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Show MONDAY • JANUARY 9 WWW.NETXNEWS.NET faculty corner Fascists in our midst Alexander Simon Associate Professor of Sociology why o/k why? Why New York? Why is New York City the capitol of New Years? Since when did they claim a monopoly on New Year's Eve Celebrations? There were seven major stations covering the -event including MTV and ESPN, and not one of them had the ereativity to celebrate New Years in a different time zone. I propose a televised party in at least one major city in each time zone (NYC, Chicago, Denver, and L.A.). That way we don't have to watch reruns of Carson Daily counting down to the ball drop in the Big Apple. Speaking of which, who thought of a big gaudy ball dropping to set off the New Year anyway. I have always thought that "dropping the ball" was a bad thing. Why don't we raise it instead? Conan O* Brian is the only progressive thinker to address this issue to date. Every year he celebrates New Years for the central time zone because his show airs at midnight in the Midwest. When the clock strikes 12 midnight, dancing corncobs and Abraham Lincoln's dance around his desk. Unfortunately this year, and next. Conan won't be on because New Years Eve lands on a weekend. Let's hope the networks can learn from his example by picking up the "dropped ball" and running with it. (he week/ best Whether you are conservative, liberal or somewhere in between, these editorials are sure to light the fire within your debating heart. We wade through all the trash so you don't have to. There is a small, but powerful group of fascists, who have appointed themselves the guardians of "community values" and are attempting to dictate which ideas will be expressed at UVSC. Woody Guthrie wrote in bold letters on his guitar, "This Machine Kills Fascists." Guthrie recognized that not all fascists are honest enough to wear swastikas. Moreover, many fascists are too ignorant to realize that they are fascists. There are fascists who brandish the self-imposed label of "liberal," but they are only "tolerant" and "open-minded" until someone says something that they disagree with. There are individuals who purport to be "conservative" who wish to dictate to others which perspectives they can voice or expose themselves to. Traditional conservatives trust individuals to make choices for themselves. Moreover, among the things that they wish to "conserve" are the Bill of Rights and the role of the academy as an institution that promotes the free exchange of ideas. Fascists are not "liberals" or "conservatives," at least not in the context that Americans employ these terms. According to Webster's Dictionary, fascism is defined as "a system of government characterized by rigid one-party dictatorship; forcible suppression of the opposition (unions, other, especially leftist, parties, minority groups, etc.); the retention of private ownership of the means of production under centralized government control; belligerent nationalism and racism; and glorification of war etc.: first instituted in Italy in 1922 ... See also Nazism." Fascism has always appealed to some prominent individuals. Hitler felt that the business owner was the "natural" master and should not have to negotiate with unions or tolerate the existence of individuals who challenge their values. Thus, some powerful Americans (e.g., Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh) were admirers of the Nazis and many American corporations (e.g.. IBM, Ford, and Kodak) were very eager to do business with them. The old style Nazis attempted to control public discourse by engaging in genocide, burning books, censoring newspapers, and having professors dismissed from their academic positions. Our local fascists are less direct, but their goals are the same. When a fascist burns a book, his or her goal is to prevent others who desire to read the book from having access to it. When Kay Andersen attempted to purchase all of the tickets to Michael Moore, his goal was to prevent people from having access to a particular political perspective. When Marlon Snow, who is on the Board of Regents, attempted to coerce student government officials to cancel Moore's visit to campus, he was attempting to dictate the boundaries of acceptable public discourse. When individuals withdrew donations from UVSC due to opinions being expressed that they disagree with, they were utilizing their economic power to limit free speech. When State Senators John Valentine and Parley Hellewell threatened to sanction UVSC if ideas were expressed that they disagree with, they (and the other individuals mentioned above) demonstrated that they are no different, in principle, than the fascists who burn books. Some of my colleagues feel that, for the sake of our students and our careers, we should ingratiate ourselves to powerful fascists. However, to be a sycophant to fascists is both unethical and an unwise political tactic. It is unethical in that it is cowardly and dishonest. We are living in dangerous, desperate times. Therefore, it is highly important that those of us in a position to do so; speak truth to power. As the philosopher Miguel Unamuno stated in regard to Spanish fascism, "Sometimes to be silent is to lie." Engaging in sycophancy is an unwise political tactic for many reasons. A quality academic institution consists of more than new buildings and money. A college or university cannot be a quality institution unless it is fully dedicated to the proposition that students and faculty should be free to pursue the truth without interference from external actors. It is possible to foresee a future in which we mutate into an institution that is a "university" in name only and students are exposed to a narrow scope of ideas and are thus unprepared to function as citizens in a highly diverse, democratic society. History has shown that attempting to placate fascists only emboldens them. Our recent history further supports this proposition. Last year. President Sederberg inappropriately pressured democratically elected student government officials to "balance" Moore's speech with a speech from the right-wing talk show host Sean Hannity. Hannity is an employee of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, one of the largest media conglomerates on the planet. Murdoch's right-wing ideology is well represented in the United States and around the globe. Fox News is piped all over this campus, yet somehow the President felt that the fact that we were attacked by Iraq on 9/11 and that Iraq possessed "Weapons of Massive Destruction" (WMD) was under-represented on campus. Having Hannity "balance" the truly under-represented position taken by Moore did not prevent people from canceling donations to the college or convince politicians that they don't have the right to dictate what ideas are expressed on campus. These fascists are not content with having their views presented; they want them to be the only views Salt Lake Tribune It's High Time to Raise the Minimum Wage By Molly Ivins 12/30/2005 sltrib.com Deseret News The Case for Plea Bargins 1/3/2006 deseretnews.com (he 9ood the bad & (he ucjlij In a radical change of events congress has decided to do something for a change. They plan on sending a bill to President Bush in which dollar coins featuring all 37 of the nation's dead presidents will begin rolling out of the United States mint in 2007. Human Rights Watch, a human rights group, is alleging that the United States operated a secret prison near Afghanistan's capital as recently as last year. Claiming that music by Eminem and Dr. Dre were used as instruments of torture. (he bod the ugly Radhakan Baji made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest ear hair, measured at 5.19 inches. "God has been very kind to me," he said. Wall Street Journal Teachers Pets 1/3/2006 opinionjournal.com . New York Times No More Second-Term Blues By James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn 1/5/2006 nytimes.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - I:-\l;nl letters m uvscopinmns*1? lit it mail.com 1 The Nei.Wcvi's room is located un campus m SC220. ' All letters become prnpem of NeiXNeus and may be edited lor content. S|jecihc:ill\ el;int\. length or other curiix-ms .it the discretion uf the Opinions Editor " Letters between 50-250 words ;ire encouraged and those letters marked by their succinctness are more likely to be published. ' Letters must he accompanied by full name, address, and phone number lor verification purposes (contact information will not be published). Occupation, title or major is optional. GET A LIFE! GET A HAIRCUT! Learn the hairstylist They love their own facts about the life of a top their careers and many own business. Find out more about your one-year full or part time training. PRUL MITCHELL. We also offer night classes. PRUL MITCHELL. the school PROVOUTAH www.PaulHitchellTheSchool.com Bring in this coupon and receive a FREE 8 oz bottle of PF1ULMITCHELL. Shampoo " with every haircut, perm or color! CUT & STYLE START AT $8.00 PERMS START AT HI-LITES $25.00 & COLOR START AT $30.00 |