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Show Views&Opinion Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 Page 11 Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com OurView Y Health care why care our young and your in great health and as hard of a time as the well educated and informed political leaders of our nation are having coming to grasps with health care reform, who could possibly expect you to understand, right? Not understanding, or simply not caring, is a tempting road to take. Let Washington sort it out, it doesn’t really affect you anyway. Wrong. The fact is, the health care reform that finally gets passed, and something will pass, affects you far more than most. You are young, you are healthy (for the most part), but that won’t always be the case. Changes this difficult to make won’t be easily undone, and as you graduate, enter the work force and start families you will become far more aware, far more concerned with health care than you likely imagine right now. Comedian Doug Stanhope once said the reason legislation always seems to favor the elderly is because “old people vote.” His point was simply profound. Retirees have time on their hands, where we, the young and healthy, have classes and jobs, which not only keep us from dedicating as much of our time as we might like to following the issues that concern us but often prevents us from even being able to make it to the polls. Unfortunately, the needs of the nation’s seniors are not the same as those of the baby boomers and are far from aligned with our own. The outcome of issues, such as health care, that are being debated now, will be dictated by those whom it affects for the least amount of time. The issues of the day are not as simple as party alignment – the right and the left. They are multilayered, folded in, complex and vexing. It takes time to understand how the sound bites will alter your future, but rest assured they will. It is our privilege and our responsibility to invest ourselves in our nation, in our democracy. It is important to realize that our views are represented in Washington by those we elect to speak on our behalf, our congress members, but it shouldn’t start there. After all, it wouldn’t make sense to try to climb a ladder by starting at the third rung from the top. Government starts in the towns and cities of our nation. City council members become mayors, mayors become state legislators and governors. Do you seen where this is going? These people, those with the desire to make a difference, start at the bottom of the ladder, and we are young enough to follow closely on their heels. Become involved, pay attention and realize if we start in the right place, we can make a difference too. Read the paper, watch the news and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Educate yourself, then call your mayor, e-mail your congress members. Let them know how they may better represent your interest. Let your voice be heard. An ‘80s man I n my expert opinion, two men were the true personification of the 1980s: Ronald Reagan and Patrick Swayze. There is a reason why Michael Jackson did not make my short list – I hated Michael Jackson. Unconventional Wisdom Re-Entry Thoughts In many ways, Patrick Swayze was quite a bit like The Gipper. Personally, Swayze and Reagan had that genuine likability that endeared to them to people. They both possessed that “aww, shucks” simplicity that made us want to see men like them on our television screens. When they turned on their professional skills, both men were tough as nails and you simply wanted to avoid getting in a fight with them – nice but tough. Reagan and Swayze are both gone now. My generation has to come to grips with that. Many of you under the age of 25 may think that Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger were the ForumLetters To the editor: Apparently, I’m one of those typical Utah girls Miss Jones referred to who “settled” for “what first (came) along.” How rude of you to say so. I in no way “settled” when I married my husband after my first year of college. I am a very happy wife and mother who usually finds your column witty and entertaining. However, today I am so disappointed by what you have said about Letters to the editor • A public forum marriage in general. Marriage does not equal “settling.” Of course, you probably wouldn’t know that seeing as how you still use “Miss” before your last name. As for your insinuation that I’m not enjoying my “opportunity” by attending college as a single, you are wrong there, too. I am enjoying my college experience, especially with my husband by my side. Christie Cook AboutUs Editor in Chief Patrick Oden News Editor Rachel A. Christensen Assistant News Editor Catherine Meidell Features Editor Courtnie Packer Assistant Features Editor Greg Boyles Sports Editor Tim Olsen Assistant Sports Editor Graham Terry Copy Editor Mark Vuong Photo Editors Pete Smithsuth Tyler Larson Web Editor Karlie Brand About letters High stakes for the high court T his spring, President Obama reversed himself and decided to block the release of photographs showing the abuse of detainees by the U.S. military. Now, having lost in two lower federal courts, the administration is seeking review by the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices should decline the invitation. The high court ordinarily agrees to hear cases that raise difficult questions on which lower courts have disagreed. But two courts found the legal issue in this case straightforward. The Freedom of Information Act allows for the non-disclosure of information that “could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.” The obvious purpose of that language is to protect individuals who might be identified and placed in harm’s way. The administration is offering a different argument. In her petition to the Supreme Court, U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan quoted Obama’s warning that releasing the photos would “further inflame anti-American opinion and put our troops in greater danger.” No doubt these and other photos would feed anti-American propaganda, as did the stomach-turning images of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. It’s doubtful, however, that they would provide much additional traction for enemies who already portray the United States as a nation of torturers. If anything, releasing the photos – with alterations to protect the identities of individuals true Hollywood legends of the ‘80s. This is partially revisionist history. Facts are, Chuckles never had that many blockbuster films. Most of his money was made in home rentals. Arnold had many hit films but, like Norris, they pretty much were in the same mold. In most of their films, Chuck and Arnold would usually hit the bad guys twice; first, with a devastating right hook, then with a pithy one liner. Patrick Swayze could punch you in the face, knock you into next Tuesday with a 360degree pirouette kick to the back of the head or do a mamba that would freeze you into stunned silence. As an example, take the 1989 film “Next Of Kin.” In this film, Swayze starred as a fiddle playing Kentuckian who works as a Chicago police detective. When the Mafia kills his younger brother, Swayze sets out for revenge. If Chuck or Arnold were in this film, they would have used an AK-47, a bucket of hand grenades and one of those obnoxiously big rocket launchers, which appear out of nowhere, to blow the bad guys into a gazillion pieces. What did Swayze use in this film to administer justice? A half dozen hillbillies, a crossbow and a school bus full of snakes. That is why Swayze was better than Chuck and Arnold. He diversi- – would underscore Obama’s determination not to repeat the egregious violations of human rights that occurred during the Bush administration. As we have argued before, suppressing images of atrocities – whether of Nazi concentration camps, lynchings in the American South or “tiger cages” in Vietnam – is an attempt to blot out the historical record. Besides, the attempt is likely to be unsuccessful, given the history of efforts to block the unauthorized release of embarrassing information. Ignoring those realities, the Senate has approved legislation that would allow the secretary of Defense to block release of photos of detainees captured abroad after 9/11. The House fortunately has not approved it. Meanwhile, judges are charged with weighing the legality, not the wisdom, of withholding such photos. If the Supreme Court were to reverse or weaken the decisions of lower courts, the impact would extend far beyond this case. A dilution of the exemption in the FOIA for materials that would threaten individuals would be a license for future administrations to suppress all sorts of information on the grounds that it might exacerbate anti-Americanism. Obama was wrong to try to block the release of these photos. Neither the court nor Congress should compound his error. This column originally appeared in the Sept. 17 edition of The Los Angeles Times. fied. Another reason Swayze stands with Reagan on the Mount Rushmore of eightiesdom is because his films were very right wing. In the 1983 film “Uncommon Valor,” he played a young Marine working with Vietnam War vets to bring back MIAs. In 1984, he starred in the ultimate Republican propaganda film, “Red Dawn.” “Red Dawn” was about a group of Colorado high school kids who fight a guerrilla war against an invading Communist force that is occupying America. The kids, led by Swayze, carry assault rifles, live high in the mountains, perform acts of terrorism against their occupiers and summarily execute spies and prisoners. They are kind of like alQaeda – except they were white and Christian. Released during the middle of Reagan’s re-election bid, the film almost screams to the audience, “Elect Walter Mondale president and this could happen to you!” “Red Dawn” did not make Swayze a star. That would happen in 1987 with the film “Dirty Dancing.” It is hard for me to relate what a phenomena “Dirty Dancing” was. The concept of the film alone was bizarre. A summer dance instructor seduces an underage Jewish girl named Baby. The critics were ambivalent. The women that went to see the movie time after time were fanatical. Patrick Swayze became a religion, and women knelt and prayed to his image. I cannot talk about this man’s wonderful career without mentioning the film that was far and away his best performance, “Ghost.” Yes, the movie was released in 1990, but it was still very much an ‘80s film. This was not Swayze’s best film because of the style in which he delivered his lines. This was his best job as an actor because he actually made us believe someone would voluntarily fight back Death in order to spend more time with Demi Moore. Patrick Swayze was a top-shelf movie star. No, he was not a very talented actor. But, he was a decent man that you wanted to root for. Typical ‘80s. He will be missed. Harry Caines is a senior re-entry student from Philadelphia majoring in interdisciplinary studies . Unconventional Wisdom will appear every Monday. 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