but don’t even problems three hard drive crashes ' know the name of the and several late contributions: He game ' could have taken two aspirins and 'The second group is composed of liberal politicians Under the leader- -' went to bed filed on a typewriter used a ball point pen had his $ecre--’ ship of Sen Dashle who want to run a politician’s war with them calling taiy do it and you stop asking for the shots They did that in the Vietdonations when the election is over nam War and we lost the only war Elwin Allred we ever did! They flunked out that time and one is aplenty Hands off on Logan 1 Liberals destroying nation from within off-camp-us - ’ Lawmakers : Mi ' i I "t- " LOGAN-MAYO- R Ihmi Pyfer Doug Thompson 1567 Lynnwood Am Logan 7534899 - 753-752- South 52-13- 70 9 r - ? 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