The Battalion
OPINION
Tuesday, July 18,1989
‘Small
big 20
step’ for man just as
years after Apollo 11
Mail Call
sp
Groups misrepresented in cartoon
EDITOR:
I would like to comment on the cartoon by Don Atkinson that ran WedJBy Mia E
In the f irst place, no one can ram amendments down our throats. I find itli *—
believe that Mr. Atkinson is unaware of the process through which our ■AFF W
Constitution is amended. It is the American people and their representatntJr^ )u i(
have control over amendments, not President Bush.
Friday
Secondly, Tipper Gore is not trying to force her beliefs on anyone, rati people, 1:
trying to help concerned parents know the facts about certain lyrics. If Mr onlv bad
Atkinson doesn’t care that his 10-year-old is hearing about the joys of rape F
murder, he has a right to ignore the Parents’ Music Resource Center. Howei
should not take away from others the right to know what their children are !
hearing.
Third on the hit list were pro-lifers. We are not trying to force our belietsl
anyone. We just want everyone to know the facts concerning the murder of
innocent children. You could just as easily show a pro-choicer holding a sign';
child’s body belongs to the mother.” Nobody’s body belongs to anyone else.
The final group to be ridiculously misrepresented was the Supreme Cobb
Rather than forcing its beliefs on us with its abortion decisions, the Supreme!;
is doing exactly the opposite. All they did was give the American people therj
to put their own beliefs into law.
In none of these instances are many Americans in danger of having one
force his or her beliefs on them. The only “danger” is that this democracy!
America will actually f unction as a democracy where the people as a whole
decisions through the ballot box. If that scares Mr. Atkinson so much, perhaji
would prefer living in a totalitarian state.
Tara Knapp ’91
The miracles of the heavens have
been continuous sources of fascination
and intrigue for as long as man has pos
sessed the power to speculate. The
moon has always held a high place in
this speculation, possibly because it is
the easiest celestial body to study.
Early civilizations worshipped the
moon and built spectacular pyramids in
its honor, or maybe in the honor of the
“man” residing there. Later, someone
even decided that it was made of blue-
cheese. When this palatable but not
plausable myth passed, others took its
place. The fabled dark side of the moon
was an excellent gathering point for
imaginations worldwide.
In 1961, President John Kennedy be
gan what was to become one of the most
amazing single events in scientific his
tory. This project cost $25 billion, em
ployed more than 300,000 technicians
and culminated into what became the
first step in the direction of solving the
mysteries of space and one of the last
steps in the race to reach and under
stand our moon.
Neal Armstrong, commander of
Apollo 1 1, took this legendary step, or
should I say leap, 20 years ago Thurs
day.
I see this first moonshot as being the
most important event of 1969 (with the
exception of my birthday, of course). At
the time, the United States was in tur-
saoil over Vietnam. This was also the
year that Charles Manson decided that
the Bible and the Beatles were synona-
mous and that both instructed him to
lead a series of murders beginning with
Sharon Tate’s. Oh, and who can forget
the day at Chappaquiddick when Ed-
Matt
McBurnett
Columnist
grand scale, the stakes are high. I admit
that the space program employs means
which are expensive and dangerous but
the end result is the priceless ge of
knowledge.
Column wrongly denounces Court ruling
Fireme
ccide
0
AUSTI
Knowledge, though intangibl , is
ward Kennedy forgot to ask Mary Jo
Kopechne if she could swim?
It was obvious that the country was
not going to rally around its troops in
Vietnam. Woodstock, at the time, only
captured the fancies of a few individu
als. There was nothing present to unify
the rapidly growing masses of people
discontented with America at home and
abroad. Then came Armstrong’s step.
Experts estimated that 600 to 700
million people watched Armstrong’s fa
teful footstep. But a select 200 million
felt extra warm inside when “the Eagle
landed.” It was just what the doctor or
dered to cure some of America’s ills
during that tumultuous period. Apollo
11 gave Americans what they despera
tely needed, something to be happy
about.
Though A polio 1 1 had a profound
effect on America in 1969, its major im
portance lies in the fact that it was a
w'onderful triumph of science.
Many people criticize NASA for be
ing an extreme in its waste of money
without producing tangible results. I
disagree. In this case, the ends do justify
the means. When dealing with some
thing such as space that is on such a
what originally spawned the devel
opment of science. Unfortunately, most
of the scientific advances of this century
have been for the purpose of business. I
certainly am not implying that, without
business, scientific advances would not
be made. I am simply saying that most
of the advances made in science are cap
italized upon in the business world,
therefore combining the two entities,
science and business, into the compet
itive monster that we see in large cor
porations of today.
Apollo 1 1 was different. It was not
owned by a large company. No material
items inspired Apollo ll’s flight. If was
put up by the people. The moon, that
celestial hub of speculation to people of
all ages, was the sole inspiration of the
Apollo 1 1 mission. It, like the six subse-
quent Apollo missions, was solely
inspired by the quest for knowledge, not
money. Therein lies the beauty of the
space program.
In the wake of Thursday’s 20th anni
versary of Apollo 11, we should look
with pride at the space program. In
1969, Nixon said that the moment Arm
strong landed “will stand through the
centuries as one supreme human expe
rience.” It is supreme, to me, because
the space program is one of the few re
maining scientific endeavors that has
kept its integrity.
Matt McBurnett is a junior electrical
engineering major and a columnist for
The Battalion.
EDITOR:
Recently, several articles and cartoons have appeared in this paper that
show that the Battalion’s Editorial Board is for abortion on demand.
Sadly, they argued from emotion rather than reason and in the process?
several important points out.
First, the central question the abortion issue is built around is “WhendoeJ
begin?” 1 his is a question that only society, through society’s government,can thespecia 1
answer. No civilized society ever has allowed individuals the right to have hiss failure” o’
own answers to such questions. .f^Hained at
Why? Because it would create anarchy. I may decide that by my definiiioml In a tei
life has not yet begun. Do I then have an inherent right to kill you? MreiTor*
Another point that has been missing from these pages is what the roleoflii ten, [haul
Supreme Court is. Like many pro-choicers, Timm Doolen and Matt McBumitB [ n a notl
had convulsions when the Court handed down its Webster vs. Missourirulingii to disbanc
week and they wrote a column denouncing it. It is astounding how anvonearlfH for a S
write an entire editorial about a Supreme Court decision without once mentiaB )Sa1 ’ wlu<
the Constitution. But isn’t the Supreme Court’s job to interpret the Constitul
and remain silent where the Constitution is silent?
“We me
and that’s
Jgorkers’ ^
In the Court’s written opinions, none of the majority said abortion is wron Jiied | awr
should be made illegal. They simply gave indication, which they will likelyfkjr
next year, that they do not believe the Constitution addresses the issue andtkil "If we d
legislators elected by the people should decide when life begins rather thannint lion an ab
unelected judges who must be deaf to the will of the people.
The American people will decide when life begins in the v«ars to come. Am
when they do, let’s hope they use reason and open-mindedness to reach their
decisions rather than the emotional drivel that has become all too prevalentint
paper.
Scot Kibbe ’90
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed by columnists and cartoonists are those oh
individual, not necessarily those of The Battalion Editorial Board. Opinm
the Editorial Board are designated as such.
Some rights are sacred for all
EDITOR.
A
T
Sometimes you just have to say NO
THINGS I LL NEVER DO:
• Jump out of an airplane.
• See another movie starring W’illiam
Hurt. Seeing “Kiss of the Spider Wo
man” and “The Accidental Tourist” was
my cure.
• Move to New York.
• Forget Mother’s Day.
•J°g-
• Buy magazines from some kid who
knocks on my door and gives me some
song and dance about working his or
her way through college.
• Send one dime to a television evan
gelist.
•Take any of my freedoms for
granted, especially the one that allows
me to despise any slimeball who dese
crates the American flag.
Lewis
Grizzard
Columnist
Wear an earring or a ponytail.
• Discuss abortion or gun control
with anybody who is against either one.
I could get hurt.
• Wear a cowboy hat.
• Go back to writing sports.
• Eat liver or celery.
• Be caught anywhere near a mobile
home during a tornado.
• Watch a soap opera.
• Use cocaine.
• Live to be 90.
• Go less than 55 miles per hour in
the passing lane of an interstate high
way.
• Order any sort of clothing by mail.
• Say the word “irregardless.” It isn’t
a word.
Copyright 1989, Cowles Syndicate
Mike Ternus is not the only person to serve in the military! Some havedonl
not for the country, the flag or for any such bogus statements. They served anil
died because they had NO CHOICE! They “got a letter in the mail, go towarol
to jail!” (as the song goes.)
I spent two long, boring and overpaid years in a service that had no IDEA |
our flag was there or really cared. Most of the people I knew joined becausethl
needed the money. Almost every person I met wanted the f ree room and boad|
plus $800 a month. (Nothing to cry about.) Yet the freedoms we proclaimasso
valuable are stripped away by the service.
The people complaining outside your compound, Mike, may have hadsoiK
reason that you never bothered to learn about. Americans are always correct,ai
least in our own eyes, and sometimes it takes a few of the trampled masses tobi
a flag or throw some rocks jitst to get our attention. America is not my country
wrong or right! It is a place I want to help make better by using my rights. Weal
share these sacred rights but when we use them, someone says they don’t bi
us. I hese sacred rights are not only for those who served but those we servedft(
in this and all countries.
Paul Normandin ’84
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit leltmji'
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Ellen Hobbs,
Editor
Juliette Rizzo,
Opinion Page Editor
Fiona Soltes,
City Editor
Drew Leder, Chuck Squatriglia,
News Editors
Steven Merritt,
Sports Editor
Katny Haveman,
Art Director
Hal Hammons,
Makeup Editor
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