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Show 4 Friday January 18, 2013 OPINION www.dailyutahchronicle.corn Americans need political dignity JAKE e ETEONA IP1-TiTION USE OPT S-S 0 BUILD Pt ft *Ili STA Qk • tvaion siraugs Opinion Ediror I n 2011, the Obama administration created a civic engagement initiative through the White House website through which people — regular, average-Joe people — could submit petitions on pressing national issues. If a petition garners ioo,000 signatures, the White House will issue an official response. Such has happened on several occasions. The initiative, called We the People, seeks to put the administration — often viewed as aloof and out of touch — in connection with the American public in a more real way. It seeks to promote an honest exchange of ideas as well, one originating among the grassroots as opposed to the grasstops. It is, however, fatally flawed in that it relies on the common sense and reasonability of people in order for it to work properly. That is, it relies on petitioners to petition in good faith, for good reason and in the service of social responsibility — a rarity, given the petulance of the American public. What's resulted from the We the People initiative is a slew of silly and absurd petitions — for example, one asking the White House build a Death Star and another demanding Piers Morgan be deported for his views on gun control — which makes a mockery of the job of civic participation, a job of unequalled importance. I use the word lob' purposely. Citizenship is work — hard and frustrating but necessary work — that we ought to take more seriously if we are truly committed, as we insist we are, to self-governance and self-determination. We the People has incidentally given a voice not to citizens who truly care to participate, as was its intention, but to the squeakiest wheels among us who care only to trivialize civic engagement, draw attention to cynicism and charade ego de - S‘m SALLY YOO/The Daily Utah Chronicle and deflect the conversation from what really matters. Moreover, when processes are abused in such a manner as We the People has been so far, a further result is a more disenchanted citizenry, a more distracted media and a more tangential, irrelevant public dialogue. There's another deep problem with We the People. As it is an ex- clusively online initiative, it makes the job of civic participation too easy — to the point people think activism amounts to responding to a few email petitions from MoveOn. org. Technology is thought to greatly facilitate activism, but in reality, it deludes us as to the amount of work and commitment it truly takes to be an activist and to engage on a Baby steps lead the way to a healthier life LAU RE N KEOGH 2 Opinion Columnist tudents have had two weeks to acclimate themselves to their new — and hopefully stimulating — schedules. A new semester also brings a slew of resolutions to be met — or in my experience, forgotten. A common resolution is to stay healthy throughout the semester. It's important for academic performance as well as general well-being to commit to a healthy diet. Not eating consistent meals lowers blood sugar which, if left untreated, will cause nervousness, irritability and an unstable physical presence. Don't feel pressured to introduce healthier food into your diet right away. However, little by little you could try buying some of these healthy staples at the grocery store: 2 percent milk, non-sugary cereals, baby carrots (for when you're on the go), apples (which are shown to wake you up better than coffee), bananas, ingredients for salads and the like. Nuts are a good source of protein and are easy to carry around with you. These are all items that don't necessitate long hours of preparation in the kitchen, yet they're some of the healthier options you could choose. On to the matter of fitness. I learned what I'm about to tell you in the most difficult way possible. That is, don't run two miles a day for five days a week the first week. Start out with baby steps when exercising, especially if you keep a busy school schedule. However, always find time — even if it's 15 minutes — to put in some work at the gym. S Sorry I just don't care. LUIGI GHERSI/The Daily Utah Chronicle There are an abundance of mediums through which you can reach whatever exercise goals you may have, and that's the beauty of it. It's remarkably easy to find a type of exercise and a routine that fits your work, school and social schedules. That being said, don't forget to have fun during this semester. When you exercise, it's a good idea to bring along a friend once in a while, especially if you thrive on competition. Another option is to take up a team sport, such as tennis, basketball or racquetball so you have a team to motivate your toward your own fitness goals. When you're on your own, try some music. Sync your running, fast walking or weightlifting to the beats of the music. If you're determined enough, you should be able to change your life however you want and whenever you want, and hopefully end up healthier for it. letters@ chronicle.utah.edu meaningful level with our political processes. What we face as citizens is a choice between nominal participation — which we can do mindlessly online and which serves only to alienate us from our government even further — and substantive participation, which involves the dirty, nitty-gritty work of retail politics. If we are actually social (read: po- litical) animals as Aristotle said, we are, and in fact have to be, in order to live the good life, then we ought to likewise take the Greek idea of substantive participation seriously. Needless to say, filing petitions to deport Piers Morgan or build a Death Star don't begin to rise to the level of seriousness politics demands. letters@chronicle.utah.edu LETTERS TO THE EDITOR U fails in handling Gandolf Editor: As a staff member of the university, I was extremely disappointed by the university's handling of Winter Storm Gandolf. There were a number of preemptive measures they could have made closing campus on Thursday by 3 p.m. This would have potentially eased an hours-long commute that was gridlocked going every which way. Additionally, the university should have closed campus or cancelled classes up until io a.m. to assure that the students, faculty and staff would be able to make the morning commute ... SAFELY. The university should have looked at Weber State, Westminster and SLCC's decision before deciding to go `business as usual.' I am extremely disappointed and upset at this decision, or indecision. I hope in the future the university will take the heeding of meteorologists, other schools and other professionals while making decisions that impact a faculty, staff and student population that rely on commuting to campus. Joshua Snow Hansen, U Staff Member Commuters would be lost without TRAX Editor: I fail to grasp the point that Jordan Vogel attempts to convey in her op-ed, "New TRAX lines will burden commuters." It seems that she argues that TRAX presents an inherent danger to automobile traffic and that expanding our city's light rail system will do nothing but exponentially proliferate the rate of incidents. Let's be honest, folks: TRAX has nothing to do with the high number of incidents. It's the distracted, inattentive drivers of the cars that cause them. Every single TRAX/car accident that has occurred since the Red and Green Line extensions opened in August could have been avoided had the motorist been paying attention to the red light directly in front of his or her nose. Getting in an accident with TRAX is no different than crashing into another car when you choose to run a red light — surely, TRAX is no more dangerous. I think the thing that gets me the most, however, is the headline: "New TRAX lines will burden commuters." Oh, please. Get on the Red Line in the morning and you'll see that the absolute last thing TRAX does, or will ever do, is to burden commuters. When you fully appreciate how many cars TRAX is taking off the road, not only around the U but throughout the entire metropolitan area, you realize how absurd the headline is, and how TRAX benefits everyone at the U, including people who choose to drive their car to school. As for the Green Line to the airport, how is taking cars out of the airport parking garage, and off of I-8o between the city and the airport, going to prove a burden to commuters? You know what the real burden would be? If there were no TRAX service to begin with. Take a second and imagine how horrendous our already-subpar parking and traffic congestion situation would become. Take another second and envision how much more pollution would enter our abysmally murky skies. So, could I suggest a more accurate headline? "New TRAX lines will benefit all." This more properly portrays the situation that TRAX service today provides and will provide in the future. Leo Masic, Freshman, Urban Planning Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@chronicle.utah.edu . Letters should be fewer than 350 words and must include the writer's name. Letters from students should also include the writer's major and year in school. Letters from U faculty and staff should include department and title. Letters from alumni should include the year the writer graduated. All other letters must include the sender's name and city of residence. All letters become property of The Daily Utah Chronicle and may be edited for style, length and content. |
