The Battalion
OPINION
Wednesday, May 23,1990
Save drug users’ lives
with keys of education
A day doesn’t go by that we don’t
hear about drugs. So much has been
said about them. The Drug War. Drugs
and Society. Drugs on the Job. And
even, Gubernatorial Candidates on
Drugs.
We’re all affected by this issue in one
way or another. Those of us who live in
a big city see the effects of the situation
daily. But it doesn’t happen only in
Houston or Dallas. It’s a fact of life here
on our own campus.
It’s all about communication, or the
lack thereof. A really close friend of
mine was caught up in this vicious world
of neglect and misunderstanding. He
didn’t understand himself or the world
around him. He felt like he was
trapped. There was no way out.
I wanted to help, but I didn’t know
what to do. The solution was simple
though. All I had to do was listen. I
learned what was on his mind, and it
was troubling for me to face the reality.
He could not understand his family. He
had no idea what he was doing in
school. He was confused, sexually.
Then I began to analyze the situation.
I came up with a few answers to some
perplexing questions. The thing that
kept coming back to me was that the
ultimate problem lies in the hands of the
drug dealer. They can’t be cured. They
want money and control and they’ll do
anything to get both.
The drug user on the other hand
needs attention. They usually take
drugs to fight their insecurities. They
have a low self-esteem and feel that
drugs are going to make them feel
better. Well, maybe the drug does make
them feel better, but what they don’t
know is that they are hurting themselves
physically and emotionally.
Rudy
Cordova Jr.
Columnist
Here at Texas A&M drugs can be
found almost anywhere. The pressures
are high and the suppliers know it. Just
take a look around you on campus, in
organizations, clubs, fraternities,
sororities, dorms and even the Corps.
It’s just a matter of opening our eyes to
a problem that exists right here in front
of us.
The other day a friend of mine who
happens to be from a small Texas town
was struck by the harsh reality of “the
drug scene.” He went out with a group
of people he had just become “friends”
with. He drank that night while they
took ecstacy and did mushrooms. He
was taken advantage of that night. They
stole his keys and a gold ring. He
trusted them. They used him.
The sad part about the whole
situation is that it’s happening around
us in an educational setting, which
ironically is where we have to start.
Legislation needs to pass where a health
course becomes mandatory. As of right
now, it’s mandatory that we take four
hours of useless credits in the field of
kinetics.
Why can’t we take a class where we
can learn and maybe even save
someone’s life. While we’re at it, let’s
add a mandatory class on sexually
transmitted diseases. Lord knows this
campus has a lot to learn about “the real
world.”
One day some of us will become
parents and we’ll have to teach our
children the difference between right
and wrong. We’ll send them off to
college and hope that they can better
themselves.
It’s hard to envision a place where the
atmosphere is clear from drugs. There
is only one way to find out though, and
that is to educate ourselves.
We keep hearing that education is the
key. Well, if that’s true then I guess if
our keys are stolen, we’re locked in and
there’s no way out.
Rudy Cordova Jr. is a senior theatre
arts major.
Mail Call
Women still fighting in sexist society
EDITOR:
This is in response to Matt McBurnett’s column on the survey where
women are getting fed up with men and their attitudes. McBurnett started
out feeling bad about women’s opinions of men and how women all seem to
depict men as sexist, self-centered and selfish, which is entirely a fair com
plaint. However, he goes on to state that since 1970, “women have been suc
cessful in acquiring most of the things they have tried to achieve.”
If this were true, then women would still not be trying to fight so hard for
their equality in a male dominated society today. He feels that “the farther
women get, the more they expect,” and that “this trend of higher expectations
needs to stop soon.”
Why shouldn’t women have high expectations? Women are just as capable
of succeeding as are men, if not more. They have every right to be just as self
ish, self-centered (and hopefully they’ll rise above this one) and sexist as men
are today.
But then, I guess McBurnett doesn’t see this considering he still degra-
dingly states “how far women have come, baby.” The fact that he thinks this
survey is no big dea/just reinforces the validity of its answers and proves how
far women still do have to go.
Jennifer Malewski ’93
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Stop 1111.
Societal conflicts arise from divergence
of personal values, human suffering |
The solutions that we apply to just
about any problem in our society
embrace two basic goals: the
maintenance of our values and morals,
and the elimination of human suffering.
With such widespread agreement on
our ultimate objectives how can we, with
issue after issue, have such intractable
problems? What device allows there to
be more than one respected viewpoint
on an issue?
I offer the following premise: Most
conflicts arise when our principles
diverge from the minimization of
human suffering. Two issues that fall
under this idea are the inequality of
resources to needs, and the protection
of sacred life versus the quality of life.
Does this sound ridiculous to you or is it
just uncomfortable? Let’s look at a few
issues of our day and see if the model
fits.
Most conflicts arise
when our principles
diverge from the
minimization of human
suffering. Two issues that
fall under this idea are the
inequality of resources to
needs, and the protection
of sacred life versus the
quality of life.
A major problem facing the United
States today is the export of our jobs
(usually manufacturing jobs) to third
world countries where wages are low.
Our principle is that workers have a
right to a wage level that allows a decent
living (by our American standards). Yet,
we seem to be falling on our own sword.
Because conditions allow lower wages
elsewhere we are noncompetitive,
forcing plant closings, unemployment
and human suffering.
Thus, morality diverges from
practicality. In fact, this situation has led
to a decade of accommodation by
unions through wage and hour
concessions. Those that refused to
accede were eliminated by the market.
James
Sinclair
Reader’s Opinion
What about the health care crisis?
Right now we have costs doubling every
six years, yet at the same time 37 million
Americans have no health insurance.
However, we believe that all Americans
deserve the greatest amount of care
available under current technology. It
seems that availability of care should not
be tied merely to ability to pay. What are
we going to do about overflowing
emergency rooms and crack babies that
cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to
care for?
Sometimes in this debate you hear
calls for a “reevaluation of the use of
our health care resources.” There is
only one interpretation of this
statement: Care is going to be denied to
someone. Here is a case of the
nonequivalence of resources to needs.
In fact, the imbalance is so great that the
recent congressional panel investigating
the issue came up with $60 billion as the
first estimate of what it will take to offer
all Americans a minimum standard of
care. It says nothing about how to stop
the exponential rise in costs.
More issues:
• Drugs: Morality— Drugs kill. We
should therefore be willing to pay
whatever costs are necessary to bring
total elimination of availability.
Practicality— The scale of the problem
is so great that no level of attack will
eliminate drugs. In fact, the likely effect
of war will be to destroy the battlefield.
Our goal, therefore, should not be
elimination, but minimization of human
suffering.
• Abortion: Morality— Abortion is
murder. Since we can’t tell when human
life begins, the baby should get the
benefit of the doubt. All life is sacred
and should have equal protection under
the law. Practicality— Outlawing
abortion will result in great suffering.
We cannot support an additional 1.6
million births in this country, most to
poor women. A testament to this is the
growing underclass and the number ot
homeless people. Government social
programs cannot begin to meet
need. Adoption does not worksim
most babies are minorities. Womti |
still have illegal abortions withoui|
proper medical supervision.
• Teen pregnancy: Morality-
Availibility of sex education and
distribution of birth control devitt
have the effect of promotingmort
teenage sexuality. Practicality—
Availibility of education and birth
control can reduce the numberoll
pregnancies and spread of disease
perhaps at the cost of more teenapl
sexuality.
The problem with the level ofm
in this country is that issues seemJ
complicated that both sides use 1
exaggeration and hyperbole to dni
people to their side rather thanset|
that the solutions of both sides hail
flaws. Each side portrays the oppof
as maniacal zealots, or guilty of thtl
spread of moral perversion.
The fact is that solutions
competing good and bad points,
judgement of their utility should
whether their net eff ect would ini? | :
the current situation.
My purpose is not to makejudgi
upon the issues stated (although
certainly have strong opinionsona
them). It is to establish the propet
f ramewor k upon w'hich debate she
be structured. It is my belief thatro
of the conflicts that exist can befrai
in these terms, although manyissut
not as simple.
James Sinclair is a graduate slw
physics.
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