The Battalion
Opinion
Tuesday, July 28,1992
Page 5
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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
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1846-1204.
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neeting at 8 p.m.!
All are welcome
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Ben-Musa
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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
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