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July 19, 1994
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OPINION
ill
Mew, improved electric gadgets shock younger generations
\ Tothing excites my friends more
!\| than the AT&T “You Will”
1 l advertisements for bizarre new
[lectrical devices. The gadgets shown in
ds are every American’s dream.
Awesome technology interests the
younger generation like nothing else
because it connects people who otherwise
fould never see or hear each other.
What would the world have been like
if Einstein and Oppenheimer had sent
each other e-mail? Would they have reached
some quicker scientific conclusions? Developed
some other frightening pieces of technology like
the one that scared Oppenheimer into
discouraging the development of his own atomic
bomb? More likely they would have exchanged
recipes for potato salad, keeping e-mail in its
original usage: entertainment.
Other breakthroughs like K-band fuzz busters,
CD players and computer upgrades come out and
turn previously-released technology into
attractive, very expensive, door stops. There are
computers now that make your new 486 look like
an adding machine. First reactions range from
Vow” and “cool” to “uh-oh” when reality sets in.
Most people think of how far we have come in 20
years, but some wonder what we are supposed to
do with the obsolete. Texas A&M has a surplus
warehouse where all of the old computers go - like
JULIA
STAVENHAGEN
Columnist
1 HE oATTALION
Editorial Board
an old folks home
for technology -
but these old folks
get old too fast. It
took 10 or 15 years
before technology
went far enough to
develop past the
Commodore 64, but
now the “very
latest”in
technology is outdated in about a week. Offices on
campus are running on computers from the early
’80s. While we can’t expect the University to
spend millions on updating them, there should be
some control in place to keep us from getting run
over on the information superhighway by richer
companies or schools.
Remember record players? Most people still
have a collection of cassettes, but what’s an 8-
track? Those things from the Precambrian? The
old must be quickly replaced with the new for the
average audio-visual buff who wants to keep up.
Dollar signs flash. What do we lose in this
acceleration of time? Do computer networks
contribute to the problems of illiteracy or growing
up too fast in a fast world?
It may be possible that technology is developing
faster than our ability to adapt to it. Last
weekend, I was heading for the exit of Wal-Mart.
r mi
.
In front of me, two gentlemen stepped into the
radius of the electronic-eye door opener. Instead of
whooshing open as usual, the door remained
doggedly shut. We all stopped for several seconds,
confused, concerned. Humans are adaptable
creatures, doubtless, but sometimes it takes a few
million years to adjust. I know this because not
only did the people in front of me stop at the door,
but waved at the eye, hoping to trigger it.
Several seconds passed during which I was
quite concerned that we were trapped forever in
I was heading for the Wal-Mart exit. Instead
of whooshing open, the door remained
doggedly shut - we were trapped. Then, un
thinkably, a man PUSHED the door open.
Wal-Mart like flies in amber. An older man
approached, strode past us, then did the
unthinkable. He reached out and PUSHED the
door open, right on the vestigial handle. We
escaped into the open night air. I nodded thanks to
the man holding the door. It was his ancestors who
discovered fire while mine were eating mud.
The dynamism associated with technological
change usually irks those who tend toward
conservatism. My dad still does not have an
answering machine, but he is the most
intelligent person I know. I’m beginning to
suspect that there is something fishy about the
millions of people scrambling to get on the
information superhighway.
Computing networks give readers access to
more written material than we could read in two
lifetimes, but actually reading it takes as long as it
always has. Patsy Cline is out on CD, but she
doesn’t sing any faster on the new technology.
With a word processor, the time you save
typing the information instead of
handwriting it usually is lost while you
wait for the machine to boot up, format
the page, choose a font, eliminate the
bugs, turn on, load and initialize the
printer and print out the copies. In the
end, your correspondence will not go
through the mails any faster.
While new technology is visually
spectacular and extremely entertaining, it helps us
only by practically eliminating boredom - if you
have enough money for the right gadgets. Instead
of concentrating on HOW we read, write and
communicate, perhaps it will help us more if we
concentrate on the content of our communication.
Julia Stavenhagen is a graduate
anthropology student
Mark Evans, Editor in chief
William Harrison, Managing editor
Jay Robbins, Opinion editor
Editorials appearing in XHe Ei'.iti.ni.w.i
the views of the editorial hoard. They do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of other
Battalion staff members, the Texas A&M
student body, regents, administration, faculty
or staff.
Columns, guest columns, cartoons and
letters express the opinions of the authors.
Contact the opinion editor for information
on submitting guest columns.
:
Problem presidency
Clinton must adjust administration's priorities
President Clinton and his admin
istration are failing. Clinton has re
peatedly blundered into national
scandals about his personal behavior
and financial dealings and compli
cated these problems by his failure
to uphold campaign promises, estab
lish consistent policies or foster the
cooperation of the other
branches of the federal
government.
Clinton’s biggest
promise, that of guaran
teed universal health
care, has met constant
resistance and controver
sy. His refusal to actively
campaign for either his
plan or a compromise bill
that combines other
plans stands out as an
example of his waffling.
The end result will most
likely be a watered-down
bill that does little to re
form American health
care and suffers from a
lack of popular support.
Clinton, once touted as the “domes
tic president,” received support from
many voters who felt that President
George Bush focused too narrowly on
foreign policy. Clinton’s domestic
plans, however, are jeopardized by his
inability to properly manage interna
tional affairs. Today, the Haitian “pol
icy” is a muddled mess of promises
made and broken. Troop involvement
in Somalia became an unresolved
mess. His waffling on every issue that
comes up is not only legendary, it is
also incredibly ineffective.
Paula Jones’ allegations of sexual
harassment and federal
investigations into the
Whitewater project have
pushed many of these
official lapses off the
front page and out of the
public consciousness.
Remember the gays in
the military controver
sy? When Clinton at
tempted to implement
this most controversial
plan during his first
month in office, he did it
so unprofessionally that
he managed to generally
alienate both homosexu
als and the military.
Clinton The policy remains basi
cally unchanged.
Clinton has allowed his personal
problems to dictate where his time is
spent and to compromise our coun
try’s standing in the eyes of the
world. He needs to re-prioritize soon.
If he doesn’t, be assured the country
will in 1996.
Mail
Call
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Abortion irresponsible,
kills unborn humans
Is it responsible behavior to trash
your unborn child through abortion be
cause its conception was a mistake? Is it
responsible thinking that an unborn
child should pay with its life for the unre-
sponsible behavior of the parents?
Is a fetus not a human being? Author
and speaker Cal Thomas, states, “The ar
gument over whether the unborn child is
I human or not has been bogus from the
j start. If it is not human, what is it, a
Buick?” A woman who has conceived a
I child is not a potential mother. She is a
| mother. Her counterpart is a father.
Take off your blinders, B-CS, and
start realizing that we are killing our
children - an estimated 1.6 million each
year in the United States alone -
through abortion.
Sherry A. Paul
Brazos Valley
Crisis Pregnancy Services
Students should watch
move-out inventories
I learned a valuable lesson this past
semester while moving out that I
Would like to share with the rest of
you. I was not present for my move-out
inventory from my apartment. Big
mistake! It is possible for the man
agers to charge you for whatever they
want if you’re not there to witness and
document everything for yourself. I
said I cleaned something, they say I
didn’t, and it boils down to their word
against mine. I learned the hard way.
Ags, be present at that move-out in
ventory or you WILL get screwed!
Also, be as detailed as you possibly can
when writing your move-in inventory.
They can’t charge you $45 for that spot
on the carpet they’ve charged the last
three residents for if you have it docu
mented! The Off-Campus Housing of
fice says they see this kind of thing all
the time, so beware!
I also learned there is a complaint file
in the Off-Campus Housing office, where
you can check out any company or prop
erty that you’re considering signing a
lease with. I feel checking this first might
have saved me time and money. And
properties that want to cheat Aggies sure
won’t get a dime of my money, and hope
fully not yours. In the future, I plan to re
view that file and go with a property that
treats Aggies fairly.
Finally, I would like to thank the
Off-Campus Housing office for being
so courteous and helpful.
Amy Cochran
Class of ’95
The Battalion encour
ages letters to the editor
and will print as many as
space allows. Letters
must be 300 words or
less and include die au
thor's name, class, and
phone number.
We reserve tlie right
to edit letters for length,
style, and accuracy.
Address letters to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Fax: (409) 845-2647
V
‘Stupid 5 describes people, behavior
Everyday choices illustrate difference between actions, intelligence
CHRIS s.
COBB
Columnist
F rank Zappa,
rest in peace,
once said in
an interview with
Arsenic Hall, “Now,
let’s not put down
ignorance, it’s the
one thing that
makes America
great.”
He had a point, didn’t he? There sure are a bunch of
stupid people in this country, and the world in general.
Everyone has an opinion of which people are stupid. But
let’s not get them confused with drivers who cut us off on
the freeway, or the cops who write us parking tickets.
There’s a fine line be,tween stupid people and those who do
stupid things. Whenever someone cuts me off on the
freeway, I yell at them. But isn’t yelling at someone who
can’t hear me just as brainless?
There are many people who do stupid things. For
instance, turn on your television every night at 10. So
many people are moronic that I can’t even watch the news
anymore. For instance, after the Chicago Bulls won the
NBA national championship for the second time, the city
rioted. The hometown team won, and
to celebrate, people became violent.
Not every person who participated in
that riot is stupid, but what they did
was ridiculous.
Another example: Dan Quayle
misspelling the word potatoE. Our
former vice president is not a stupid
person. Not everyone will agree with
his views about politics or how to play golf, but he is
considered to be - generally - an intelligent person. He did
misspell a word that could be on a third grader’s spelling
test. Even the student Quayle corrected knew the “e” was
wrong. Likewise, how smart was it to make such a big deal
about his mistake? Could a bigger mountain have been
made out of that molehill?
On the other hand, there are stupid people in this world.
They may have some intelligence, but it’s not evident - and
they don’t try to prove me wrong. I don’t understand these
people or the things they do.
For example, I don’t understand ministers who beg for
money on television. How can they offer salvation for a
price? Where is the money going? Are they going to the
same hell they preach so much about?
Reverend: Does Jesus deserve a Porsche?
Congregation: Hallelujah! Amen.
Reverend: Yes, he does, and he asked me to drive it for him.
Those followers aren’t stupid. They act stupid by not
realizing they’re being taken by con-men.
Other stupid people are prejudiced or racist. Ignorance
such as this is rampant when it comes to social relations.
Those who judge others because of their religion, sex, or
skin color, instead of by their character, do not make sense.
For instance, the czar-wanna-be of Russia, Vladimir
Zhirinovsky, has been quoted as saying, “[We must] deal
with [ethnic minorities] as America did with the Indians
and Germany did with the Jews.” For this idiot, stupid is
not a harsh enough term. I don’t necessarily disagree with
his comparison, but how is it that idiots like him can
dismiss others in this way? Sure, I am judging Zhirinovsky,
but it’s plain we’ve seen him before - named Hitler ...
Other stupid people: those who killed Andres Escobar,
the Colombian soccer player, because he scored a goal
against his own team and caused the upset loss to the
United States. They killed him because of his mistake
which caused failure, as opposed to the Chicago fans’
violence after their team’s complete success.
Stupid people also
abuse their
husbands, wives or
children. The people
doing the abuse are
stupid. Those who
are being abused are
caught in a hard
place because they
love the person who beats them. They think that it is their
fault for being abused or that the person will eventually
stop. They are being foolish by taking the abuse, but often
don’t know what to do about it.
Every morning I look in the mirror and sometimes I see
a stupid person. The person in the mirror has crossed the
line from smart-aleck to idiot on a number of occasions.
Judging other people is an extremely self-righteous thing
to do.
We’ve all done some stupid things. But by paying
attention to the things happening in this world, we can
decide how smart we want to be.
Chris S. Cobb is a senior English major
Everyone has an opinion of which people
are stupid. But let's not get them con
fused. There's a fine line between stupid
people and those who do stupid things.
Page 3
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