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Opinion
Tuesday, December 1, 1992
ED PRESS
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Dec. 31.
The Battalion
Page 7
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Rep. Bill Carter recently filed a
)ill for consideration that will en-
ible qualified Texans to obtain a li-
ense to carry concealed handguns,
.arter believes his bill will place the
average, law-abiding citizen on
qual ground with weapon-toting
riminals.
Law enforcement officials, along
vith Gov. Ann Richards, are not
upporting the bill, and with good
eason. The safety precautions al-
eady in effect, such as waiting peri-
)ds and background checks, are
mply not sufficient for weeding
aut every individual who should
lever own a gun. Additional pre-
:autions taken for granting a license
:o carry a concealed weapon will be
more successful.
The most serious danger is the
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Editorials
Concealed danger
Gun-toting citizens invite disaster
lack of training and expertise that
many potential handgun carriers
will have. Death and injury result
ing from an error in judgment or the
misinterpretation of a situation is a
reality.
Just last week, two anti-crime of
ficers opened fire and critically
wounded an undercover officer
who was in the process of making
an arrest. The two officers believed
that they had come across a mug
ging in process.
When trained law enforcement
officials make such astounding mis
takes, we cannot expect anything
better from untrained individuals
hiding pistols beneath their coats. If
passed, this bill will only succeed in
increasing the opportunity for
senseless violence.
Learning the lessons of life, love
ANTHONY
LOBAIDO
Columnist
Love has been called the greatest
of all things — an awesome power
which created a universe from noth
ing and hung it on nothing. Thanks
to the roll of the genetic dice, human
beings must confront their deep seat
ed craving for love.
In our cold, cruel world love is a
scarce commodity. Yet love enables
the precious few who know its se
crets to impart worth and signifi
cance to others.
The intrinsic characteristics of
love hold magical powers. They can
distinguish between the places of
death and life. Between the corner
tavern, the cemetery and the splen
dor of a field crowned in glory with lilies. In an era of dis
posable diapers, disposable razors and disposable relation
ships, the search for love provides a potential anchor in an
age reeking of superficiality.
Love's lessons walk among us like so many kindred
spirits. Love's vocabulary is made up of words like hope,
restraint, giving, sacrifice, togetherness, tears, s iveat, toil
and faith. It is a vocabulary most often associated with
negativity, yet only by enduring such tests can we sharpen
love's double-edged sword.
Each person carries his/her own notion of love. Many
believe the ultimate expression of love was hung on a tree
at Calvary one terribly dark Friday afternoon. Whatever
your personal, unique definition may be, love comforts us
through the harsh reality that we entered the world alone,
and we shall leave it alone. That gray zone of interpersonal
relationships is where the bonds of love are forged. The re
sume of man or woman blazing a trail of love often puts
hard bodies and cold cash at the very top. However, the in
tegral components of a true search for love must go beyond
the shallowness typified by an episode of The Love Con
nection. "Love ya' — mean it!" >
Our personal relationships often seem doomed by the
past injustices (anti-love) committed against us and/or our
partner. Failed expectations and damaged hopes threaten a
future of happiness and fulfillment. In the wake of these
threats, it's important that we ask ourselves what kind of
love we are looking for. We must set a standard and estab
lish a treaty with ourselves not to settle for anything less.
So what kind of love are you looking for? As an adopt
ed child, I was surrounded with enough love for 10 chil
dren. Finding a love in the arms of a woman which can
equal that past has been no easy task. During my years of
searching, I have tried to live by one rule: if you want the
ultimate love, you must be willing to pay the ultimate
price. Throughout my life. I've searched for the girl to
whom I could mouth these words: "If your face went
through a windshield, you'd still be beautiful to me. If you
were kidnapped and the kidnappers said I must walk a
thousand miles to ransom you. I'd cross the hottest desert.
If you were sick and needed medicine. I'd sell everything I
owned to get it — if that's what it would take."
Ladies, don't settle for a man who isn't willing to get up
in the middle of, the night to take care of sick babies. A real
man will be willing to change diapers, cook meals and
clean house because real men do whatever is necessary to
get the job done. Anyone can make excuses — the chosen
ones deliver whether times are fair or foul.
Good men everywhere silently measure one another by 1
such standards, for that is the way of love. The way is nev
er easy, but it is a path that all good men must take. Con
temporary America's greatest error is in thinking that
greatness is synonymous with fame. Yet such high-minded
notions will remain inconsequential as long as we remain a
people who dream of truth but cannot live with it.
While we look to love as a guiding light to help us dis
cern the things we should live by from the things that we
are forced to live with, we must question our way through
love's obstacles.
What is the anti-love behind the evil of the multination
al corporations? Why do some people pound sea otter
pups over the heads with clubs? Why do some women al
low growing babies to be ripped from their wombs? Is it
political ideology? Is it race? Is it a lust for power, money
or comfort? Perhaps it is all of them, or none at all. Per
haps it is only the work of the evil ones, the weak ones, the
ones who have left God out of their hearts. For love is pa
tient, kind and gentle. It is forgives all things and keeps no
record of wrongs.
All of the earth's races, cultures and tongues share the
common desire to love and to be loved. We all cry salty
tears and bleed rich, red blood. Love has brought us to
gether, and I fear, it is the only thing which can keep us to
gether.
It is my sincerest desire that each and every one of you
will find a true and deep share of love's treasures — espe
cially those who feel as though their insides have gone
through a windshield. Love is something many a human
has found to be worth dying for. It is certainly worth living
for.
LoBaido is a doctoral student in educational technology
a rt
•
»
Unwise intervention
Somalia no place for U.S. military
With nearly two million Soma
lians on the brink of starvation.
President Bush has proposed a plan
to send 30,000 U.S. troops to that
war-torn nation in an effort to en
sure that relief supplies reach the
needy.
The Somalian crisis is exacerbat
ed by factions of warlords who are
attempting to enhance their political
Ipower and influence. Rarely is the
word "quagmire" more justified
than in such a situation.
The job of the military is to defeat
and destroy opposing military
forces. It would seem unwise to
send our men in uniform into a situ
ation with no clear, resolvable mili
tary objective, no definite enemy,
and no time frame for our interven
tion.
While our hearts go out to all So
malians struggling for survival dur
ing this crisis, we must point out
that the world is rife with similar
conflicts. If President Bush sends
troops to Somalia, why not send
them to Bosnia as well?
In pursuit of a "new world or
der," the United States has suppos
edly given up its role of global po
liceman in favor of a more inclusive
multinational approach.
France, Britain and the Common
wealth of Independent States
should work together to develop a
plan that will not place the problem
solely in the lap of the United
States.
History has demonstrated that a
nation cannot maintain a stable
economy without a stable govern
ment. Somalia is caught within that
cycle of what came first — the
chicken or the egg.
As we seek to break that cycle it
is important to note that only four
of Africa's 45 countries allow their
people to vote. American troops
won't change that sad statistic.
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Definitely" bestseller
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MILLIE’S BOOK...
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Mr. Goody Two Shoes
comes up with this
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Support of military
gay ban misleading
Once again I came across Anthony
LoBaido's cliched, yet grandiloquent,
rhetoric, which he is fond of putting to
paper. This time I am speaking of your
article on banning homosexuals from
the military. You failed to address indi
vidual rights and preferences. Wherev
er exist individual preferences should
exist the ability to exercise those prefer
ences as long as another individual is
not harmed. If it truly mentally harms
you to see a male get an erection, well,
live with it. I seem to remember you, O
Christian boy, recently having a test for
AIDS because you, O Promiscuous
One, slept around quite a bit. I lived.
You see, homosexuals aren't the only
Ones prone to promiscuity. Not all ho
mosexuals are promiscuous.
To suggest that gays in battle "might
well have their eyes on those around
them instead of on the mission" is un
founded, insulting and quite presump
tuous. Does being a homosexual pre
clude a sense of responsibility? Silly
thought, Anthony.
And poor old Uncle Sam "will be left
to foot the bill for the lifestyle decisions
of homosexual soldiers." At least ho
mosexuals don't breed. They can't go
impregnate half the country they're in
vading and create a generation of fa
therless children.
The sexual harassment that may oc
cur with homosexuals is no more dan
gerous or wrong than harassment by
heterosexuals.
It's all pretty bad.
The military survived integration.
The social and moral breakdown that
some people predict with letting homo
sexuals in the military will happen be
cause people let it, because they have
something to hate.
I don't have to be a draft dodger to
have sound opinions on what I think is
wrong or right in the military. I can't
be drafted. But I'll live. And you,
LoBaido, despite your morals, may
even get to heaven.
Rika Muhl
Class of '93
Column full of unfair
gay stereotypes
LoBaido, your reckless use of some
of the most damaging homosexual
stereotypes possible in your last col
umn defending the military's ban on
gays was so uninformed that I feel I
must publicly oppose your arguments.
Your first point is that "soldiers liv
ing and sleeping together in barracks
might feel uncomfortable showering
next to a man with an erection." Ho
mosexuals are people just like you, not
oversexed monsters who are turned on
by everybody in sight; to imply that
gays don't know when, where, (and
with whom) to engage in sexual con
duct is an affront to their intelligence
and social values.
The second point I take issue with is
the idea that homosexuals will spread
AIDS through the military and cost the
military huge sums for the health cars
of gay homosexuals. AIDS is not a ho
mosexual disease, it is everybody's
problem!
A more logical path to take with this
argument is to ban promiscuous people
from the military in order to keep
health costs down! Your direct correla
tion between homosexuals and AIDS is
an ignorant continuation of damaging
stereotypes.
Finally, I was upset by your logic
that homosexuals should not be al
lowed in the military because it will
cause divisiveness in the organization.
Like perhaps the turmoil that occurred
when blacks were allowed in desegre
gated units, or when women were al
lowed in the military?
The point I'm trying to make is that
change is often difficult and painful,
but that doesn't mean that change
should not occur.
I try to respect your right to have
your own views and opinions, but I
would appreciate it if, in your public
display of those opinions, you tried to
steer away from stereotypes, myths,
and misinformation.
A. Lynn Snow-Turek
Class of‘92
Graduate student
Rep. Wilson overly
sensitive to criticism
Let me get this straight. A politician
is complaining about what appears on
the editorial page of a newspaper, in a
cartoon.
Do free speech and freedom of the
press still exist?
Politicians have been skewered on
editorial pages for 200 years. If those
with ultra-thin skins can't stand the
heat, then they should get out of the
kitchen.
It has become quite clear, in my
opinion, that some members of a partic
ular racial group have grown manic-
paranoid about so-called "racism," and
imagine it behind every tree.
Grow up, Ron.
Hank Taylor
Bryan, Texas
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