The Battalion
sdnesday • July 1,1998
PINION
the dogma pushers
hfonservative moral crusading in American society pointless, puritanical
I
merica is slowly becoming con
vinced that we should be
.frightened by individualism.
We find ourselves in the midst of, in
e words of Mi-
Bundera,
P^Dtalitarian
L ‘ r rate ; m_"
to P a . v We are in-
1e rat{ rmed daily by
1 ous conserva-
res that Ameri
delay i; is Satan's lair
’lers iniquity.
'aisle- Living in a
^puritanical
as m a,America is
ach of
aat h
Voss
assistant
opinion editor
mr
epenencing an
inerving up- '
irge of political clamor from groups
ich as the Christian Coalition and the
mthern Baptists Convention. Whin-
g for a return to "family values"
hile hugging each other and preach-
g|hat "abstinence is the only safe
ix," champions of conservative agen-
asEttempt to convince America that
irculture is decaying.
• ■ Well, it's getting annoying and old
lie hdjboring.
From the comfort of their luxury
^ ers 'Bly sedans and cushioned church
said ew\ conservatives criticize the life de-
sidns of others as immoral and sinful,
de So, let's just take a glimpse at a cou-
leof popular issues currently being
-pated by moral crusaders of the day.
the Gratuitous Violence
e a battle cry of right-wingers to-
5mt lay is that violence in the media is de-
thef troying the mores and intelligence of
e s: mr culture.
mMgHrnrnrn, let's just take a look at liter-
to t : fc'
an 1 ®
f thfip
mmecj
ary history for a moment.
Shakespeare, for example, could never
end a play with less than eight corpses.
Just think of Hamlet, Richard III or
MacBeth with their piles of dead bodies
by Act V.
Or, the Grecian playwright Aeschy
lus — his
Orest inn is g|Y' '
a blood
bath.
How
about
Sophocles' KyS
Oedipus
/\cr? It is just lj
plain kinky
violence.
And the
classic from
Fyodor
Dosto
evsky,
Crime and
Punishment
— a bril
liant work,
sheer ge
nius, but
awfully
messy.
Then,
there's the
Bible with
Cain killing
Able, King
David hav
ing Bathsheba's husband knocked off
(then sleeping with her), rivers turning
to blood, locust invading, a flood de
stroying the entire world and John the
Baptist's head on a platter.
C'mon right-wingers; according to
Solomon in Ecclesiastes, "There is
nothing new under the sun."
This whole violence thing has been
done before and taken around the
block a few times. The difference is the
media sensationalizes three isolated in
cidents around the nation for ratings
urn
samrawaSa
'. mu.
tit
J«N
sttt&jiaSaSa
J
\m
and box-office dollars.
In fact, if it were not for the 10 o'
clock news, conservatives would never
have anything to be so huffy about.
The world has not changed much over
the last 2000 years, it is just that the
world is now on CNN.
Let's just think rationally — if gratu
itous violence is such a problem in the
media, sell your TV set and stop pay
ing $7 for tickets to Godzilla.
Perhaps the most alarming piece of
irony here is that most of the trucks
with those
Je-
susWhoop!
stickers
have a Na
tional Rifle
Association
sticker right
next to it.
Sexuality
The con
servative-
chi c-bour-
geoisie
morality of
the '90s is
based largely
on the herd
instinct to re
press, re
press, re
press — at
least, that is,
until mar
riage.
Fine.
Whatever
works best
for you is
just fine.
But, you know, the constant push
for "Abstinence Across America" is be
coming rather tiresome and trite.
Whatever mores sound nice bouncing
off the back walls of church auditori
ums do not always have the same.
mi
melodious ring when said in school
rooms or on senate floors.
This conservative-pipe dream that
we can herd American youth onto the
Mayflower in hopes that they will re
vert back to puritanism is absurd.
The point is, this campaign for absti
nence is noble, but pointless. Someone,
somewhere is having sex no matter re
gardless of what they have learned at
home, at school or in Bible class.
Freedom is a good thing, no?
This is not to say America is yea-happy-
loopy-Frutopia great, but America is not as
bad as the conservatives pretend it is.
They're just giving themselves brain
aneurisms for no good reason.
Conservatives only use the words
individualism and freedom on July the
Fourth or in speeches about tobacco
and owning assault rifles. Otherwise,
conservatives are trying their best to
squelch individualism with their 24-
carat-puritan-morality crusade.
Rather than keep a note pad of
which souls are in jeopardy of winning
a one-way ticket to Hades, maybe the
conservative troops should redirect
their misguided angst and plant some
flowers to relieve stress.
We are on the edge of the 21st centu
ry and we cannot fantasize about the
'50s or attempt to stuff ourselves into
the corsets and high-collars of stale
19th-century Victorian morality.
More importantly, what we need to
realize is that America never was perfect,
never will be perfect and if it ever is per
fect it sure will not be the likes of Pat
Buchanan who leads us onto victory.
Michelle Voss is a junior
English major.
mcoWLFRESlDENt
CUNIDH. Let Us Look
hDRwARD/NOT BACK
WARD. OBSESSING
OVER Tfl£ FAST SHORT
CHANGE: TOE FUTURE.
THAHK fOU, PRESIDENT
JlNte/fDR YOUR WISE
words regarding
the MpNlCA LEWINSKY
WAITER,,.
Euthanasia viable
option for elderly
Tiananmen Squaife
mi
Tfl
1
Chris
Huffines
columnist
America lacks civic participation
mericans have always maintained a
proud tradition of complaining. Our
very existence
Steven
Gyeszly
columnist
Because of the fact
[at 222 years ago, a
(roup of 56 men felt
«y were being poor-
itreated and resolved
■send a formal com-
bint to the King of
gland (for those
Iders who went to a
gh school where the
ptball coach also
Wght American His-
fry, this is a reference
| the Declaration of Independence).
■ Since then, Americans have been willing
| fight wars and shed blood for the in-
■enable right to complain about anything
fo damn well please. Yet in the past, those
Ihodid the complaining were also willing
■ work to make things better. New politi
ll parties, new religions and new laws
■ere created because somewhere in the
Inited States people did not like the way
lings were going and actually wanted to
1) something about it.
I Times have changed. Americans still
loan and groan about everything from
federal taxes to how badly the local sports
team is playing, but the only action people
take nowadays is changing the channel on
their remotes. Sadly, complaining is no
longer a path to improvement, but rather a
hobby.
A recent report by the bipartisan Nation
al Commission on Civic Renewal discov
ered a "quarter-century decline in organi
zational memberships, political
participation and trust in government."
Yet, at the same time, the American culture
of cynicism and complaining about every
thing remains. In essence, they talk more
but do less.
Statistical evidence of this phenomenon
can be seen in the abysmally low voter-
turnout rate and the plummeting member
ship of both political and civic organiza
tions. Yet the reality can be measured on a
much more personal level. Try and think of
the last action you took that represents
what you believe in. Buying Budweiser be
cause of brand loyalty does not count.
Lack of civic action in the United States
is so widespread that Americans tend to
look down on others who actually do
something about their beliefs. From the
comfort of their own soapboxes, people
criticize activists, whether they chain them
selves to a tree or an abortion clinic.
Whether people support their actions or
not, those few who actually do something
about their beliefs are the ones shaping the
future, while others who do nothing can
only sit and think of the past.
Everyone thinks they could improve
government if they had a chance. They do.
It is called voting. But even if the thought
of personally choosing an elected represen
tative does not seem very exhilarating,
there is bound to be an issue that does.
Civic participation in America is remark
able because there are so many options,
from issues of international significance to
topics discussed over fried chicken and
potato salad at the local community center.
Civic action is not about draping oneself
in the American flag and proclaiming the
superiority of ones' belief over the rights of
others. It is about supporting what you be
lieve in by actions, not poorly-written let
ters to the editor. Complaint coupled with
public action is a belief.
Complaint coupled with inactivity is
merely a euphemism for whining. After all,
there is very little difference between an
apathetic citizen and a pathetic citizen.
Steven Gyeszly is a junior finance major.
W hen the average reader
thinks of euthanasia,
he or she either thinks
of a helpless, voiceless senior citi
zen being 'put under' by their
greedy,
heartless
children, or
he or she
thinks of the
opposite: a
senior citi
zen in terri
ble pain,
slowly dy
ing and un
able to find
release be
fore the pain
and drugs
take away everything that is hu
man.
In America today, the number
of senior citizens is increasing,
bringing the problem of whether
euthanasia should be legalized
to a larger place in the national
spotlight. While there is no
"right to die," euthanasia should
be legalized.
Euthanasia is either suicide
or assisted suicide in some form.
Not taking necessary medica
tion and other similar measures
is suicide.
Euthanasia does not come in
any other form than someone
taking his or her own life or being
helped to take his or her own life.
Suicide is illegal, and for
good reason. Suicide is an irre
versible act. Death has this eerie
permanence to it that should
stop hasty decisions.
What may be unendurable to
day may be cured tomorrow. Or
an answer may never be found.
Suicide is too easy to allow with
out checks and balances. The op
portunity for the choice to be
made should not occur without
there being a way to prevent irra
tional decisions.
Assisted suicide is killing an
other human being, plain and
simple. To help someone die is to
directly cause his death, whether
or not the victim opened the IV or
whatever single switch or mecha
nism salves the consciences of the
assistants. Without the helper,
there would not be death.
There may be extenuating cir
cumstances that make it legal or
maybe even seem right, but win
dow dressing the issue will not
do when a human life is at stake.
Assisted suicide is killing.
As anyone who has ever
passed the first grade knows, the
Declaration of Independence
grants Americans rights includ
ing "life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness."
The pursuit of happiness does
not include reaching happiness,
just trying to get a hold of it.
From the Bill of Rights and
various Supreme Court rulings,
Americans are granted other
rights, with the condition placed
that the exercising of these rights
cannot infringe, or in any way in
terfere, with others' rights.
When an elderly individual
has reached the point where he
or she can no longer pursue hap
piness, be it because of illness or
just the infirmity of old age, eu
thanasia should be an option.
And that point, and no other,
may a life be taken.
At that point, it is cruel for
others to impose a longer life on
an individual who will merely
suffer through it.
Some have the character that
will require them to live off the
hope of another day, and some
will choose to die.
An individual will obviously
be able to make the choice before
reaching that crossroads — wills
and other legal documents exist
to fill that role.
However, it should be the
choice of the individual. At no
time should rights to family or
society interfere with a patient's
right to life or their decision to
die after they can no longer
pursue happiness.
Euthanasia is a viable option
for those who realize, at some
point, it is better to die than to
continue in a parody of living.
They should be legally allowed
that right.
Not the right to die, a PC at
tempt to get around the issue if
ever there was one, but because
if someone cannot live life and
pursue the happiness that makes
life worthwhile, what do they
have to look forward to besides
eking out their remaining years
in grim anticipation of death?
Chris Huffines is a junior speech
communications major.