The Battalion
heBai
PINION
Thursday, August 30,1990
Opinion Page Editor EHen Hobbs
ursc
We’ll only reach Utopia through actions of love |ti
Mitch Snyder had just hung himself
the day before. He had worked hard
dui jng his life for a good cause — help
ing the homeless get back on their feet.
And yet he killed himself, leaving no
note to the world, no final word.
I had been working, trying to help an
old homeless woman I had met. Her
daughter and husband had abandoned
her long ago, and she was completely
impoverished, without Social Securi ty
or anything else. 1 was trying to help
her, but things were not working out. In
a moment of despair, I contemplated
my own suicide, knowing I would never
go through with it. How would I do it?
Different from Mr. Snyder, 1 knew. My
siiKide would serve a purpose besides
death. It would be a public event. I
would make the whole world notice.
And i would leave a final message, the
action can have huge effects. Every vote And if you must hurt someone, hurt
you cast, every purchase you make, ev- yourself. If you must exploit someone,
ery second you sit idle, every group you exploit yourself. 11 you must oppress,
join, every job you take, every hour you oppress yourself. Feel the pain of your
work at that job, every thing you give hatred so that others don’t have to.
most important words of my life. It
would go something like this:
Sisters and Brothers of the World,
Please love one another, and please
extend your love to our other kin — the
animals and plants of our Mother Earth.
Work for happiness, for yourself and all
others.
Know all others as you know yourself.
Understand them in order to love them
better. Know their pain, pleasure, de
sires and needs. I hey will be different,
but love them nevertheless.
Know your actions, for they are you.
Do not blind yourself f rom your actions
or nonactions. Even the most miniscule
K,
.now your actions, for they are you. Do not blind yourself from
your actions or nonactions. Even the most miniscule action can have
huge effects. Every vote you cast, every purchase you make, every
second you sit idle, every group you join, every thing you give and
every thing you take has ramifications both good and bad, some
devastatingly bad and some miraculously good.
and every thing you take has ramifica- Know that pain, and resolve to end it. in
tions both good and bad, some devasta- yourself and all others
tingly bad and some miraculously good. We have not reac hed l lopia vet 1 he
Let us be a good species, to our own and only wav to reach it is through actions of
all others.
love. Let us work towards it
Irwin fang
P.S. 1 know 1 am not Jesusk
from the cross or Mohammed u
message from Allah. 1 am notGI
fasting or Dr. King looking over
mountaintop. I am just a man
to do good dm ing some of mycoi
hours. You have no reason totakt
words as anything more than w
Nevertheless, please heed my ki
Please.
I never killed myself, and 1 never
So, I make my final plea my firsta
of this s< bool year. Love, please
Payment received for this column
be* donated to the United Nations
dren's Fund Further payments for
umns will also be donated to various!
manitarian organizations.
Irwin Tang is a senior political^
major.
SEAN
"he Ba
Mail Call
Bike lanes, route nothing but joke
EDITOR:
The bicycle lanes on campus are a joke! The University puts white paint
on the streets and calls the area between the paint and the c urb a bike lane.
1 hese “bike lanes” are full of holes and cracks and the pavement is frequently
uneven.
The only bigger joke than the University bike lanes is the bike routes in
College Station. These routes are streets with signs that have pictures of bicy
cles on them, which is the only dif ference between these and other residential
streets. That is, their surfaces are rough, cars park on both sides of the street
and there are stop lights at every intersection.
The purpose of bike lanes and bike routes is to improve automobile traf
fic. Parking, Transit and Traffic Services and College Station are only paying
lip service to bicycle saf ety to maintain the appeal anc c of cone ern.
Martin Ebel
giaduate student
PTTS, go back to the drugstore
EDITOR:
Once again that merry band of pranksters ovei ai the Department of
Parking, Transit and Traffic Services is exercising what they believe to be wit
by including a packet of aspirin with the parking permits. It occurs to me,
however, that a tube of K-Y jelly would be more appi opi iate.
Dan Venglarik, ’91
Have an opinion? Express it!
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters
f or style and length, hut will make every effort to maintain the author's intent t here is no guarantee that
tetters submitted will be printed. Each letter must be signed and must include the classif ication, address and
telephone n umber of the writer.
me to /
■ar the j.
reet nex
"The o
is allow
em,” Wi
Jlhe gi
ber six :
i Spence
Willian
ne a gre
wed to
aces.
"We di
irth side
id. “We
ic policy
at the n<
The rer
rkin the
Offshore
tanker
spills...
77 T
HOU^TCN fw
SAN Ar
lly Air F
latives ni
in a mil
“The me
use of
in for th
really w
Nine m<
en a C-5
:st Gern
International force helps chance for Iraq solution
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait has-
* united the world like never before. At
the time of writing, a multinational
force stands watchf ul guard in the
desert defending the Saudi border
against possible Iraqi aggression, l ens
of thousands of troops, mostly
American, are pouring in every day into
Saudi Arabia.
Although the number of troops from
other nations is negligible as compared
to the massive American buildup, their
very presence is of great importance.
Two key factors are working in
America’s favor: the support of most
Arab governments and the end of the
Cold War. Such a buildup would, for
instance, have been unimaginable 10
years ago. Right now, the dice are
loaded in America’s favor, but for how
long?
This question is, of course, not easy to
answer. It is, however, likely that the
Soviet Union will not interfere in any
way, even in case of a full-blown
conflict. It has too many problems at
home, and besides is in desperate need
of Western economic assistance.
“Friendly neutrality” would be a good
term to describe its attitude in the weeks
ahead.
Sarang
Shidore
Columnist
1 be Atab states are, however, an
entirely different case. It would
probably be accui ate to say that the
Arab leaders are more keen to support
the United States than the Arab masses,
and there lies the crux of the problem.
Most Arab leaders have been pawns
in the superpower rivalry for so long,
that they can no longer identify
themselves with the Arab cause. In
Egypt, Hosni Mubarak is seen as little
more than ati American stooge. He
faces a strong challenge at home from
the Muslim Brotherhood, a disciplined
political grouping with wide popular
support.
The Gulf states with all their oil
wealth have been governed by
monarchs, who for years have done
little but protec t their own interests as
well as American interests (in that
order). I he Arab masses, especially in
the have-not states such as Jordan and
Egypt, have benefited little from the
wealth of the desert. The Emirs with
their Swiss bank accounts and opulent
lifestyles simply cannot identify
themselves as leaders of the Arab
people.
Syria’s Hafiz. Assad has been a
regional pariah for so long that he can
hardly claim to be an Arab leader.
Finally, the wily King Hussein of Jordan
commands respect, but is certainly no
strongman. In contrast, Saddam
Hussein with his austere personal
lifestyle appeals to the masses as one of
their own.
The age-old Palestinian question has
added yet another dimension to the
crisis. With a hawkish, uncompromising
government al Israel’s helm,
Palestinians have lost all hope of gaining
their rights through diplomacy
Tired of decades of unfulfilled
promises from the Emirs, they see
Saddam as the only one who can give
them the military muscle they so
desperately need. He has been quick to
exploit this advantage. His recent saber
rattling against Israel must he seen in
this context.
In short, there is a real danger of
Saddam Hussein emerging as the only
Arab leader with strong popular
support in the entire Middle East And
as the troops prolong their stay in the
Gulf, more and more At abs will see
Saddam as one who t an unite them not
as Jordanians, Egyptians, or Saudis but
as Arabs.
r\lthough the number of troops
from other nations is negligible as
compared to the massive
American buildup, their very
presence is of great importance.
Two key factors are working in
America’s favor: the support of
most Arab governments and the
end of the Cold War Such a
buildup would, for instance, have
been unimaginable 10 years ago.
Right now, the dice are loaded in
America’s favor, but for how long?
nation is deeply rooted in them.
Riskv a> the deployment of troop!
it is equally deal that Saddam is a
i ut bless aggressor who has had no
qualms in committing crimes of the
greatest magnitude. His massive use
poison gas against the Kurds and the
I ranians, well documented by-human
rights groups, is a sign of fiis willing
to go to any extent to satisfy his pets
ambitions.
All his assurances mean nothing
fact , he invaded Kuwait only hoursaS
personally assuring President Mubai
that he had no intentions of doingsu
1 he Saddam Husseins of this worlds
not understand tough talk, theyonl)
respond to tough actions. The dedsk
of the Bush administration toenfotet
total economic blockade and send
troops are justified for this reason.
In fact, to this day many Arabs resent
the arbitrary division of large areas of
the Middle East into nations by the
colonial powers aftet Wor ld Wai 1. The
longing for living together as one Arab
I he f act, that the American action
little support among the Arabpeoplt
will, however, seriously hamper
attempts to find a solution. The
superpowers have allied themselves#
too long with regional leaders whotn
lost touch with their own people.All
us now must pay the price.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Cindy McMillian,
Editor
Timm Doolen, Managing Editor
Ellen Hobbs, Opinion Page Editor
Holly Becka, City Editor
Kathy Cox,
Kristin North,
News Editors
Nadja Sabawala,
Sports Editor
Eric Roalson, Art Director
Lisa Ann Robertson,
Lifestyles Editor
Editorial Policy
The Battalion is a non profit, self-sup
porting newspaper 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 au
thor, and do not necessarily represent the
opinions of 1 exa$ A&M administrators,
faculty or die Board of Regents.
i he Battalion is published Monday
through Friday during Texas A&M regu
lar semesters, except for holiday and ex
amination periods. Newsroom: 845-3313.
Mail subscriptions are $20 per semes
ter, $40 per school year and $50 per full
year: 845 2611. Advertising rates fur
nished on request: 845-2696.
Our address: I he Battalion, 230 Reed
McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col
lege Station, I X 77843-1111.
Second class postage paid at College
Station, TX 77843.
POS TMASTER: Send address changes
to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald,
Texas A&M University, College Station
TX 77843-4111.
Adventures In Cartooning
by Don Atkinson J<
CRM X HOP
V65, IV LIKE
ID &JE R SoMGj
TRRT I HERPsD
.ON. m RfVlO.
WHICH ONC?)
WELL, ZM MOT'
SORE BUT IT
GOES MKE THIS ..
Nah - —^
pfl Oft Oft DU
Qoo VuDDft
\iHon VefuiUf
gooM fiv/uu
Stu
a si
con