The Battalion
OPINION
Bat
Friday, June 22,1990
Opinion Page Editor Damon Arhos
Americans need to
go beyond English
Mail Call
Tackle ‘real problems,’ not flags
Q: What do you call a person that
knows three languages? A: Trilingual.
Q: What do you call a person that
knows two languages? A: Bilingual.
Q: So what do you call a person that
knows one language? A: American.
Sadly enough this a joke told around
the world in different countries and in
different languages. The truth is that in
order for us to keep up with the changes
in the world we must make some
changes of our own.
The last Superpower Summit was
dubbed, “The Last Superpower
Summit.” The reasons for this
distinction are self-evident. The
Kremlin Wall is crumbling and the
United States as a world influence is
slowly fading. The United States and
the Soviet Union are no longer the
dominant forces that control the world
like they used to during the Cold War.
Cordova Jr.
Columnist
A new kind of world is being molded
and it has nothing to do with a
superpower. America has been standing
proud for over 200 years and our self-
interest has moved us along. In the 20th
century, we have gone to war and we
have helped create the world that now
stands (at least, before the recent
changes).
The changes in Eastern Europe
threw a loop in the American way of
thinking, though. If we are to compete
in the world market, especially in
Europe and Japan, we must make a
move to expand our knowledge of the
world.
Here at this University we have a
modern languages department like
most universities. All liberal arts
students that want a bachelor of arts
degree are required to pass four
semesters of a foreign language. In
these classes, we learn basic speaking
patterns used in everyday conversation,
and we study the people’s culture.
The knowledge of a foreign language
is useful in many ways. I have personally
learned more about the English
language in four semesters of Spanish
than I have in any English course. The
reason behind this is that in order to
learn another language, it must be
taught in our native tongue. I have also
learned enough of the language to get
me through a day in a Spanish-speaking
country.
It’s important to recognize that other
ways of communication are available to
the human resource. The other colleges
of the University should implement a
foreign language requirement for their
students. With the world shaping up the
way it is, it will be vital for Americans to
understand other cultures. All
industries and areas of employment will
soon become worldwide, if they haven’t
already.
As Americans, we can’t let ourselves
fall behind because we’re too self-
centered to learn another language. As
an Aggie, we wouldn’t want to give up
our position as “boss” because we don’t
know how to speak French, and our
employer is opening a new branch
office in Paris. The possibilites are
limitless and it’s up to us to capture the
knowledge.
EDITOR:
Americans are looking for another “feel good” sum
mer, and politically we’ve got it. In Washington, every poli
tician who wants to be re-elected has to take a stand. Yes,
they say, I wholeheartedly back an amendment to the Con
stitution to ban flag burning.
But stop for a minute and think about the real prob
lems facing our nation. The United States has the highest
infant mortality rate of any industrialized country. Three
out of every four young black men is either in prison, on
parole or on probation. The savings and loan bail out will
cost each American over $2,000. Many of our children live
in abject poverty.
None of these problems can capture the imagination of
the average American. Look past the political smoke screen
and see that burning a flag doesn’t mean squat compared
to these other national disgraces. Don’t disparage those
who burn the flag; do something to make it a symbol of a
glorious nation, not just a glorious symbol.
When you extract only the lyrics from the music,)
are destroying half of the art of rap. Mr. Mixx, the Til
Live Crew’s is one of the best in the rap industry.!
please, at least try to understand the art of this music!
before you criticize. Oh, I almost forgot Mr. Liebmann:!
a rap thang, and you wouldn’t understand!
Raymond Jackson ’90
A&M conservatism sickening
Georgia McNamara ’91
Lyrics only half of rap music
The world we live in has plenty of
opportunities. The only way to achieve
the success that the United States has
had is to reach as many of those
opportunities as we can. We’re living in
the best of times. So much is happening.
There is so much to do.
Some day we’ll look back at this
century and wonder how we managed
to survive. We’ll tell our grandchildren
that we stopped and took the time to
pay attention to the change. Only the
ones willing to commit to this change
will survive.
We’ll also tell our grandchildren the
joke about the American that only knew
one language. They’ll laugh and we’ll
laugh. HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
Right now, the rest of the world is
laughing.
Rudy Cordova Jr. is a senior theatre
arts major.
EDITOR:
For all you people out there who are criticizing Two
Live Crew, I have some news for you. Obviously you do not
understand rap music. Rap entails more than just the ly
rics. The beat plays just as an important role as the lyrics,
just as the jokes of Eddie Murphy and Andrew “Dice” Clay
entail more than just profanity. For instance, on the hit
song “Me So Horny,” an old song called “Firecracker” by a
group named Foxy is mixed into the song. This is what got
my attention, not the lyrics.
As a matter of fact, I like the clean version just as much
as the unedited version. Most of you “experts” on rap seem
to be familiar with M.C. Hammer’s “You Can’t Touch
This.” The beat is also what got my attention on this song.
An old hit by Rick James called “Superfreak” is mixed in
with it. Most people agree that the song would have never
been a hit without the “Superfreak” sample.
The same thing applies to groups such as N.W.A.
While the lyrics of their songs are violent, the music makes
the song. Their music is done by Dr. Dre, who also does the
music for J.J. Fad (Supersonic) and Michelle (Nicety) that
have gone over very well on the pop charts.
Also, more emphasis tends to be given to the lyrics by
whites as compared to those by blacks. Maybe this is the
reason that the majority of white people tend to “treble”
rap music while black people tend to “bass” it, so to speak.
Many times the music is “bassed” so hard you cannot even
hear the lyrics. This is one of the reasons that Run DMC
and the Beastie Boys last albums have largely flopped with
the black audience. While the lyrics on the latest releases
(“Tougher Than Leather” and “Paul’s Boutique,” respec
tively) were as good as they were in the past, the beats were
very weak.
EDITOR:
After attending A&M for seven semesters, I have
nally reached my wit’s end as far as Aggie conservaii
goes. And I do not mean conservatism in a political
mean this in a social sense. The compelling need todn
talk and act like everybody else for the sake of not
different is bafflingly alien to me. (In misleading contr$|
“anti-conformists” who act differently for the sakeofbeii
different, claiming this to be anti-conformism, arei
cal.) But none of this really bothers me. When people
looking to their peer group for a way to think, I am
ered.
When I am in a campus computer room discussing
ciety’s reaction to homosexuals, and am interrupted
someone whom I have never met exclaiming, “Kill tli
fags!” I am bothered.
When I overhear a conversation about gay people
somebody brags about their “many gay friends,” and
they think righteously of themselves because they “tn
homosexuals the same” as their “normal” friends,
bothered.
By LA!
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Finally, in reply to Michael Kraft’s letter on homed
uality: Yes, it is “clear that, as citizens, their rights canrj
be inf ringed upon or restricted any more than the righis f
other citizens.” However, they will be. And they willcol
tinue to be until society (that’s us) no longer thinks offJ
mosexuals (or blacks or women) as a group that needstolf
guarded, and “we” no longer refer to “them” as “th
Our society will never become comfortable with itselh
we realize that being “gay," “black” or “white” isjustapl
ical description. It does not describe a person’s opinioitl
personality or way of life. Stereotypes do that quite inacal
lately, and there is no need to discuss the morality of pel
sonal traits.
Let’s be individuals, and be happy about it.
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Michael D. Denison ’92
Have an opinion? Express it!
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial Ha
serves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort tami
tain the author's intent. There is no guarantee that letters submitted wiHh
printed. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, ai
telephone number of the writer. All letters may be brought to 216 Heed McDont
or sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111.
Chinese haven’t improved human rights, emigration policies
It seems that Andy Keetch is
confused about the true purpose of the
Jackson Amendment to the 1974 Trade
Act and how that amendment should be
applied to violent governments such as
China’s current regime. The
amendment was originally intended to
deny Most Favored Nation trade status
(MEN) to certain countries such as the
Soviet Union in order to give them
economic incentives to improve their
emigration and human rights policies.
For example, at the recent summit
meeting, Gorbachev requested MFN
status for the Soviet Union. That
country’s record on human rights has
been improving at a good, steady pace
over the last several years. Thus, our
government considered granting them
MFN status, and at the end of the
summit, Bush told Gorbachev that if
emigration conditions for Soviet citizens
improved sufficiently, then MFN status
would be granted. Keetch argued in his
letter June 12 that the Chinese
government also deserved MFN status,
and praised Bush for granting the
Chinese government MFN status.
However, the Chinese government’s
human rights policies and emigration
laws have not improved over the last
year. Rather, they have reached a
bloody low. In the last year or so, the
Chinese government has carried out
two brutal crackdowns on unrest.y shot
into crowds in Tibet, a country that they
continue to militarily oppi ess. Then
came the crackdown in China that
began with the Tiananmen Square
massacre and continues to this day with
political imprisonment, executions,
torture and re-education.
In the last year, the Chinese
government has also continued its
military support of the genocidic
Khmer Rouge. The emigration policies
of the country have also worsened
tremendously. Most of the people that
the Chinese government allows to leave
the country are people that they can
trust or can have substantial control
over. Thus, when these people’s visas
expire, they will not return to China
with any “counterrevolutionary” ideas
about democracy. And if they do spread
such ideas, they will surely be silenced.
It is obvious that granting the
Chinese regime MFN status would only
give them the green light for more
violence and tight restrictions on
emigration. It would demonstrate to the
Chinese government that they must
suffer no consequences from their
unrestrained violence and that they can
continue their violent behavior and still
suffer little profit loss. And yes, profits
are tied into policy-making; a look at
how the Chinese government works
reveals how an MFN policy would work.
T he elite bureaucratic class controls
the government in China. They are the
ones whose children are allowed to
travel freely out of the country. They
are the ones who enjoy an easy lifestyle
as the rest of China toils. And they are
the ones who take the profits from
selling Chinese products in the U.S.
with low MFN tariff rates. Thus, they
are the ones who would suffer profit
loss from a retraction of MFN status.
And they are the ones who would be
encouraged to change the violent
policies of the government that they
control in order to retain a high profit
margin.
Unfortunately, President Bush has
already thrown this carrot to the
Chinese regime without requiring any
policy improvements. The U.S. should,
at the very least, insist that: (1)
executions and torture be stopped, (2)
all political prisoners arrested since
June 3 be released, (3) emigration out of
the country be eased so that more
qualified Chinese students are allowed
to study abroad, and (4) dissident
physicist Fang Lizhi be allowed to live
freely or live outside China.
Of course, retraction of MFN status is
like a punishment: the stick. The carrot
is the granting of MFN status.
Bargaining with the MFN status to
achieve human rights goals should only
be a part of a whole pro-human rights
policy that is geared to improve
conditions for people affected by the
policies of the Chinese regime.
American foreign policy should be alert
and responsive to conditions in China.
Opposite to popular belief , the Bush
administration did not stop military
shipments to China after the
Tiananmen Square massacre. All
transf er of military and police
equipment and technology should cease
immediately. Transfer of equipment
that allows the monitoring of people
should also cease. Such trade should
only be allowed when China’s military
and police work only to protect the
people.
Unfortunately, Bush has wasted
diplomatic opportunities by havingl
business celebrations or toastingthej
Tiananmen butchers (ala ScovvcrafJ
Eagleburger). All diplomatic
opportunities should be used toexpij
American concerns over humanrijjij
and to encourage the development!];
true people’s government — a
democracy. But I have mentionedo
three facets (MFN requirements.an^,,
sanctions and concerned diplomaol l v
a complete foreign policy that wouief
stress the value of human life rathe:!
than that of the dollar. Once sucha
complete foreign policy is achievedi /\ s ^|-, e
prospects for a kinder government** studen
be much brighter.
It is not too late. T he combinatioml
old, unhealthy hard-liners steadily
dying off, continued internal unresi I
within China and a more humane
foreign policy towards China cancaid
a more humane Chinese governmenj
be squeezed out. And perhaps in
government that will choose togiveitl
power to the people one day.
Irwin Tang is a junior political jeh
major.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
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Southwest Journalism Conference
Associated Collegiate Press
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Editor
Melissa Naumann,
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Opinion Page Editor
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Meg Reagan,
Lisa Ann Robertson,
News Editors
Clay Rasmussen, Sports Editor
Eric Roalson, Art Director
Todd Stone, Lifestyles Editor
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