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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 1995)
The Battalion • Page 7 Wednesday • July 5, 1995 Democracy, warts and all, still has its moments I n 1940, Winston Churchill was an extremely frustrated man. Things did not look good on the home front, and to make matters worse, the American politicians were nervous about Franklin Roo sevelt’s Lend-Lease idea. In a meeting with F.D.R., the prime minister expressed his exasperation. He declared, “Ours is the worst form of government ever created ... with the pos sible exception of every other one.” Churchill had a point. After leading his country to victory in World War II — probably the last real bad-guy war we will have for a while — England showed her grat itude by voting Churchill out of office. Thanks for the support. It’s not much easier here in America. Just look at the budget battle on Capitol Hill. In order to balance the federal budget, the Medicare program must be cut. Of course, the politicians who do the cutting may just be voted out by their less-than-grateful constituents. Yep, democracy sure sucks. This “voice of the people” stuff has led to both corruption and scandal. The free press that goes with democracy is chock-full o’ people who report only what they think is important; public opinion be damned. If it weren’t for democracy, we wouldn’t have such wonderful words as “Water gate,” “gerrymander,” “liber- alscum,” “Whitewater,” “New Deal,” “Great Society” (or its re sulting trillion dollar deficit) or, for that matter, an artist former ly known as Prince. I guess the easiest way to gain an appreciation for democracy, however, is to see the results of its absence. I had that chance a few years back. After my less-than-sterling freshman year, I decided to take a couple of years off from college and spend them in the Philippines as a missionary. Nominally, the Philippines has been a democ racy since it gained independence in 1948. Then came Ferdinand Marcos. In the mid ’70s, Marcos basically declared himself the democratically-elected president un til he changed his mind. In the ’80s, the Philippine people set out on a course to convince Marcos to change his mind. This “People’s Power” movement yielded a great deal of optimism for the Philippine people. Even former Marcos supporters were determined to regain power through legitimate channels. Unfortunately, there was a price for the years of autocratic rule. The Philippines, once known as “The Pearl of the Orient,” now has one of the weakest economies in the Pacific basin and few short term prospects for an upturn. Imelda Marcos, however, single-handedly kept the Philippine’s foot accouterment industry alive and well through the lean years. Probably the first thing I learned, after the fact that Coca-Cola made me feel better than the water, was a great appreciation for real live democracy in action. Of course, if I would have known who our next president would be, I might have stayed in the jungle a tad longer. I guess the easiest way to gain an appreciation for democracy, how ever, would be to see the results of its absence. Democracy can be fun to watch, at times. For example, let’s say we have a president who suddenly realizes that, in an effort to be all things to all people, he has little support from anyone ... and anyone starts to remind Mr. President who pays the re-election campaign bills. Next thing you know (in this purely hypotheti cal exercise), our president starts to dance and dance and dance while someone else does the singing. Yes folks, it’s MilliVaBilly ... or maybe Milli- VaHillary. Anyway, back in non-hypothetical land, proba bly the best part of democracy is that I can make fun of almost anyone I want. And conversely, they can make fun of me. Churchill was right, though. Democracy really can cause problems ... at times. We have everything from scandals to gridlock to occasional inept leadership. But through it all, things work. Democracy, warts and all, works for more people than anything else we have ever come up with. Nope, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Despite the fact that often our own form of government gets in the way of our moving ahead even more rapidly, no society ever con ceived has given so many the opportunity to go so far. A good example of taking advantage of oppor tunities is our president. Despite disagreeing with just about every facet of his existence, I do hold Clinton as an ex ample of something that can really only happen here in America. Hopefully, for my sake, someone else from a humble background will come along with a few ideas that I agree with. Until then, I plan to keep this democracy thing alive and well in my little corner of the world. Hypothetically speaking, of course. David Taylor is a senior management major THE SHOT HEARD ’ROUND THE WORLD The EV/vi ja.iioini Editorials Board Established in 1893 Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorials board. 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. jay Robbins Editor in Chief Rob Clark Managing Editor Sterling Hayman Opinion Editor Kyle Littlefield Assistant Opinion Editor Losing Sight The meaning of the Fourth of July gets lost amidst fireworks and sales. Unfortunately, some Amer icans have lost sight of what makes the Fourth of July a day worthy of observation. Americans seem to have forgotten that the signing of the Declaration of Indepen dence was a solemn and frightening experience for the founding fathers. When the Fourth of July comes around each year, the sights and sounds are not as much of a fervent patriotism and reverent remembrance, but are signs of atrophy. America seems to think that department stores having Fourth of July sales with bar gain prices is what makes it a day of celebration. And while no one can ar gue the importance of sales, it just doesn’t seem to be what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he helped write the Declaration of In dependence. In ancient Greece, where democracy was founded, their standards of society en sured that close to 100 per cent of the Grecian citizens voted and corrupt senators would face death. Democratic society has certainly come a long way in the past 2,500 years, yet less than 60 per cent of Americans are voting consistently and many who do vote become dissatisfied with their representatives. Americans should embrace the Fourth of July with zeal and passion. The fireworks people use to commemorate the day should reflect the pride and fire they feel in their hearts when they think of the sacrifices made in free dom’s name. John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, signed, the document in oversized hand writing so that, “King George (could) read it without his spectacles.” Hancock and the other men who signed that document were willing to stare death in the face without flinching. But today, people rarely get off the couch to perform their democratic duties. The Fourth of July should be a reminder of the hard work and constant vigilance that comes with freedom and liberty. One cannot forget that government, “by the people, of the people, and for the people” means just that — everyone must get involved. Lawsuits stifle American ingenuity W hich came first, the truth or the law suit? These days in the grand old United States of America, it seems that truth and hard facts have no involvement at all in legal proceedings. This would not be such a problem if Americans did not have the tendency to sue each other with the frequency of the beat of their hearts. The citizens of this great country flock to the courtroom with such vigor that suing could now be considered America’s favorite pastime. Almost nothing goes wrong anymore without it being settled in a court of law or with a monetary out-of-court settlement. Because of this propensity to sue, law suits create a trickle-down effect on other ar eas of our lives. For example, lawsuits and the threat of being sued have greatly increased the costs of medical care. Many of these lawsuits are based on emotions rather than facts. This would not be such a problem if juries were not increasingly being made up of idiots. Last week, the facts involving one of the largest product liability cases in the history of the United States were revealed. What a shame the case has been settled for months. I am talking about the class ac tion lawsuit involving 400,000 women and the manufacturers of silicone breast im plants. The plaintiffs claim that it was the pres ence, not the rupturing, of their implants that led to a whole array of health problems. The complaints included localized pain, scar ring and enlarged lymph nodes. The major contention of the lawsuit, how ever, was that 400,000 women had experi enced the symptoms of connective tissue disorders (such as rheuma toid arthritis) due to the presence of silicone breast implants. Upon realizing the potential magnitude of the lawsuit, the collective manufacturers of the implants, including the Dow Corning Corporation, decided to settle out of court. The settlement involved the establish ment of a $4.23 billion fund to pay women involved in the class action suit. Now it seems that it may have been all for nothing. Last week, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a large-scale study that found no link be tween silicone breast implants and connec tive tissue diseases or their symptoms. The study, performed by the Harvard Medical School, used data from a long-term health study of 87,501 nurses. Of the nurses, 1,183 had breast implants, 876 of these were silicone-filled, and 516 had connective tissue disorders. Only three of the 516 who had connective tissue disorders had breast implants, and only one of the three had silicone-filled implants. The results are so clear most health ex perts consider the issue dead. Also dead as a result of this case is the Dow Coming Corporation. It filed for bank- ruptcy in May due to its $2 billion share of the settlement fund and pending lawsuits involving breast implants. The problem is systemic from the top down. With the involvement of insurance companies and their willingness to settle out of court, large corporations hardly have an opportunity to clear their names or keep from becoming targets. The widespread nature of civil lawsuits these days brings even the manufacturer of the smallest and most ineffectual compo nents of a product under the umbrella of a lawsuit against that product. As a result, many producers choose not to incorporate their materials into goods which may have the potential of being the subject of a lawsuit, but which would nonetheless significantly benefit scores of individuals. This, in turn, slows the inventive process — the backbone of American ingenuity. Last and certainly not least are the attor neys and doctors involved in such litigation. Commonly in the past, plaintiffs in such large class action medical lawsuits have been re ferred to physicians by their attorneys. These attorneys first solicit their clients and then often refer them to some physi cian who makes the diagnosis, which sur prisingly affirms the attorney’s contention. This case is not necessarily an isolated inci dent. It seems that courts are willing to hobble industry on the mere assumption that individ uals are wronged. The facts must be at hand to make an educated decision. Personal responsibility must be reintro duced into society at the expense of get-rich schemes that threaten the productivity and inventive nature of America. What should happen? This case should be used as a clear example to help “weed out” other lawsuits with no scientific basis. In addition, medical institutions should concentrate their efforts into finding the true cause of ailments. Strangely, what should happen rarely does, and industry will continue to defend its progress against ever- increasing litigation. If necessity is the mother of invention, the American lawsuit must surely be the under taker. Alex Miller is a senior bioenvironmental science major •' Jiu < u - lhAWlOi * f ; j IJ f. | 1 |, | v . 1 u * 11 * „ I Vr >c JA . A 1VT X. In * V«> F-J> I i ,v Mail U.S. flag burning affirms freedom To listen to debate currently being held on the floor of the U.S. Congress, one might conclude that we, as a country, are current ly facing a dangerous epidemic which threatens to shake the very foundation of our government perpetrated by lawless and unpa triotic hooligans. The epidemic? Desecration of the American flag. To argue that flag burning and other acts of desecration are unnecessary acts of protest and are also disrespectful to the men and women who have given their lives in defense of it is understandable and true. But to argue that such acts be made illegal by way of adding an amendment to the U.S. Con stitution is as shameful as it is a waste of time and tax-payers money. The First Amendment grants citizens the right to acts of free speech, which includes flag burning. By amending the Constitu tion, our representatives will be, in effect, desecrating the power and authority of the Constitution, a national symbol much more worth fighting for than a piece of cloth. One of the greatest freedoms we as Americans enjoy is the right to protest what we view as being wrong choices our gov ernment makes on our behalf. That freedom is a sign of a healthy and stable democracy and should be protected. The U.S. Congress should be ashamed of itself for even sug gesting that an amendment be added to protect the flag. It is an extreme act of irre sponsibility that they threaten to weaken the Constitution in order to receive votes from an electorate which views people who desecrate flags, an event that rarely happens anyway, as radicals who are unpatriotic. In actuality, many times it is the people who protest ac tions of our government who should be considered the most patriotic. They are, after all, willing to subject themselves to public humiliation in order to make the country they love an even better place to live. What kind of country would we be living in if everyone blindly accepted the government’s gospel? Congress should allow citizens who legally purchase flags to ex ercise their freedom of speech, however disrespectful it is. Chad Steven Cosper Class of ’95 Republicans add costs to students On June 29, Toby Boenig wrote a fine guest column about the cuts in financial aid and how it is going to affect the average student by making it hard for them to afford the Ag gie experience. Further, he suggests that you write Rep. Jack Fields and de mand that financial aid not be cut. Fields has already gone on the record supporting the cuts to financial aid. Unfortunately, the students here at Texas A&M University, in the rush to support the Republi can Revolution and Contract with America, voted for Jack Fields last November by a whopping 92 percent. These are the same students who are now screaming about in creases in the student fees. To these students I have one suggestion: Quit whining. In the November elections, they strongly supported Republi cans (on both the state and na tional level) so they should quit complaining when their educa tional subsidies are cut. They could be forced to pay fair market price for an education (ie. $10-20 thousand per year for tu ition) and soon will be forced to, if they continue to blindly support the Republican party. Dale Christensen Chemistry staff The Battaeion Editorial Staff Jay Robbins, Editor in Chief Rob CLARK, Managing Editor Sterling Hayman, Opinion Editor GretchEN Perrenot, City Editor Jody Holley, night news Editor STACY Stanton, Night News Editor Michael Landauer, aggieufe editor Nick GeorGANDIS, Sports Editor Stew Milne, Photo Editor Staff Members City Desk - Assistant Editor: Eleanor Colvin; Re porters: Katherine Arnold, Javier Hinojosa, Jill Saunders, Michael Simmons, Wes Swift & Tara Wilkinson Aggieufe Desk — Assistant Editor: Amy Collier Fea ture Writers: Elizabeth Garrett, Amy Collier & Libe Goad; Columnist: Amy Uptmor Sportswriters - David Winder and Lee Wright Opinion Desk - Assistant Editor: Kyle Littlefield; Columnists: Elizabeth Preston, Frank Stan ford & David Taylor; Contributing Colum nists: Justin Barnett, Margaret Gordon, Alex Miller, Chris Stidvent & Mark Zane; Editori al Writers: Jason Brown & Alex Walters; Editorial Cartoonists: Brad Graeber & George Nasr Photographers — Mike Friend, Roger Hsieh, Nick Rodnicki & Eddy Wylie Page Designers - News: Kristin DeLuca; Sports: Robin Greathouse; Aggielife: Stew Milne Copy Editors — Rob Clark & Sterling Hayman Graphic Artists - Toon Boonyavanich & Melissa Oldham Strip Cartoonists - Valerie Myers & Quatro Oakley Office Staff - Office Manager: Julie Thomas; Clerks: Wendy Crockett & Heather Harris News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in the Divi sion of Student Publications, a unit of the De partment of Journalism. 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