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Show opinion/ MONDAY»AUGUST 29*2005 Final words from two of UVSC's most outspoken individuals What I learned over the summer from CNN As many of you know, it was an eventful summer of world news. Runaway brides, missing teens, lost scouts. . .Fortunately, I was able to keep caught up by tuning in to the "world leader in news," CNN. I know that CNN is indeed the world leader in news because the voice of Darth Vader, Mufasa, and my Bible tapes, James Earl Jones—or someone who sounds eerily similar—reminds me about every 15 minutes. If that's not authority I don't know what is. The most important thing that happened in the world this summer was, without a doubt, the phenomenon that has become "Arubagate." (In case you missed it, '"Arubagate" is the story of a young teenage girl who mysteriously disappeared on the island of Aruba while there on her high school senior trip). Fortunately, CNN, along with all the other major networks, had the vision and foresight to recognize the magnitude of this issue. Forget that hundreds of others disappear every day, that a war is going on in Iraq, and a genocide in the Sudan. Clearly, Aruba deserves this kind of coverage. Every night. With endless, mindless commentary. For three months. Unless, of course, it is temporarily interrupted by other breaking news. "Sorry to stop you," declares Paula Zahn, "but this just in: Tom Cruise-get this-jumped on a couch on the Oprah show to declare his love for actress Katie Holmes." What?!! The audacity! And she's so much younger! Actually, one of the greatest programs on CNN is called "People in the News," which features Paula Zahn having heart to hearts with world leaders like Angeline Jolie and Marian Carey. My wife and I have a fun game to play with this show. It's called, "Guess the voiceover cliche." This is when you predict what good ol' Paula is going to use as a segue. For example, with Mariah Carey: "But with a faltering career and divorce to Tommy Mottola, life was no longer a 'sweet, sweet fantasy baby.' Other summer CNN highlights included: the BTK killer (featuring the man next door whose secret hobby is raping and killing people-and getting media attention for doing it), the Michael Jackson trial (featuring the ingenious commentary of Nancy Grace-"I can't believe this freak came to court in his paJAMas!"), and, lest we forget, the runaway bride who captured See JOE .A7 Jen Galbraith and Blake Donner were both students here at UVSC studying Philosophy when they passed away August 18. All who knew them, knew them to be extremely passionate, intelligent, and kind people both. They had irreverent senses of humor They loved music and politics and were deeply troubled by the socio-political status quo. Blake was influenced by the Straight Edge philosophy within hardcore/punk music which advocated refraining from intoxicants like drugs and alcohol in order to direct ones full potential toward affecting social change. Jen and Blake both adhered to Vegan tenants and were ardent supporters of animal rights. Blake and Jen believed capitalism as it is realized today to be oppressive, and advocated Anarchy-Communism as an answer to the gross inequality they perceived around them. To most readers Blake and Jen's political leanings must seem radical. They would have been proud of that moniker. But they were also always the first to critique mindless fanaticism. Their politics were inspired by their love for their follow human and were thoughtfully arrived at even if they were bold. We will miss their contribution and their presence very much. Blake Donner Guest Commentary If ever there was a time when millions need to act on their nagging, deep-gut feeling that something is terribly and radically wrong, that time is NOW. We need to change course NOW. We must forge resistance based on what is truly just. It is said Bush won because of his "superior morality." What kind of "morality" plays on fear and the desire for a false and illusory safety to carry out endless killing in Iraq, where one estimate has placed the possible death toll as high as 100,000 people? What kind of morality is expressed in the photos of prisoners dead and wrapped in plastic, or stripped naked and tortured, all sanctioned and systematized by the chain of command and the legal opinions created by Bush's top counsels? Who can find moral salvation in whipping up fear and hatred of gay people, in preaching the "loving submission" of women to their husbands and in the attempted resurrection of the era of back-alley abortions? What kind of morality equates dissent and critical thinking with "treason?" What kind of morality keeps over 2 million people in jail, the majority of whom are Black, Latino and people of color? This is a fascist "morality," one based on a fundamentalist and perverted concept of Christianity. In the face of a rapidly changing world, this Christian Fascism offers people order, certainty and ven- geance. Millions of people are severely addicted to an Armageddon fantasy that prepares them to mindlessly kill and die for this empire. We must create an intervention and take-on this hurtful and lunatic mindset they are trying to force on all of us. The basis exists to puncture this atmosphere and reverse this dynamic to get a different dynamic going. Resistance based on the real interests of the people. Resistance based on aiming not just to oppose this agenda, but to STOP it. And yes, we do need morality, but a different morality. Our morality cannot be a rationale for oppression and plunder, but an ethic based on the understanding that the lives of people born around the world are no less precious than our own. On the belief that the needs and interests of people should determine the economic and political order, not be subjugated to a drive for ever greater concentrations of wealth and power. A morality which refuses to cram women and gays back into a brutal box of traditional biblical notions. One which profoundly rejects racism and all its "modern, enlightened" coded language and policies. Morality should encompass a powerful vision of human potential and the idea that all people should be encouraged to think critically and scientifically and be enabled to take part in determining the goals and policies of our societies on an ever-deepening and expanding basis. Morality must resist inhumanity, and a willingness to put it all on the line to stop it. What kind of person is it worth being in these days? These are the questions that together we will develop the courage to answer and to perpetuate our movement on. Will people around the world ever see Americans marching en masse in the streets, refusing to be bottledup, or will they be left with an image of a sheep-like populace that reinforces the image of America as a monolithic evil? Hey everybody, we need to talk with each other. We need to work together. We need to struggle for our lives and for the future of this planet. Get with us. Be the revolution. Resist. Word has GOT TO GET OUT. Much of our generation is truly naive, partially because their lives are not hard. They do not see that in some ways Americans indirectly make life hard for others around the world. Most are simply unaware that America gets chocolate and diamonds from slavery in Africa. Too much clothing comes from sweatshops all around the world, but especially from Asian countries. The list goes on. So it comes down to this. You, my generation and culture, don't see the inequality, therefore it does not exist in your world, and you do not care. It's their life, "over there," and you are living your life here. You have your own problems such as what to wear tonight, you bitch about how your hair looks. You waste your time at a party almost every night or sitting on your ass watching some pop culture garbage such as "Mean Girls.1' Or if you DO care about the problems the world around you faces, you feel powerless... You turn to video games, drugs, alcohol, parties and religion to escape it all. We live as if we cannot do anything or affect any change. We work enough to purchase all the commodities and passifying agents we want or that this society has made us to believe we need. But we never have enough to take care or to take a stand. Starvation isn't a thing we generally worry much about in America but 40 million people die a year from STARVATION around the world. That is preventable people. Come on! We don't have to find a cure for someone starving. We just have to care and start pulling together. Being a human who refuses to think just of my own life in comfortable isolation I can't stand the horrors. Not just the lack of food, but the plight of women in other countries (it's bad in America, but I have it pretty damn good comparatively and I hope to never take that for granted). My designer bra purchased at the mall may very well have come from the hands of an Indonesian who can't even wear a bra yet. This Dear Editor. In reading Andrew Tracy's last article regarding community values and their application here at UVSC, I suddenly really wanted to start writing for the College Times again. I can't stand the "majority rules" mentality that so many people take. Every person in this school is an individual, and the school is a lot more diverse than one would think. I for one am surprised and glad that there is a Queer Theory class being taught here. There is at least a classroom full of gays at this school. When I was presiding over the gay and lesbian student union here in 2003,1 had a list of over 100 contacts interested in joining the club. We should have a class that teaches about the way we see the world, every bit as much as we should have classes based on LDS literature and literature from other cultures and sub-cultures. We have one class devoted to queer theory, and how many devoted to LDS subjects (including Institute)? The United States was founded on the principle that all people would be heard, majority and minority, and that our government would be a representative sampling of the people. Our school should be run this way. I see so many conservative and religious programs and events that go on at this school (I must have been asked to join Institute six times today.) How can anyone be upset that a few liberals and non-Mormons have their turn as well? Liberals make up half of the country, and half of the world! And if you are going to take things on a global level, there are a lot more openly gay citizens in thisnation and world than there are Mormons! Quite frankly, I would go crazy if I was surrounded by things and people that I agreed with all the time. The whole point of life is to grow, and being surrounded by people that hold the same ideology as you won't allow any growth to happen. Parents send their kids to college to expose them to the real world. I have traveled quite a bit, and trust me, Orem hardly represents the real world. The fact is, people have disagreed with each other since the dawn of time. Listening to the opposite side of the political/social spectrum should reaffirm your beliefs, not threaten them. Let's keep things interesting and allow some diversity here at UVSC. Adam Streeter Opinions Desk (801) 863-8617 Jen Galbraith Guest Commentary Visit us online at www.netxnews.net is unacceptable and tugs at my heart strings. Starvation, slavery, underpaid labor. These are mostly problems in OTHER countries which we support and take advantage of or are completely unaware of... It's time to be aware. I promise, becoming aware will not hurt you or even cost you anything. You don't need money, or the latest fashion trend to gain access to this information... Just ask, just research, just read. I believe revolution is possible if we can shake off our apathy. For a revolution to take place, the people have to want it. A lot of my generation does not care to want it, or becomes too depressed to want it, and looks to the afterlife saying, "Oh well, the next life will be better." But change CAN be affected in this life. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) made differences in their time. They rocked the boat, they revolted and demanded child labor laws, 40 hour week works, paid overtime, etc. But we have to find a new way, people are sick and tired of being sick and tired and they are tired of being talked down to, or having crazy radicals such as myself shoving propaganda - whether true or not - in their face. We need a new approach and from what I've been noticing with current revolutionaries that new approach is love, empathy and understanding. Too ideal? All I know is that the awareness and strong opinions and beliefs that I have adopted over the last couple years have come from people of true passion and beliefs, not from individuals trying to convince through force or anger. The humble, calm and informative Vegan made me give up eating animal flesh. Truly happy, peaceful and selfless atheist individuals showed me that you don't need religion to be giving, to have hope, and to be truly content. The passionate and intelligent professor helped me learn of postmodernism and social constructs, other's about the horrid facts of modern day slavery and deadly racism. Thoughtful peers gave me books and/or zines on anarchy, communism etc. and hours of their personal time to inform me... Do I sound like another crazy liberal? A ranting and raving radical college student who will fall silent eventually? I do not care because I know my true intentions are motivated by empathy and love. letter/ to the editor Dear Editor, [In response to Gregory Lucero's article, "A Fun Little Game"]: You're assuming that "moral justification" implies some kind of positive, beneficial attitudewhy? There are always selfish, personal morals. Morals based on greed and financial gain. Morals based on pride and status. Morals based on false premises and fallacies. Even the idea of "moral justification" can be based on irrational facts and emotion. While your goal of seeking a positive justification for war is optimistic, there is nothing stating that morals have to be positive. Tim Turner LETTERS TO THE EDITOR * E-Mail letters to uvscopinions® hot mail, com * The NetXNews room is located on campus in SC220. * All letters become property of NetXNews and may be edited for content, specifically clarity, length or other concerns at the discretion of the Opinions Editor. * Letters between 50-250 words are encouraged and those letters marked by their succinctness are more likely to be published. + Letters must be accompanied by full name, address, and phone number for verification purposes (contact information will not be published). Occupation, title or major is optional. Send story Ideas t o ' Snlons@hotmail.com |