Opinion
Wednesday, April 21,1993
The Battalion
Page 9
The Battalion Editorial Board
Steve O'Brien, editor in chief
Jason Loughman, managing editor
Todd Stone, city editor
Stacy Feduda, opinion page editor
Susan Owen, lifestyles editor
Kyle Burnett, news editor
Dave Thomas, news editor
Don Norwood, sports editor
Darrin Hill, photo editor
The Battalion
100 years at
Texas A&M
Editorial
Aggie Muster
Tradition transcends differences
Muster.
Many people consider it the
most beautiful of A&M traditions
as Aggies all over the world re
member friends who have died
during the past year.
Today, Aggies will participate in
"Roll Call for the Absent" during
which the deceased's name is read,
a candle is lit
and a friend or
family member m-
answers "here,"
signifying the
person remains
in spirit.
Muster sym
bolizes the bond
that draws stu
dents, faculty
and staff to
Texas A&M. It
is this sort of tra
dition that dis
tinguishes A&M
from other uni
versities and
unifies the com
munity.
Muster was
once a time for
Aggies to remember their college
days and celebrate Texas' winning
its independence at the Battle of
San Jacinto.
Over the years. Muster has since
developed into a day to remember
fallen heroes - our fellow Aggies.
Indeed, Muster may be one of
A&M's most endearing traditions
as Aggies participate today in the
110th anniversary of the event.
Aggies have held an average of
400 registered ceremonies each year
around the world since the 1980s.
More than 8,000 Aggies and For
mer President George Bush are ex
pected to attend Muster at the
A&M campus. Bush's appearance
symbolizes the
world-wide
recognition
Muster has
achieved.
As the Univer
sity continues to
grow and become
more diverse.
Muster proves
there are some
traditions which
have a positive
impact on cam
pus.
There are tradi
tions at Texas
A&M which
everyone can em
brace if they
wish.
Despite cultur
al, race or religious differences.
Muster shows that anyone can be
an Aggie. As the motto says,
"Once an Aggie, Always an Ag
gie."
We at The Battalion encourage
everyone to participate in Muster
and embrace the Spirit of Ag-
gieland.
Politics of fear: Neoconservatism
Separate church and state for better government
M y dictionary at home defines
Christian fundamentalism as
the belief that the words of
the Bible were inspired by God and
should be believed and followed lit
erally. Recently, a movement toward
fundamentalism integrated with poli
tics has emerged in the United States
political arena. The combination of
religion and politics has historically
been a touchy subject.
Newspapers were filled with com
mentaries on the combination of
Christian fundamentalism and offi
cial policy making during last year's
turbulent presidential election. Since
this movement has received so much
media coverage, I decided to look into the ramifications of
such a union.
The recent swing to the far-right within the Republican
Party and the sprouting of ultra-conservative grass-roots
organizations such as the Oregon Citizen's Alliance are just
two examples of this influx of fundamentalist groups in
both federal and state governments. These groups are
pushing for legislation to formalize their beliefs into law.
Formalization and mobilization of the movement began
with Jerry FalwelTs call for the "Moral Majority" to rise up
to power in 1979. This call to power has led to the takeover
of the Republican Party by the far-right fundamentalists, as
seen most clearly in last year's speech by Pat Buchanan at
the GOP convention.
The rise in fundamentalist politics poses many questions
for the common American. Yet, before these questions can
be addressed, we must look to the history of this growing
influence. In its roots we can find the answers and the fu
ture of the far-right. The average age of the current Christ
ian fundamentalist leader is mid to late 50s. During these
individuals' formative years, they were experiencing the
post World War II red scare.
In their late teens and early 20s these people were en
tering into a world full of propaganda about the omnipres
ence of communism and the security of family values as
the sole defense against a decaying world. Also, a cam
paign was initiated to get women to return to the home so
that the returning soldiers could have their jobs back. As a
result of this wide-spread propaganda, the majority of
Americans accepted that women were only meant for the
home. Everything would be alright if family life was "nor
mal" and secure. There was no need to fear the awful com
munist threat or the bomb as long as one led a moral life.
Well, times changed. People soon began to realize this
was not an acceptable way to handle fear.
In the late '80s and early '90s, these people (usually up
per-middle class, white heterosexual males) have grown up
and become leaders of our nation. Congress, states, and
even local school boards. Yet, in that process of growing
up, they never seemed to learn how to handle fear.
They still rely on the fundamentalist values to save them
from the realities of a post-modern world. When confront
ed with trials and fears of modern American life, the fun
damentalists seek refuge in the safety of the leftover values
of the 1950s.
Now there are a few questions that need to be answered:
Can a nation founded on the freedom of religion condone a
fundamentalist takeover of local, state or even federal gov
ernment? Can faith in a literal translation of the Bible be
legally or politically forced upon others? And, even more
to the point, can the Bible, with its numerous allusions, al
legories, and parables, even be interpreted literally?
The answers to these questions seem to draw a gray bor
der between the separation of religion and politics. How
will the fundamentalist moral majority cope with the fear
and anxiety that changing social values has forced upon
them? How will American politics cope with the growth of
ultra-conservative political groups?
It seems that liberal politicians have been able to move
forward, confronting issues such as the ERA, AIDS, abor
tion, gay rights, and the difficulties of the welfare state,
while conservative politicians take a reactionary stance,
fighting for strict moral codes and the support of a male-
dominated family. Yet, with the ever growing dissolution
of the patriarchal structures within society, the fundamen
talists find themselves also fighting to maintain their influ
ence and power.
As the fundamentalist agenda struggles to attain more
power, we must remember the words of Jesus Christ, "Ren
der therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's,
and unto God the things which be God's." (Luke 20:25)
Politics is politics and religion is religion. The separa
tion of church and state has always been a good idea.
It's just a thought.
Scroggs is a senior English and philosophy major.
AAAft&UUPS
m3 TH£
NEW
KKK rally sparks
quest for alternatives
• On April 24 the Ku Klux Klan has
decided to bless our community with a
rally because they think this area is ripe
for recruitment. Imagine that. Unfortu
nately, the Klan still feels that they will
receive support. Last week, the Universi
ty issued a statement to the effect that
they do not condone the Klan visiting our
community.
As a student body, we can do more ex
cept for the fact that our student organi
zations have decided to avoid any protest
by having the Whoopstock Unity Fest
'93.
Sure this is a noble idea,and we agree
that we do not need to have any alterca
tions with the Klan or draw any unneces
sary attention to them. But hey, just the
simple fact that the Klan will show their
faces in public, the media will be here to
focus on them.
So we ask this: Do you want this area
to be portrayed like Vidor, Texas was?
We don't.
People, this is 1993, not 1893. A
group like the Klan needs to know that
they are not welcome here. All we're try
ing to say is , if they can hold a peaceful
rally, then we can hold a peaceful protest.
Meaning that we don't have to exchange
words with them. We'd recommend not
even talking to them because then you
would be stooping to their level.
We do, however, think that a group
like the Klan needs to see a large number
of students making the KKK feel unwel
come here because as we have already
seen, ignoring the problem does not
make it go away. That's what April 29,
1992 tried to show America. And if you
don't know April 29, then in case you
weren't invited, welcome to the "me"
generation.
We also agree with Professor Yang
from the "Nay to the KKK" article on
April 14 stating that people need to see
what the KKK really stands for and what
they really do.
The Klan doesn't just promote dis
crimination and prejudice against minori
ties. You can still be white, and the Klan
will not be promoting your better inter
ests if you do to fit their ideal of white.
As we sit in the aftermath of the sec
ond Rodney King trial, maybe we should
take a little time to realize how prevalent
racism still is in our society. So the Unity
aspect of Whoopstock is good, but it just
can't quite entertain the feelings of the
coined festival. Peace.
Jason Rogers
Edward Castillo
Class of '92
Accompanied by 16 signatures
• My friends and I were talking the
other day about the upcoming rally for
the KKK. We were disturbed that they
would choose A&M as a place to express
their beliefs, but then again we were dis
turbed that we would be as close minded
as they, in wanting to prevent them from
gathering.
I suppose if we are to be truly open
minded then we must accept the fact that
the beliefs of the KKK are just as valid as
ours.
And we must not force our ideas on
them just as we expect that they will re
spect themselves and us enough not to
force their beliefs on us.
Once this conclusion was made, my
friends and I were wondering if we
should do anything in response to this
meeting. Should we go and listen to
what they have to say, or should we join
in the rally that speaks out against them?
We came to the conclusion that the
most effective way to protest is simply to
not protest. It seems that if we don't re
spond, their rally's effectiveness will be
diminished. In the 1960s when similar
meetings of the KKK convened, people
responded, sometimes violently. This re
sponse gave the KKK extensive media
coverage, and this is exactly what they
wanted.
It would be interesting to see the Klan
members walking down the street while
everyone else went on as if nothing out of
the ordinary were occurring. Neither
their voices nor their beliefs would be af
firmed by any sort of reaction from the
general public.
How effective would they be then? By
what means would they convey their
message?
I am putting this forward as a point of
contemplation for those who are con
cerned. I don't believe in taking away
the right of the KKK to express their be
liefs anymore than I believe that the KKK
may deny others their right to hold their
own beliefs. It is simply a suggestion
that we avoid providing a vehicle for
their message of racism.
Kristian Tenwolde
Class of ‘92
Accompanied by 11 signatures
Accept differences
work for future of all
Now is the time for all races to unite in
thought, not in culture. Our thoughts
should be inclined to fairness, equality,
and cooperation. We should divert our
attention to solving problems which
plague all of society, not to filling quotas,
catering to minute special interests, and
pandering away our thoughts and ac
tions to "political correctness."
We should realize that everyone re
gardless of ethnicity, sex, or religion, will
have differences. Only when we as a
whole community of human beings are
to accept our differences and attempt to
each a point of moderation, can we coex
ist peacefully and happily.
Justin Paul Howard
Class of'96
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