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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1984)
Opinion Page 2/The BattalionATuesday, July 3, 1984 Tax bill lunacy The latest lunacy spawned by the state Legislature’s special session is a proposal about the state sales tax. The House’s version of the tax bill doesn’t include increasing the state sales tax. But the Senate — in Monday’s session — altered the House’s version by adding a quarter of a cent increase on the sales tax. This addition jeopardizes the bill, which must be approved by both houses in the same form. By raising it a quarter of a cent, the tax becomes extremely cumber some to work with. Try figuring that sales tax out in your head. Cities will probably even out the odd figure by raising or lowering their current sales tax. A stiffer increase of liquor and cigarette taxes makes more sense than a sales tax of 4.25 cents. — The Battalion Editorial Board A Texan's pearls of wisdom Dorm Friedman LUBBOCK — “You know why they tell Aggie jok es?” asked the man with West Texas sun-worn skin. I climbed out of my car with the Texas A&M sticker on the side and readied my self for a jibe based on the Aggie ste reotype. Just get it over with, I thought. He’ll make a stupid joke; I’ll hold my tongue and we’ll both be back on our way. But he didn’t have a collection of Aggie jokes. No, his question wasn’t meant as rhetoric. As he urinated un der the tailgate of his truck, he an swered his question. “They tell those jokes,” he said, “be cause the Aggies are so smart. And don’t forget it.” He zipped his fly, climbed into his truck and started to pull away. The Double-Mountain Fork of the Brazos River rippled as ducks danced' around the support poles of a de serted swing set. Jeff, my guide for this journey through MacKenzie State Park, chuckled. “You always meet guys like that in West Texas,” he said. “They’re harm less, though.” Brakes squeaked. The backing lights of the red ’83 Chevy glowed. The horn beckoned. Jeff and I curiously approached. “Do you know,” he asked, “the five things that will make people act?” “No sir,” Jeff and I barked out in the same non-committal tone we had used many times before with our high school coaches. “Need, reward, rebuke, glory and expectations — take that back to A&M with you,” he said. “Tell your goddamn professors that. It takes patience. “You think that this drunk old man doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about, but I didn’t get this Rolex for nothing,” he said, pointing at his gold watch — a small diamond marking ev ery hour. Searching for an Aggie ring, I looked at his wrinkled, worn hands that gripped the steering wheel. On his ring finger he wore a gold band with diamonds encircling the band. “What are the five things that will make people act?” he asked again. Jeff and I looked back and forth. “Reward,” I said. “Need, rebuke,” Jeff added. “Olory,” I said. “Need,” the man in the truck said. “Reward, rebuke, glory and expec tations. Take that down there,” he re peated. “A few years back a young man took this and went down there and made a 4.0. “You’re a dumb son of a bitch, if you don’t do the same.” (Donn Friedman is a senior Journa lism major and The Battalion’s roving columnist covering the plains of Texas this summer.) Sacrificing all for liberty On July 4, 1776, representatives from the Ameri can colonies gath ered in Philadel phia and signed their names to a document that would become the foundation of a revolutionary new form of govern ment. Sacrificing all, they pledged to each other their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor in their quest for rights they believed were unalienable to all people. These rights were not to be easily won. The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence knew that by affix ing their names to the document pre pared by Thomas Jefferson they could be hanged for treason against King George III of England. The signers of the Declaration were established citizens and had a great deal to lose in revloting under the op pressive rule of the British crown. Over half were college graduates and among their ranks were teachers, law yers, farmers, scholars and business men. One signer, Charles Carroll of Maryland, was one of the richest men in America. He wrote his hometown beside his name so there would be no mistaking his identity. John Hancock boldly signed his name and declared, “Let them burn Boston and make John Hancock a pauper if it does good for the cause.” Ben Franklin said, “If we don’t hang together, we most assuredly will hang separately.” No signers were executed, but they were chased and shot at; their homes were vandalized, and their families were abused. Yet, all of this was the price of lib erty and Americans across te colonies were willing to pay it. These patriots were true freedom fighters who wanted only to live in peace and free dom. But freedom was not to be won by merely signing a document of declara tion. It was secured only after years of struggle and hardship on the part of all Americans. Civilian soldiers from across the colonies rallied with the Continental Army led by Cen. George Washington because they knew the va lue of freedom. When the patriots finally did win their independence, the Spirit of ’76 did not die. The ideals tht our patriotic forefa thers fought and died for now prosper in America. Ours was the first nation to hold dignity and equality of each in dividual as the foundation of govern ment. We have held to that course. In fact, we understand the true meaning of the concept of equality under thge law mech better now than them. We also are closer to that goal today than the signers of the Declaration of Indepen dence could have envisioned. This Independence Day, let us re new our commitment to freedom and liberty not only in America but around the world. We are the world’s hope for the truths proclaimed by those men on July 4, 1776. John Tower Freedom worth more than gold In December 1941, after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, armed guards ex ported a strong box to Fort Knox, Kentucky. In the box was a pad locked bronze container holding something of far greater value than all the gold at Fort Knox. The precious cargo was our Decla ration of Independence. It was shel tered at Fort Knox until the fall of 1944, when authorities decided that the fragile parchment, yellowed by age, was no longer endangered by enemy attack. This Fourth of July, as we celebrate the 208th Anniversary of the Declara tion of Independence, it is good to re flect of the eloquent message of this document. Later in his life, Thomas Jefferson recalled that when he sat down in 1776 to write the Declaration he intended it “to be an expression of the American mind...” Today, the challenge for us is to never lose sight of the Declaration as “an expression of the American mind.” For the millions of people ruled un der the doctrine laid down by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the- Communist Manifesto, the. notions embodied in our Declaration do not exist. The Manifesto maintains that such sentiments as “bourgeois freedom” and “bourgeois independence” and “bourgeois individuality” should be abolished. The Manifesto also speaks of abo lishing countries and nationalities. According to Marxist theory — espe cially as it later was interpreted by Le nin, Stalin and other communist lead ers — if people will only suppress for the time being their desire for free dom, and perservere long enough, the state will eventually “wither away.” The fact is, instead of withering away, governents in communist coun tries have grown more dominant, more harsh in their rule. We have to look no further than to Poland or Af ghanistan to see the truth of that. Those people who signed our Dec laration of Independence 208 years ago felt stronglly enough about the concepts of equality and liberty and rights to “mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” Historians point out that the signers deliberately pledge first their lives, then their fortunes. That symbolizes the abiding value they palced on this revolutionary document. The value of gold and other worldly fortunes fluctuates widely, but the priceless gift of the Declaration of In dependence — underwritten by the lives of those who signed it and of gen- - erations of Americans who have fol lowed — is undiminished. Cracking down on bird crimes By DICK WEST Columnist for United Press International WASHINGTON — When we think of the word “crime,” our thoughts likely turn to holdups, burglaries and other common forms of pillage, or perhaps an illegal drug or two. That federal authorities must be prepared to deal with many other types of criminal activity was impressed upon me the other day by an Agriculture Department news re lease. “Bird smuggler to repay $290,000 indemnity to govern ment,” it said. The odds are that many of us muddle along for weeks at a time without giving so much as a passing thought to bird smuggling. I gather, however, that attempts to evade bird quarantine regulations are on the rise. So it is well to be aware of this sort of law violation. You might think the little feathered friend you have caged at home is legit, but if you bought it on a street cor ner, rather than from a pet dealer, you may be harboring a hot canary. Despite laws making it illegal to cage wild birds, a goodly number are sold under the counter, so to speak. So it is good to know what you are doing before engaging in any bird transaction. It is easy to become addicted to the chirping of birds. Let’s say you are walking down the street minding your own business. It may be an unsavory part of town, but a bright, sunshiny day withal and bird smuggling is about the furtherest thing from your mind. Then, from a dark alley, comes a melodious chirping. You stop for a moment to listen, enthralled. Perhaps the bird is trilling Bach’s “Ode to Joy.” Or it may be a chirping rendition of one of the Brandenburg Concertos. Suddenly, a seedy-looking character emerges from the shadows and whispers, “Hey, mister, you wanna buy a duck?” Unless your sales resistance is unusually high, you suc cumb to the pitch, which is usually an f-sharp minor. From that point on, you are a songbird junkie. Soon, a large per centage of your income is going to support your habit. This is the sort of thing the U.S. government is up against in its drive to control bird smuggling. Education probably is the best preventive. Just be aware that parrot fever can be dangerous to your health, not to mention the expense of ear surgery. Letters: 'Bad Ag' photograph \ mocks Aggieland Editor: Who is this guy Peter Rocha ant why is he such a bad Ag? Whatl’niref erring to is his photograph of then I tinguished Aggie Eternal Flame in June 28 issue of the Battalion. W Mr. Rocha is doing is making a mod ery of a generous gift by the Class 1983, and by printing his photograpl you are encouraging him. It should be the duty of a scho newspaper to show the good side a the University, not to make fun things which don’t happen to coin out just right. You should leave ths for the scum who publish the Bum lion. Before Mr. Rocha prints a fullpa^ of photos showing crippled peo| falling on their faces, may I remi him of one thing? Both Highway and Highway 21 run both ways. Tail your pick. A C< Brisi Frank Irwin ' —— Flame keepers need a dictionary ji (contii Jazz m r .relayed . ° f elenU Count B. Editor: What is the meaning Websters Second College Edition Ne> World Dictionary defines eternal a show fo forever the same; always trueorvalii System’s unchanging; always going on; perpe Music ual. Why is our flame not burningatf P°P_ to J more? When the flame was litintk r noon uni fall of 1983 it was supposed to bun forever. What happened? ^ K en Kenneth P. Thompson's! Minor 1 Gregory A. Matthews’S! and saxi Special Families deserve abortion rights hasizes ;' The 1. Sunrise noon. R to midr Cari Put mg in. to commend the Battalion Thin Editor: I’d like Editiorial Board for its editorial, “Affrom tl bortion is a private decision.” Wayne I’m a mother. I’m familiar with feu development from embryo to birthbe cause I read everything I could abo®!| the subject during my pregnancy. 1 •I happily and healthily carried a fetm [ inside me for nine months and gav< I birth to a much-wanted child whoii|| now thirteen years old. Furthermore.i| my profession as an artist has per milled me to stay home with mi daughter all these years. I’ve taken’ motherhood seriously; I’m certainly qualified to comment about abortion. My husband of seventeen years and f I value very highly our right tochoosf whether or not to carry an accidental or dangerous pregnancy to term. Wt resent anti-abortionists who presumf to make our difficult family decisioni for us. These folks wouldn’t be around to pay the bills, bear the pain, and hold our hands if an unwanted of risky pre gnancy went wrong in some way. I noticed, by the way, that both anti abortion rights letters in the Battalion June 26 were written by men. Asa wise person once said, “If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sac rament.” Kristin Parsons The Battalion CISPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Rcbeca Zimmermann, Editor Bill Robinson, Editorial Page Editor Shelley Hoekstra, City Editor Kathleen Hart, News Editor Dave Scott, Sports Editor The Battalion Staff Assistant City Editor Robin Assistant News Editor Dena Brown Staff Writers Kari Fluegd Sarah Oates, Travis Ting^ Copy Editor Tracie Holub Photographers Peter Rocha Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non profit, self-supporting news paper operated as a commu nity service to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the Editorial Board or the author, and do not necessar ily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Re gents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Depart ment of Communications. United Press Interna tional is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches cred ited to it. Rights of repro duction of all other matter herein reserved. Letters Policy Letters to the Edit 01 should not exceed W words in length. The edit 0, rial staff reserves the right" edit letters for style an length but will make e^P effort to maintain the F thor’s intent. Each l ette! must be signed and must in clude the address and tele phone number of the v/rilt { The Battalion is p u ^ Us lied Monday through day during Texas A&M ular semesters, except f° r holiday and examination I*' riods. 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