ary 23,199;
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Opinion
riday, January 24, 1992 The Battalion Page 7
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EDITORIALS
The following opinions are a consensus of The Battalion's opinion staff and senior editors.
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A&M organizations do him justice
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great
orator, leader and spiritual conscience
of the American people.
King's message of peace and equali
ty fo*- all people struck a chord deep in
the souls of many Americans. His phi
losophy of nonviolence opened
America's eyes to the injustice and
oppression of blacks and other minori
ties.
But he should not be considered
solely a black hero. People of all races
should strive to achieve King's dream
of universal brotherhood.
To pay tribute to King's achieve
ments and efforts, many Texas A&M
students celebrated his birthday this
week. The celebration started with a
musical tribute by local residents at the
Lincoln Recreation Center in College
Station on Saturday. On Monday, the
Department of Multicultural Services
sponsored a video tribute of King, and
the Committee on Multicultural
Awareness(COMA) sponsored Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day on Wednesday.
Also, the Southwestern Black Student
Leadership Conference, which focuses
on minority leadership, continues at
the MSC through Sunday."I'm sure
Dr. king would have tears of joy just to
look out onto this crowd and see such
a gleeful and joyous gathering,"
Student Body President Steven Ruth
said after speaking at Wednesday's
celebration which COMA sponsored.
We commend all who participated
in these activities.
King worked hard to lay the foun
dations that work toward his goal. His
persistence and effort enabled many
civil rights laws to be passed. In addi
tion, he helped organize and support
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, Congress of Racial
Equality, Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee, National
Council of Negro Women, American
Foundation on Nonviolence, and the
National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, all of
which promote the idea of nonviolent
change.
King's belief in nonviolence was a
means to gain equality for all
oppressed people. His philosophy is
best described in one of his most well-
known speeches.
"Violence as a way of achieving
racial justice is both impractical and
immoral," King said. "It is impractical
because it is a descending spiral end
ing in destruction for all. The old law
of an eye for an eye leaves everyone
blind. It is immoral because it seeks to
humiliate the opponent rather than
win his understanding; it seeks to
annihilate rather then convert."
Due in large part to his efforts, seg
regation of public facilities and private
businesses has been abolished and
basic civil rights and privileges are
shared by all Americans. Much has
been accomplished, but the fight for
equality and freedom still goes on.
King's message is still ignored by
many. January 20, the day the nation
paid tribute to him, was marred by
riots in Denver and the acknowledge
ment that racism still exists in many
Covert forms.
King, should be remembered not
simply as a martyr, leader or even
great orator, but as a man of peace
who saw a potential and greatness in
America few others could imagine.
King realized America has the ability
to create equality among all creeds and
races.
We all must remember King's mes
sage, understand his message, teach
his message and practice his message.
For these are not thoughts or ideas of
one man or race but a philosophy
instilled in the very fiber of all human
ity. When humanity finally accepts
equality, freedom and love for all, then
we all can sing the words of that old
spiritual that King made so famous:
"Free at last! Free at last! Great, God
all-mighty! We're free at last!"
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Responsibility for yourself
People should do good for its own sake, not fear consequences
It's cold and it's getting colder. I
hear another cold front's coming in so
it seems a good night as any to start a
great big cracklin' fire in the fire
place! Oh, and what have we here
but a few faded old (Fall '91) liberal
Opinion Pages
there's just nothing'
better to get good fire
going'. Why don't we
glance at a few lines
as they blaze to see
which way the winds
of youthful idealistic
journalism are blow-
JOURNALISTS
must remain unin
volved"
"Adopt attitude of indifference"
"PC changes harm no one" (sup
press the laughter, it gets better)
"AIDS is a problem that needs to
be attacked using any means neces
sary." (Any means?! Well just what
should we do for the top 10 national
causes of death then?)
"Society develops moral stan
dards"
"The excessive conservatism of this
university is choking its attempt to
become a world class institution."
Burn, burn, burn.
Isn't it funny how smoke just eats a
bad odor right up!?!
"Choking its attempt to ...." Oh,
come on!! Enough already! That's
like saying the Marines will never be
a world class outfit 'til they're
allowed to wear pink polka-dotted
uniforms and tattooes on their fore
heads. Or that the Bolshoi will never
really be a good ballet company until
they can do it without wearing those
silly tights and hopping' around on
their toes!
PEOPLE wake up! Where in the
sam hill do they get this stuff!?
It is time for the winds to change.
Oh, hey, here's one that really
takes the cheese cake: "Scientists
should concentrate research on tech
niques to lengthen life span."...."Only
when we are able to be 200 will we
have time to take life seriously...and
we finally would become responsible
humap beings." Presto!
(Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that
was printed in your very own school
newspaper and not in The Top 101
Answers Not to Give if You Are a
Pageant Finalist.)
Starting with us at Texas A&M, it's
time for the rational, common sense
leaders of tomorrow to begin accept
ing responsibility for our own actions.
Nearly everywhere one looks in soci
ety today, people are trying to pin the
responsibility for their circumstances
on someone else. All too often they
blame the government.
Part of being responsible means
reaching out and helping our neigh
bors, and those less fortunate as well,
so that the government can start
doing less and less, instead of snow
balling into a magnetic trap of social
istic dependency.
Is it possible, that responsibility,
virtue and integrity floated out the
window around the same time that
our absolutes became unpopular?
FOR ALL those who have no
supreme values except those of per
sonal peace and affluence, consider
the words of Solzhenitsyn about the
Russian youth of his day: "Young
people are acquiring the conviction
that foul deeds are never punished on
Earth, that they always bring prosper
ity. It is going to be uncomfortable,
horrible to live in such a country."
As the question was for them, so it
will be for our own American culture
and our next generation. It is one of
absolutes and truth, not simply one of
equality and multiculturalism. There
must be a true foundation for there to
be dignity, virtue and value of human
life.
We must learn from the strengths
and mistakes of our own past and
then that of others in order to make
the future of America strong and
truly free. The last thing we need to
do is blend into this valueless, "Tm-
ok-you're-ok," multiculturally
diverse nothingness!
Dr. Francis Schaeffer kept a por
trait of a young Hungarian girl, who
was executed for protesting the com
munist takeover in '56, to remember:
"Forget the past and you will lose
both eyes."
I could not end this little essay any
better than to let you read the obser
vations of one highly esteemed indi
vidual who has watched this America
turn dark before his very eyes from a
most unique perspective. Please
thoughtfully consider the following
words of ABC anchorman Ted
Koppel from his May 1987 address to
the graduates of Duke University:
"WE HAVE actually convinced
ourselves that slogans will save us.
'Shoot up if you must but use a clean
needle. Enjoy sex whenever and with
whomever you wish, but wear a con
dom. No. The answer is no. Not
because it isn't cool, or smart, or
because you might end up in jail or
dying in an AIDS ward - but no
because its wrong.
"What Moses brought down from
Mount Sinai were not the Ten
Suggestions .... They are
Commandments. Are, not were.
Guest
Column
Patrick
Dixon
is a graduate
student in
business
administration
Texas
RUMENTS
and other
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Mail Call
Send tax dollars
to state, not D.C.
The quickest way to repay the national debt
and give the states back their sovereignty is to
stop sending our, yours and mine, income tax
money to Washington and instead send it to our
own statehouse. We realize about 25 cents back
for every dollar which we send to D.C. for the
boys to play with. Think what your state could
accomplish with the whole dollar.
If that raises an eyebrow, think about this for a
moment. Why do we need those guys in D.C.??
We can save 10 to 20 billion dollars a year by dis
solving the Congress and letting the states run
the country. The 50 governors meet with the
president at his request to take care of any mat
ters that would be of international concern.
The governors are more than able to take care
of concerns with adjoining states than are the
men we have in D.C. who only have four con
cerns: get re-elected, vote for legislation that
favors campaign contributors, vote against any
thing proposed by the other party and vote for a
healthy pay raise. The Congressional Ten
Commandments all rolled into one phrase,
"Congress is above the law, just be careful and
don't get caught."
I could list a few undesirable things that go on
such as their denouncing any idea of disclosing
one's net worth, the enacting of an ethics" bill, lim
iting the terms of members and the disclosure of
expense accounts. But these things also go on at
the local level, so there isn't too much to hopeful
ly gain there. Take the matter of the expense
account and who takes his secretary along, or, his
wife, family and a few cousins. Include a globe
trotting president who wouldn't think of using
trips as a re-election gimmick, and we can save
another billion or two.
Here's an idea to save another two to five bil
lion dollars. Dissolve the Supreme Court. Every
state already has its own Supreme Court in addi
tion to all of the lower courts. Let each state make
its own ruling on abortion or any other matter
which concerns it alone.
Dissolving the Internal Revenue Service will
be another huge savings. Plus, it will take the
local tax collectors awhile to write as many loop
holes into the 1040's and other forms. After all,
the IRS has had 100 year start at polishing the
holes.
We are at a time when many people are in
favor of limiting the term of public officials. A
program called Throw the Rascals Out(THRO) is
beginning to get more recognition a little at a
time, but it doesn't go far enough. It is run by
Jack Gargon. At present, the group does not have
an address. But Gargon has been receiving unso
licited mail from all over the country.
Eugene Antoinea
Bryan Resident
Reader challenges
Bait's JFK 'facts'
The "JFK" warning published in a January 22
editorial made several valid points, but presented
a few "facts" that need qualifying. 1 will refer
ence my information using the Jim Marrs book
"Crossfire," so you may research and decide for
yourselves what you believe. Marrs is a Dallas
journalist and an instructor at the University of
T exas-Arlington.
The editorial stated as fact that all shots were
fired from Oswald's rifle and hit the President
and Governor Connally from the rear, as
"proven" by the official autopsy and ballistics
experts. These "facts" agree with the Warren
Commission reports.
The official autopsy has been questioned for
years (see Marrs, 368-379).
The only bullet linked to the Oswald rifle was
not removed from the President or Governor
Connally to be held as evidence. The bullet was
found in Parkland Hospital in a public hallway
on a stretcher that neither the President nor
Governor Connally had occupied. According to
the Warren Commission, this single bullet hit
both the President and Governor Connally, caus
ing a total of seven wounds. The Warren
Commission also stated that this bullet was fired
from Oswald's rifle, according to ballistics test.
This bullet, as pictured in the Warren report, was
shaped differently than the bullet found in
Parkland, according to Parkland head of security
O.P. Wright(Marrs, 363-365). No proof even
exists that the Oswald rifle was even fired
November 22, 1963. The discovery of this bullet
does not prove the Oswald rifle killed the presi
dent, no matter what the Warren Commissioner
the Battalion) says.
I do not agree with Stone's conclusions in "JFK." I
also do not agree with a newspaper that states
half-truths based on inadequate research as
gospel. "JFK" is a movie and should be viewed as
such. The Battalion, as a newspaper, should be
more careful with its "facts."
David Mott
Graduate Student
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