llnday • December 8, 1997
O The Battalion
PINION
knowledge is power
\e of misinformation causes clouded minds, reveals half-truths about society
idents carry around a
krge store of knowledge.
|ach new generation is
educated on a wider
(of topics. Unfortunate-
ed among all these
Americans have an as-
ent of myths, inaccura-
id misinformation,
jh increased concern
Ibiased textbooks and
mist history, Aggies
|eed to put effort into
Ing stories and facts
lave taken for granted.
Dave
Johnston
columnist
i misinformation varies in significance, in-
[gthe urban legend (like the fatal effects of
}nd Pop Rocks), the established myth (like
Koss sewing the original American flag)
le forgotten or confused fact.
iThanksgiving night as bonfire blazed, one
lYell Leaders worked the crowd, shouting,
lord Jesus Christ said it best in the book of
pais...” Actually, the Lord Jesus Christ has very
^peaking roles in the book of Psalms. What’s
'ejwhile the cited verse does proclaim that
Will cut off the horns of the wicked, it goes
ipoint out He will exalt the horns of the
tdous.
itny pieces of misinformation come from re
als discussions. Though Christmas is ob-
e# in late December, Christ was definitely
born in Winter — and most scholars agree
jvent occurred about 4 B.C.
lost everyone has seen the small images of
iha, but few people realize Buddhists do not
ihip the figures or Buddha himself. In fact,
dhists have no “god” other than perhaps
i and the inner self.
! ut this topic could be explored forever. Stu-
ts have all sorts of religious views, but there
nore universal subjects where Aggies still
Tnstrate a confused state,
becent poll of Americans showed only a
(percentage knew the Constitution was rati
fied in 1788, and was written mostly by Madison.
Of course, some inaccuracies are a result of
trying to simplify thousands of years of human
history into a few years of education. When
George Washington is afforded only a paragraph
in many history books, it’s difficult to convey an
accurate description of George Washington Carv
er.
For example, generations have been taught
that Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, is an at
tack on the Chicago meat-packing industry. Ac
tually, less than half of the book is dedicated to a
description of the stockyards.
The whole work is a promotion of the Socialist
agenda. The book begins by using the backdrop
of the stockyards as it follows the life of an immi
grant, showing how it is impossible to survive un
der the “evil” capitalist system.
The main character cannot make it in the
meat industry as an honest worker, nor as a
hobo, thief, or corrupt politician. Finally, when
he joins the Socialist Party, his life turns
around and he lives happily ever after. It
seems much easier for educators to label the
book a muckrakers attempt to destroy the
meat-packing industry.
Americans have little room to complain, how
ever. Few people take time to read. Most publish
ers actually lose money by producing literature.
Instead of good, crafted literary works, the mar
ket prefers easy-to-read “brain candy” books.
Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film, Amistad is
based on a novel written several years ago. Now
as the movie is released, a novelization of the
screenplay has arrived at bookstores. Instead of
releasing a paperback edition of the original nov
el, marketers have opted instead to write a new,
simpler, less artistic version.
This relaxed attitude toward mental exercise
leads to spoon-fed education and an ocean of
misinformation. It is time for Aggies and students
everywhere to take responsibility to improve the
quality of their personal library of knowledge.
Dave Johnston is a senior mathematics major.
;<
bncealed gun-carry permits destroy citizens' rights
aws that
forbid
■ji—Jihe car-
" Kg of arms...dis-
rm only those
r ho are neither
iclined nor deter
mined to commit
rimes...Such laws
make things worse
rntthe assaulted
Jtid better for the
ssailants; they
erve to encourage
man to prevent
|t omicides, for an unarmed man may
^attacked with greater confidence
ban an armed man.” - Thomas Jeffer-
on
the government were to require a
itssion slip to exercise free
2ch, Americans would be out-
M- If citizens needed a permit to
dice religion, they would be indig-
mant. But somehow, when govern-
nem requires its citizens to get a per-
nission slip to carry a concealed
veapon, there is no resentment.
Access to the rights of free speech,
issembly and religion are not regulat-
id by government permits, and the
Jit to keep and bear concealed arms
mould not be either. States should
»tr|ke down Carry Concealed Weapons
(CCW) permits and allow peaceful cit
izens to exercise their Second Amend
ment rights without government med
dling.
CCW permits lend themselves to
abuse by government officials. In Ore
gon, one man was denied a CCW per
mit, not because he was a dangerous
felon, but because he was the editor of
a pro-life newsletter.
In an appeal, the judge ruled even
though the revocation was unjustifi
able, the abortion issue was “a volatile
one,” and those holding pro-life views
should not own weapons.
In 1991, Bonnie Elmasri tried to buy
a gun to protect herself and her two
children from the husband who re
peatedly threatened to kill her, and
told there was told there was a 48 hour
waiting period. Sadly, Bonnie and her
two children were murdered they next
day, still waiting for government per
mission to defend her family.
Laws requiring permits discrimi
nate against the law-abiding and
threaten the lives of honest citizens.
93% of felons either steal guns or buy
them illegally, exempting themselves
from CCW permits. Only law-abiding
citizens obtain weapons regulated by
these government measures, and they
are often the unfortunate victims of
what can happen when government
begins regulating Constitutional
rights.
The power to license a right is the
power to destroy a right. When New
York City began registering long guns
(rifles and shotguns) in the mid-1960s,
officials promised concerned citizens
they would never use the lists to con
fiscate guns from honest citizens.
However, in 1991 the city banned and
began taking those same guns from
law-abiding citizens.
When states begin compiling lists
of everyone who owns guns, the door
is open for frightening Gestapo-style
crackdowns on gun owners, exactly as
Adolf Hitler did when he pioneered
modern gun control methods in his
efforts to persecute and massacre
Jews.
Jews for the Preservation of
Firearms, in their comprehensive
study, “Lethal Laws: ‘Gun Control’ is
the Key to Genocide” have proven over
and over again that gun registration
inevitably leads to confiscation, and in
many cases, the widespread oppres
sion of millions, such as in the Soviet
Union, China, Cambodia and Nazi
Germany. Registering concealed carri
ers violates basic civil liberties and
contradicts everything the Constitu
tion embodies.
Considering the inherent risks and
dangers in imposing unconstitution
al rules on the use of concealed
firearms, states should adopt a Ver-
mont-style CCW law. Vermont allows
law-abiding citizens to fully exercise
their God-given right to keep and
bear arms without seeking a govern
ment permit.
As a result, Vermont has the lowest
crime rate in the nation. In fact, when
Florida adopted CCW laws in 1987,
their murder rate plummeted 22%
while the rest of the nation’s rose 14%.
Of those who got permits, only 0.006%
committed any sort of crime in the
following years. Concealed carry laws
promote safety and effectively fight
crime.
CCW states lower their murder
rates by 33% and robberies by 37%.
Abolishing CCW permits will allow
honest, peaceful citizens to prevent
violent crimes, as three of five felons
agree “a criminal is not going to mess
around with a victim he knows in
armed” and 57% “are more worried
about meeting an armed victim than
they are about running into the po
lice.”
In fact, armed citizens shoot and
kill twice as many criminals as do the
police, 1527 to 600. Interestingly, of
those killed by police, 11% are inno
cent, while only 2% of those shot by
citizens are.
Concealed carry permits are dan
gerous, discriminatory and unconsti
tutional. Government cannot register
or license a right, and when govern
ment does, the confiscation of guns
from peaceful people and their op
pression follows.
Allowing citizens to carry concealed
firearms stops crime, makes the
streets safer and restores a sense of
law and order. Despite the wild-eyed
claims of gun control advocates
armed citizens rarely commit crime or
shoot and kill innocent people (the
police are five times more likely to do
so.)
States across the nation should fol
low Vermont’s lead and abolish CCW
permits. After two centuries of assault
on the constitutional rights of honest
people, the time has come to reaffirm
our Second Amendment rights, fight
crime and make our nation safer.
Our Founding Fathers, with their
firsthand knowledge of government
oppression, believed citizens should
be allowed to carry concealed without
getting the government’s permission.
Concealed carry permits are simply li
censes for trouble.
Donny Ferguson is a junior political
science major.
vIaii^ Call
olitical correctness
ften proves absurd
In response to Zac Dietrich’s
| 3 “
Zac, 1 don’t think Chris was try-
^ to escape the fears of his ele-
‘titary school days when he
ote his column about the failure
the school to provide escorts for
lies as well as females.
|fn the contrary, I think he was
ing a rare and sometimes per
ns literary technique called sar-
sm. You seem to have missed the
)iH' int. Chris was simply trying to
int out the fact that equality is so
Utically correct it is many times
stu d, as is the case of males es-
rting other males.
I do not think he is a homosexu-
Tlving the company of another
I , v de. He was merely trying to
^kc rational thought about the
subject of equality, something that
nowadays misses the mark by far.
Today’s definition of equality is
many times more lopsided than a
two headed coin.
Equality often overlooks the
plight of the Anglo-saxon male. We
seem to have an enormous number
of people who believe that they have
been treated unfairly, and to em
phasize how ludicrous some objec
tions are Chris felt he should voice
the bigotry of the escort system,
which is only biased in tire eyes of
p.c. freaks.
I think that if you had the oppor
tunity to talk to him you would find
that he is probably as conservative
as you or 1.1 guess the old phrase of
“read between the lines” is more
than appropriate here.
Blake Mcgehee
Class of’01
‘If you prick me, doth
I not bleed maroon?’
In my years at Texas A&M, I
have seen many things come and
go with the seasons and with the
semesters. We have watched our
teams through good and bad, and
we have built and burned the bon
fire. In fact, if you remember, we
built it twice one year...together.
We have watched the school we
love move into the next century.
One thing that has never
changed is our diversity. This diver
sity has made Mail Call a forum for
presenting our differing opinions.
It is not the opinions that I wish
to address. It is the process by
which we choose to display them.
The world progresses via the
decisions we make by weighing
the implications of all of the alter
natives. Mail Call is, in theory, an
avenue to let us know these alter
native opinions. Why, then, do so
many of us use it as a tool to prove
others wrong? If we stop and think
before we submit our opinions to
the viewing of others, we may find
that the opinions we are trying to
discredit are merely other options.
There are really no wrong an
swers. I have read five years of
opinions based on all types of is
sues. Some have been emotional
while others seemed to be on an
intellectual level.
I have heard many threats to
extradite others to “that school” in
Austin. I have also heard many is
sues brought forth that could have
been better addressed in a differ
ent way than was used.
Are we not all Aggies? The
Corps. Non-regs. SB. Frat-daddy.
Gay. Straight. Liberal. Conserva
tive. These are only words. Take
the time to learn who your oppo
nent is before you start to play. We
may find that they really are not
our opponent after all. Most im
portantly, remember that our let
ters of rebuttal sometimes do
nothing more than further the dis
tances between us all.
If you wish to discredit me for
what I have just written, e-mail me.
I would rather be discredited direct
ly than be discredited based on an
assumption that was made about
me based on a few paragraphs.
Erin J Machac
Class of’97
Album review
offends Bush fan
In response to Travis Irby’s De
cember 4th Music Review:
This is my own opinion and I speak
totally for myself in saying I don’t ap
preciate Travis Irby’s horrid review of
Bush’s remix album, Deconstructed. I
can’t believe this was allowed to be
printed as a music review.
I was very insulted by Travis when
he called Bush “alterna-posers” and
said they have “lame guitar riffs,
shoddy lyrics and irritating vocals”.
Travis, you may not be very interest
ed in Bush,but that doesn’t mean
that we die-hard fans should be “in
stitutionalized” or that we should be
“getting help” for liking Bush.
There are so many types of mu
sic, and I don’t like some of those
types, but I wouldn’t disrespect the
listeners by writing garbage about
them and their favorite bands. Also,
Bush has fans of many ages, not just
“teenage girls with braces”.
To the Battalion—get a better
music reviewer and the next time
one of your writers wants to print
insulting trash, please post it on the
Opinion Page where it belongs.
Katie Brown
kgb7844@acs. tamu.edu
Stereotypes plague
environmentalists
It is unfortunate and mislead
ing that Mr. Ferguson chose to
write about an extreme group and
portrayed them as the norm for
citizens who are concerned about
our planet. It is misleading to take
an extreme faction of the environ
mental movement and portray it
as the mainstream sentiment of
people concerned about the Earth.
Of course, I’ve come to expect
such narrow-minded anthro
pocentric propaganda from Mr.
Ferguson on a weekly basis.
To compare environmentalists
to “the Hezbolla” is outrageous.
The Hezbolla is a Mid-East terror
ist group who is know for bombing
Jewish elementary schools in Is
rael. My Grandmother is con
cerned about our Earth’s natural
resources-does that make her a
terrorist? Of course not. To stereo
type people who are concerned
about our environment as “resur
recting visions of KGB raids” is
ridiculous. More average and de
cent people are concerned about
clean air and water then you think.
Critics of environmental laws
claim that large numbers of jobs
are lost due to environmental reg
ulations. However, the United
States Department of Labor re
vealed that 0.1% of the jobs lost in
the U.S. were due to environmen
tal regulations. In fact, environ
mental protection is a major
growth industry that creates new
jobs. Each year, the $200 billion a
year international environmental
industry grows each year at about
5-6%, and is expected to increase
by the year 2000.
History shows that the most im
portant changes brought about by
humans come from the bottom up,
not from the top down. In other
words, if average Americans support
a clean environment from the bot
tom up, then I give them a lot more
support than the political-minded
types such as Mr. Ferguson.
Thomas Muse
Class of ’99