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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1988)
A HUBBunmun Page 2/The BattalionTuesday, April 5, 1988 Opinion What is the threat to our religious freedom Freedom of re- 1 i g i o n in the United States is threatened today. This is not imme diately evident to all since the threat often masquerades in the guise of reli gious tolerance. It plays on fears that politically involved religious groups will impose their morality on the rest of us, which is clearly contrary to the spirit of tolerance on which a pluralistic so ciety is based. But to say as many do that we cannot legislate morality is to speak in igno rance and dangerously obfuscate real ity. What this catch phrase really means is that it is impossible to make man moral by passing laws. If we could, we would need only to pass the right laws to make each person behave as he ought, thus creating the ideal world. Though man cannot be made moral through legislation, it remains possible to legislate moral standards. It is, in fact, inescapable. Morality involves consider ations of what is right and what is wrong. The law provides a formal stan dard of right and wrong to which all citi zens must conform lest they incur the displeasure of the state. The law im poses a moral code upon all citizens whether they like it or not. The real question then is not whether someone’s morality will be imposed upon everyone else, but whose morality will provide the foundation for a na tion’s laws. The little phrase “you can’t legislate morality” merely serves as a smokescreen for this fundamental ques tion. Presently a battle is being fought over whose morality will prevail in America. Will it be the Christian values of our forefathers that have been steadily eroded? Will it be the values of those who admit no higher authority than man and believe that government will save him from his problems? Or will it be someone else’s? That such a battle now rages is clear. One side seeks the creation of a new and supposedly better society by overturn ing traditional values while continually warning us of the dangers presented by the involvement of fundamentalist Christians in government. This side at it -* ^ Brian Frederick Mail Call English is the logical choice EDITOR: We want a fight! Today’s topic: English as America’s national language. My roommate and I are multi-lingual and see its usefulness: employer-em ployee relations, dealing with our border neighbors, knowledge for knowl edge’s sake, etc. Nevertheless, English must be the national language for an array of reasons. Historically, many group efforts hinge on common language. Scientists throughout Europe in the 15th - 18th centuries submitted papers only writ ten in Latin. They realized the practicality of a multi-lingual group using a common tongue. God made those constructing the tower of Babel speak in foreign tongues. Consequently, progress halted. With English as national language, people using their own native lan guages fear alienation for not being able to pommunjcate. Tie this to money. If someone’s native medium is the franc, would he be practical in com plaining of alienation when he can’t purchase a Big Gulp in Navasota because they won’t accept francs? C’mon, get practical! Voter alientation fear is moot. Voter’s are citizens. Citizenship entails be ing functional using English. Anyway ... go ahead, print political documents (i.e. ballots) in 50 languages. Don’t alienate ANYONE! Expenses up 50 times! Sounds great! Gets better!! A guy in Croslyton speaks only Navajo. He can’t read road signs. Make a new sign printed in Navajo . . . and Spanish, Greek, Arabic, whatever (understand?) Impractical and expensive. Each citizen could be drafted. Cadets, give orders in each language nativ ely spoken by your troops. Just try and say “Fire” in Spanish, French, Choctaw Indian, etc. How ’bout the Egyptian hieroglyphic users? DON’T ALIENATE ANYONE! In conclusion, history and practical thought show the need and useful ness for a national language. English is the logical choice for this country. WJ. Wade ’89 Kenneth E. Pfeffer ’89 It’s a fox hunt EDITOR: The NCAA basketball tournament is winding down, and I hope that everyone had a chance to watch the AGGIES in action. What, those were the AGGIES of North Carolina A&T and Utah State? Where were our beloved AGGIES of TEXAS A&M? You mean they stayed home during Spring Break? Not even an NIT bid? Had the “Silver Fox” let us down? I am afraid the Silver Fox has let a lot of people down the last few years. No longer able to go into a delay with ten minutes remaining in the game, unable to realize the value of a three-point-shooter, unable to recruit a big man and unable to field a team that can shoot free throws, the Silver Fox has seen the game pass him by. Sure, the Silver Fox has 413 career wins, but he also has 282 losses, and it took 25 years to amass those totals. The strength of our schedule is nothing to brag about either. I must admit that we have played the Sooners the last few years, but I am sure everyone knows the outcomes of those games. We have been able to get to the NCAA and NIT tournaments in recent years, however, we have been eliminated in first round play and only SWC tournament miracles got us the NCAA tourney. I guess the media call him the Silver Fox due to his ability to get contract extensions despite poor preformances. Come on Jackie, recruiting is your strength, how about getting us a head basketball coach? Or might success in basketball detract from your success on the grid iron? Gary Wheeler ’86 accompained by three signatures Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer. tacks people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell for seeking to impose their morality on the rest of us and thus threatening freedom in a pluralistic so ciety. Meanwhile, Christians seeking to obey the dictates of conscience complain about the imposition of secular values on them. They worry that much of what the public schools teach undermines the principles they strive to instill in their children. They object to laws that license pornography and condone the killing of unborn children. Other groups are like wise caught up in the struggle. The erosion of what was once a clearly Christian consensus in America is partially responsible for this struggle. The lack of general agreement on what is right and wrong engenders conflict as opposing groups battle to see their stan dards enshrined in law. But such strug gles would be of less importance were it not for our highly centralized govern ment. As our federal government was origi nally framed, it had but limited author ity in domestic affairs. State and local governments exercised nearly all the power that directly affected the lives of citizens. When power lies at the local level, pluralism and religious freedom can flourish. People can tailor the laws under which they live to match the pre vailing values of a community. Those not content with the local establishment can work to change it at that level or move on to a more congenial commu nity. But when power is concentrated at the national level, such local tailoring is impossible. One Supreme Court deci sion made in Washington D.C. can over turn the duly legislated laws in thou sands of communities around the country, while local officials are reduced to merely implementing the decisions imposed from above. Given the inescapably moral nature of the law, this concentration of power at the federal level makes it possible for one small group to impose its morality on the whole nation. Both those fearing the religious Right and those fearing the humanistic Left have legitimate cause for concern. All groups are involved in a struggle for control in which the winner takes all and the losers are subjected to laws based on morals repugnant to them. Fhe group prevailing in the struggle probably would not outlaw conipt■ Prole beliefs. It would permitdissenterstol|to pron lieve whatever they wanted as! their beliefs did not threaten thees ing order. They could believe I proselytize. Parents could teach children whatever they wanted atkB onor but would have to send them tosctlering to be indoctrinated with the prevaJi Di. IS orthodoxy. “The free exercise" ofj piofess< gion would be confined to chuttB P res ‘ judged acceptable by the state whtrf« SSI<)n ‘ l ligious ideas could have no public affairs. We would retain onliH iest j OI emasculated shadow of the relijnB“phih f reedom necessary to a truly fretBrestecI ciety. The only solution I know threat is the decentralization of pofe B 5- " power and the return to a trulyfede system. This would reduce thethra lgj) avt . having the morality of the minoritri posed on everyone else by a distams powerf ul capital. This, unfortunate^ unlikely. There may, however,beod ways of securing religious freedom all, but without recognizing the of the threat, we shall certainly find them. ley arc irheyY ■uestior I “To a do is co he said. Brian Frederick is a senior histon Russian major and a columnist for Battalion. Isn’t high school tough Education Sec retary William Bennett decided a while back that high schools aren’t tough enough aca demically. Secretary Ben nett suggests high school students take the following courses: Four years of English; three years each of science, math and social studies, , two years of a foreign language; two years c^f physical education; and one semester each of art history and music history. The primary reason younger people don’t trust older people is because older people sit around and try to Figure out how to make life more difficult for younger people than it already is. High school isn’t tough enough? When you’re 15 you’re lucky just to be able to dress yourself each morning and locate the school. Plus, there are all sorts of things to worry about as a teenager without some bureaucrat in Washington trying to put you through Harvard when you’re barely housebroken. You’ve got to worry about getting your driver’s license, a date for the prom and tickets for the nexy heavy metal concert. On top of that, your homeroom tea cher has it in for you because your ear ring jingles during quiet period, your fa ther is a narc and your face is covered with zits. This is not to say there shouldn’t be changes in our high schools. For years I have called upon educators to revamp the curriculum to fit modern times and each student’s particular interests and needs. For instance they made me take alge bra in high school. “But I’m never going to use this,” I pleaded. “You never know,” said my teacher. I did know that I was right. I have been out of high school 24 years and not once has algebra come up. Teaching kids to read and to write and to count a little is important, but high schools also should offer some Lewis Grizzard enough? practical courses that would helpl dents as they join the adult world | like to see a few of these coursestatfi • DRESSING FOR SUCCESS bj firms do not hire young women l orange hair. • HOW TO SPEAK THE ENGLlI LANGUAGE. Like, you know,it'si important. • HIGHWAY SANITY. Everyth you get behind the wheel of a car,d| try to see how fast the car will go. j morgue is, like, a totally boringplatf j • HOW TO DRINK SENS® ; AND NOT THROW UP ON # DATE. Very important ifoneisiol prove socially. • ECONOMICS. Your parentsl going to cut you off one of thesedl Learn to cope with being in char?! your own survival. • GETTING EVEN. Just holdcj few more years and you can get bail all the adults who made your lifenT able by doing the same thing to fi l own kids. Life isn’t fair, my young friends,I it has it moments. Copyright 1987, Cowles Syndicate The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Sue Krenek, Editor Daniel A. LaBry, Managing Editor Mark Nair, Opinion Page Editor Amy Couvillon, City Editor Robbyn L. Lister and Becky Weisenfels, News Editors Loyd Brumfield, Sports Editor Jay Janner, Photo Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa per operated as a community 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 necessarily rep resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fac ulty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Journalism. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. 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