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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 1992)
The Battalion Opinion Tuesday, July 28,1992 Page 5 S10H ute evidence, emeig ig and decided to ise. 3in Herman, Rad sel Paula Carters closed session .1 she threw atvaj e of the hearing,!; Vhen asked whjs! said it was to at : ormer Racing Co; Doran had impro; presentatives of af the these procs nial of due procs iome ion -by-20-foot televi: be built into eitl iave been assemti: in a warehouse i and will transpoi a dome in sectio; esday, Fleming 11 begin work on v'er generators (or . curtain measim i by 570 feet wide nd the podium, jnty, which owns has been conduct roof to make sure ne 100 tons of qi mg from the rafter k's end, construct >rk anchor booths, cost some gin. aid GOP staffer! work on the cona ras been going out year, finally is Dome. 'k for so long to | ogether that whet ens, there's a sfaction," he said, F.DTTORTAT, Citizens need to show respect for presidency Last week, while President Bush addressed a gathering of POW-MIA families, members of the audience shouted down the president with angry words of protest and criticism. Bush responded in exasperation by finally asking the crowd to "please shut up and sit down" and by defending his patriotism and his administration's efforts to bring the POW-MIAs home. While America as a whole shares in the anguish of these families in their uncertainty over the fates of their loved-ones, the actions of these rabble-rousers and protesters — in showing their disrespect for the administration and the institution of the American presidency itself — does much to damage the credibility of their plight within the eyes of the mainstream public. Regardless of the Bush administration's action or inaction on the plight of POW- MIAs, the disruptions of this group serves no purpose to advance their own plight. Similarly, the actions of an environmental activist earlier this summer who heckled the president during another press conference did nothing to advance environmental issues within the public forum. For better or worse, the American political system contains several outlets for the expression of opposition to the current administration. If activists disagree with current policy, they may work to elect the opposing candidates. If they feel that political action is better served through more direct routes, they may align themselves with interest groups and organizations aimed at pressuring Congress, the president and even foreign governments — groups such as Amnesty International or Greenpeace. If people feel their interests are not being served by any of these organizations, they may organize themselves and find a voice within the political spectrum. If groups feel that their opinions are not being heard, they may organize protests and demonstrations. But shouting down the president — or any person who is attempting to give an opinion or position on a particular issue — succeeds not in voicing an opinion, but in damaging the validity of that opinion. The American in stitution of freedom of speech covers everyone: revolution aries, activists, and even presidents. SF novel 'Dune' result of research, journalism egisterfor this udents who wi ! in 243 Blocker, iques are offered ■e efficiently. For Aselda at 845- ctice at the Rugb n 7 p.m. to 8p.fn } needed. Form )4 or Danielle at FION COALITION ly meeting at7p,ir environmental cor' embers, are inviteil mvironmental edir i positive action 1846-1204. :al, inter-dis neeting at 8 p.m.! All are welcome Vehrmeister at Anas Ben-Musa S : ;ht r U.S. Citizens 7* flail West VTES: 1 West 845-0544 A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct.... Take the most special care that you lo cate Muad’Dib in his place: the planet Arrakis. Do not be deceived by the fact that he was born on Caladan and lived his first fifteen years there. Ar rakis, the planet known as Dune, is forever his place.... uch phrasing gives the reader a sense of the sheer immensity and scope of Frank Herbert's novel, "Dune/ 7 win ner of the Hugo and Nebula awards for best Science- fiction. "Dune's" triumph is Herbert's ability to use his educational background in religion, Arab language and culture to produce a story of im mense sophistication and complexity. Another world "Dune" is set 10,000 years in the fu ture. The Atreides family (Duke Leto, his concubine wife, Jessica, and their son, Paul) are leaving their home planet of Caladan. The Atreides are ordered to Ar rakis, a desert planet also known as Dune, by Shaddam IV, Padishah Emperor of the known universe, to replace the rule of their enemies, the Harkonnens. Dune is the only known world where the spice Melange exists. This spice is con sidered the most valuable product in the universe because it extends human life and allows humans to travel to other star systems. Duke Leto, however, leaves himself open for attack by the Harkonnens, who are helped by the Emperor. Shaddam IV fears Leto's popularity and influence among the other Great Houses, powerful families all related distantly to the Emper or. Luckily, Jessica and Paul escape into the deep desert region of Dune. They en counter the nomadic peoples who inhabit Dune, the Freman. Paul is physically and mentally changed by the Freman culture and the prevalence of the spice in Dune's environment. Paul's mental abilities grow and many suspect he is the prophesied messiah or super human. Eventually, Paul recruits the Freman to fight against their common foe, the Harkonnens and the Shaddam IV. In the end Paul is victorious and finally is recog nized as the legendary messiah, who Would lead the Freman into paradise and change the face of Dune. As a writer, Frank Herbert is consid ered one of the best in the field of science fiction; yet, it is not his mastery of the En glish language which set him apart from other writers, but his background as a journalist. Herbert's research habits in newspapers carried over to his work in science fiction. He methodically re searched the origins and history of reli gions, especially Islam. Later, Herbert added history, linguistics, economics, and politics into his studies and accumulated ideas and concepts for several years be fore starting his novel. The desert environment of Dune cre ated a method for Herbert to incorporate Islamic concepts. Herbert accomplished this by borrowing many Islamic and Ara bic terms. The Freman language was adapted by Herbert from colloquial Arabic; yet, Her bert was not so blatant or obvious in his attempt. Herbert mixed new definitions with old ones, but they all fit the idea or character he described. For example, when the Atreides family first arrive on Dune, the people chant "Mahdi" to Paul. In the book, Mahdi is a Freman messianic legend, "The One Who Will Lead Us to Paradise." This definition is essentially the same in Islam. Another example is the word Jihad, which means holy war and is used in that way in Dune, but holy war is a secondary definition in Islamic terms. The primary Islamic definition of Jihad is "the use of all energies and resources in an unending struggle to remove evil from oneself and society." The reader sees the conflict of Paul as he faces his personal struggle to become the superhuman Kwisatz Haderach and lead the Freman down the right path. Herbert's personal education enabled him to use a unique relationship between the Arabic language, Arab culture and' Is lam to create an extraordinary account of a people trying to free themselves from a tyrannical government and a hostile envi ronment. The same world In many ways, Herbert is describing the plight of many Muslims in the world today. Many Muslims are still struggling to gain independence from foreign interven tion and influence. Although colonialism has supposedly ended, Muslim countries are either ruled by dictators or lead by the nose by foreign powers. Many Americans would object to blaming the United States; yet, how many Americans would like to see one Islamic nation that spans from China to North Africa? That is a question America must an swer. Ben-Musa is a junior history and journal ism major and a columnist for The Battalion. Bush needs rest to take back race P olitics plods along, and with the Olympics flooding the air waves for the next couple weeks we can hope for a temporary reprieve in the cam paign rhetoric and drudgery of recent. This reprieve could be important for the Bush cam paign's image control department. That is, the Bush campaign needs some sort of image, possibly one that makes Bush look like a presidential candidate rather than a National Geo graphic photo. Yes, the Bush campaign appears to be struggling badly, especially in the weeks following the polished Democrat ic National Convention (which, by the way, proved how well the Democratic Party can speak from both sides of its mouth). Neither Bush nor Quayle are looking very impressive right now. President Bush has actually been making more oratorical gaffes than Dan Quayle lately. He appeared tired during the speech he made after his fishing trip during the Democratic National Con vention. Bush really needs to look his absolute best and fittest during the next few months to belay fears of a potential "President Quayle." I like Dan Quayle, at least as vice president. He's quietly been working with Bush to lead the Council on Com petitiveness, for instance. The group has presented some important, if rather common-sense, ideas to move America back to its position as world leader. It advocated the recent moratorium on new regulations and railed against the litigation establishment's attempts to run American business into the ground when it advocated severe litigation re form. The trouble with Quayle is, he doesn't come across as presidential ma terial. I could care less about his blun ders as vice-president, which is not sup posed to be a high-profile job anyway. I'm not sure I'd like to present him to the rest of the planet as "leader of the free world." But I digress. President Bush's gaffe last week was most unlike his usual behavior. While speaking at a meeting of POW/MIAs, he was heckled by some demonstrators who claimed he was in on a conspiracy to cover up the existence of POWs. The group was very rude, and Bush told them to "Shut up and sit down." While his response was sharp, it was little worse than similar responses made by Clinton and former-almost-potential- presidential-candidate Ross Perot. But it doesn't sound like the George Bush we've seen over the last several years — relatively calm and collected, who doesn't let hecklers get to him. President Bush must be under a pretty good deal of strain lately. Clinton and Gore look good and sound too good to be true (what a coincidence — they are). Speculation abounds over shake ups in the Bush campaign. Quayle may be dumped in lieu of a more popular candidate. Secretary of State Baker may leave his post to run the Republican campaign. Bush lays low waiting for something to happen. That something had better happen quickly. I don't like the thought of Clin ton in the White House. * * * Dan Quayle made another impulsive mistake last week when given one of those hypothetical abortion questions. He said he would support his daughter if she chose to have an abortion. Quayle quickly appended his remarks with the note that he is still pro-life, and Mrs. Quayle said that their daughter would never consider an abortion. Quayle, Quayle, Quayle. Think be fore you speak. That was a no-win ques tion, and he should have tried to dodge it more effectively. The media had a field day with this apparent hypocrisy while ignoring its own. The media has ignored vice-presi dential candidate Gore's own record on abortion. Seems that over the last 15 ears, Gore has supported and voted for 7 measures that would impose limits on abortions. He has played both sides of the issue when it seems politically ap propriate. Now, he is extolling the same "right" he tried to curtail in Congress. So why did we never hear of this posi tion switch? * * * A last, completely unrelated note; Team USA's "Dream Team" does not stay in the Olympic village that houses all other athletes in Barcelona. Its mem bers stay in an expensive hotel. I'm picking hits here, but these multi-mil- lion-dollar athletes could have humbled themselves a little, gotten into the spirit of the games, and stayed with the rest of the world's greatest athletes in less posh accommodations. DeShazo is a senior electrical engineer ing major and a columnist for The Battalion, The pEooto RE-ELECT BUSH THE CANDIDATE Why are women restricted in life? OK, that's it. I want to know where this rule book is. I want to know where in the regulations of life it says that because I was born with ovaries instead of a penis and testicles that I have to: 1. Not have dreams of being an astro naut, firefighter, scientist, engineer, nov elist, deep sea diver or president; 2. Not do as good in school as boys and make sure I look cute and sexy at all times; 3. Get married (preferably as a virgin); 4. Have babies (preferably as a mar ried woman); 5. Have as many babies as the husband so desires; 6. Live under the supervision and de pendent to someone with a penis and tes ticles? Despite the fact that I grew up in an extremely typical "Leave it to Beaver" home (mom stayed home. Dad worked), no one ever gave me the above "Rules." Mom and Dad said: 1. Get an education (preferably with all A's); 2. Get a job (preferably a well-paid one); 3. Don't be dependent on anyone (fi nancially); 4. Don't let anyone tell you what to do; 5. No matter what, we'll always love you. Someone please inform some of your editorial writers that I am not responsible for the "breakdown of the FAMILY." What is the "FAMILY?" Breakdown from Nlail £ what? I've grown up and done exactly what my "traditional" parents taught me to do and I do not feel guilty. I do not feel re sponsible for this horrible moralistic breakdown in society. I study hard, I work hard and I love my country. I am a good citizen, so get off my case. Thank you An unmarried, childless woman, Anne Werner Graduate Student P.S. Just because I'm not married and have no children doesn't mean I don't have a "family." Feminist doesn't mean man-hater Before I address the tasteless letter of July 22 written by Mr. Gaither in his criti cism of "Femi-Nazis," I would like to apologize in advance if I have mistaken misguided humor for an attack against the non-submissive, non-barefoot-and- pregnant female. I, sir, am a feminist (spelled F-E-M-I- N-I-S-T, not F-E-M-I-N-A-Z-I, not M-A-N- H-A-T-E-R) and proud to admit it. I have a question for Mr. Gaither, who attacked "well educated" feminists of groups which he claims "have cash" granting them both a "slogan-depth perception" of "so-called choice" and the ability to threaten the "traditional family." Sir, by what mechanism and in what respect are these women "misguided" (his word), what do you see as the "traditional fami ly," and what do you really believe is the woman's proper place? Since you forgot to include this infor mation in the letter, I can only make my own assumptions. I assume that you see the "traditional family" as a man, his sub missive housewife, and their two natural children (no divorced people or stepchil dren, please). I assume that your ideal, non-feminist woman would be exactly where her man orders her to be. The "well-educated," "misguided" feminists suffer their disease due to naivete or be cause — despite their education — they just aren't as smart as men. All women (except bad FEMINAZIS) who attend col lege do simply to find a husband. I love men, but I have a slight problem accepting the thinly-veiled female put- downs originating from that small minor ity of men who are aggravatingly asinine, anti-woman, and always talking when they shouldn't be. I have a new word for you and your cohorts: misogynist. Look it up. Charity Smith '93 Have an opinion? Express it! The Battalion is interested in hearing from its readers. Ail letters are welcome. Letters must be signed and must include classification, address and daytime phone number for verification purposes. They should be 250 words or less. Anonymous tetters will not be published. The Battalion reserves the right to edit all letters for length, style and accuracy. There is no guarantee a letter will appear. Letters may be brought to The Battalion at 013 Reed McDonald, sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111 or faxed to 845-2647.