Battalion
PINION
Page 11 • Wednesday, February 3, 1999
| Listening to a little voice of reason
Americans need to heed their consciences, ignore television values
mericans would be much
better off if they would
heed the advice of a cricket,
■iminy Cricket, that is.
Alter all, not following his ad-
ce got a small wooden boy by
he name of Pinocchio into tons
if tumble. Thanks to his disre-
;ard for Jiminy’s counsel, Pinoc-
hio ended up turning into a
lonlkey and dining in the belly of
I whale.
Caijb
MCDANIEL
E RE
aid a singing Jiminy in Disney’s animated feature,
let vour conscience be your guide.”
| a)nfortunately, American society seems to have for-
■r;ot|en Jiminy’s jingle just as quickly as poor little
'incvchio — and with consequences no less disas-
^fls than being half an ass in the gullet of Moby
^Bur culture says conscience simply does not mix
the exalted “pursuit of happiness.” The wor-
ip of individualism has corroded our best and
pRst sense of what is good and bad, and every-
^gre is the evidence of what Gandhi called the sec
ond social sin — pleasure without conscience.
jideed, the folly of Pinocchio has even be-
mike fuentes mil died the White House. President Bill “It’s-my-
as Bigl2c r ;®y-and-I’ll-lie-if-I-want-to” Clinton is perhaps the
irime example of a people who increasingly put be
ll Hmerry over being moral. By preferring philander-
ng to fidelity, the President has ended up looking
ike a donkey and sharing Pinocchio's rather prodi-
;iols nose.
Blie President’s shenanigans, however, are only
ymptoms of a much deeper problem,
mhe problem is rooted in the very foundations of
iur society. It is a society where the pursuit of plea-
ure is enshrined as an inalienable right. In such a so-
iety, anyone who infringes on this right is dismissed
,s preachy and prudish — even talking crickets are
onsigned to the dustbin of self-righteous do-gooders.
In reality, though, the reason for needing a return
o conscientiousness in this country is not only be-
ause it is the morally right thing to do — although
hat should be reason enough.
Richard Park jiminy’s advice also needs to be resurrected be-
s recovering: ause pleasure without conscience is a quick formu-
mrgety.TheS a for social disintegration.
of their homef §he conscience exists not only to wag a finger in
ough at homehe face of filth; it also exists to protect us from our-
’ Bookout istelves. For a society without its conscience as a
er in the Bigl- (
to watch: F
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onghorns
hey take (lie
will try to reb:
season in ovei
red the embait.
mpaign going rn a speech that left
5 has someyr I the outside world
ed their pitchLperplexed, offend
er postingated and confused, the
eve rend Jerry Fal-
ghornshopetf 'ell declared the An-
;tep right intotbfchrist is a white
exas somein®|wish male who is
he stuff tobeilirlently alive.
t in this leam He should not
ronsistent durilave done this, be- i^*i^^*****
aigns intheBigause the repercussions could prove to
If they get air e enormous.
?xas could col The modern evangelical concept of the
the conference Antichrist is one of a man who expresses
for Texas to he ultimate evil. His purpose is to seduce
postseason auls away from their belief in Jesus. The
mentwitlitntichrist’s coming is supposed to precede
sion to he second coming of Christ.
> team field. Further literature about the Antichrist
Playersriates his life will be similar to that of Je-
Scott Dunn us and it will be easy to confuse him
4.95 , 98 SOjuith Jesus, because of their similarities.
Nicholson 28 lalwell, by claiming the Antichrist can
29) e found amongst Jews, has unwittingly
gleted white Jewish males for potential
ate crimes. Those who heard the story
Aggie firstb ave t0 woncl er what propelled him to
man John " tl,!
Scheschnl.
guide will quickly find itself awash in a
sea of serious problems.
Take MTV’s “Loveline,” for instance,
where pleasure without conscience is
treated as no more than a matter of sex
ual expression. Really, the stories of
shattered lives that appear on the show
are the remnants of relationships broken
by individual pleasure-seeking.
Most unfortunate of all, the patients
do not realize they are sick. Most of the
callers seem to say, “If I want to do the
horizontal tango with my girlfriend and
her sister, don’t step on my feet because
it is none of your business.”
And then, as they relate their often
life-wrecking tales, the hosts manage to
crack a joke or two about it and every
one goes home with a good laugh.
Speaking of good laughs. Exhibit B is
the infamous Jerry Springer. Staged or
not, the shows reveal a cultural confusion
of pleasure and love. Almost every
episode, something along the lines of “I
love her, but the sex with him is great”
can be seen. And in the midst of these
truly disturbed kinds of revelations, chairs
are thrown, chants are shouted and
everyone goes home with a good laugh.
There has never been a segment of
closing thoughts with Jerry, however, that
dares to suggest the real problem with his
guests is the absence of conscience from
their relationships. That just would not be
the popular thing to say.
It is the thing that must be said, though.
It must be said about drinking. When
its pleasure trumps conscience, car acci
dents, alcoholics and dead frat pledges
are inevitable.
It must be said about spending
habits. Because the pleasure of buying
material luxuries is not tempered
enough by conscience, Americans live
in lavish excess while much of the
world lives from meal to meal.
It must be said about sex. When unconstrained
by conscience, its pleasure can lead to broken
hearts, unprepared parents, and exploitative pornog
raphy. Not to mention impeachment trials.
Everyone, if they are honest with themselves, has
followed Pinocchio's lead at one point or another.
The key is to learn from those mistakes. The need is
to see that pleasure without conscience is not some
thing condemned only by moralists.
It is something condemned by any clear-thinking
social scientist.
And it is eloquently implied in the words of a
ROBERT HYNECEK/The Battalion
president.
“A people that values it privileges above its prin
ciples,” said Dwight D. Eisenhower, “soon loses
both.”
Caleb McDaniel is a sophomore history major.
PalwelPs comments about Antichrist
:ould spell disaster for Jewish males
1
Li
GUEST COLUMN
Lisa
FOOX
Hhis.
According to the Dallas Morning
tn rnnf,nJ ews ’ Fal well > th e founder of the reli-
0PQQ f IJjQUs group Moral Majority, has held
' ; iis belief about the Antichrist for more
tion^th^T 40 years - For some reason, he can-
USA, whicrili
in hitting.
not understand how his words could be
construed as anti Semitic. Perhaps he
should try to comprehend the implica
tions of his viewpoint.
The complications that could arise
from Falwell’s statement can be under
stood when viewed in the context of his
tory. The Nazis saw Jews as the “ulti
mate evil” — akin to most people’s
perceptions of the Antichrist — which is
why they proposed their “final solution.”
Therefore, by claiming the Antichrist is a
Jew, Falwell has single-handedly and un
knowingly calling for the destruction of
the Jews. Again.
As Dr. Bill Leonard, a Baptist and
dean of Wake Forest University, said,
“Such is the stuff of which holocausts are
made. Once you start identifying a partic
ular religious community as the source of
the most evil person in the world, what
in the world have you done?”
People are concerned about possible
violence or holocausts, but not because
they think Falwell purposefully tried to
get people to find the Antichrist and kill
him. The concern is, rather, that some
extremists might see his speech as a
cause to murder, mutilate and maim
white Jewish males.
However, the logic behind Falwell’s
argument makes sense — sort of. He said
Jesus is destined to return to Earth in the
next 10 years. So, it follows that the An
tichrist is already here. And since the life
of the Antichrist must parallel that of Je
sus, it is perfectly clear he must be a
Jewish male.
The problem with this philosophy is
“the statement subliminally supports the
stereotyping, and . . . bias towards Jew
ish men,” as Sanford Cloud Jr., president
of the National Conference for Commu
nity and Justice said.
After all, it is not going to be easy for
those who listened to Falwell and believe
him to interact with Jewish men any
more. For if they really believe the An
tichrist is walking among them and con
ducting business with them, it will not
be possible for them to forget they might
be working with the ultimate expression
of evil and corruption. This could lead to
unspoken distrust and fear of Jews, espe
cially Jewish males.
It also appears that Falwell’s words re
flect a “wishful thinking” view of reality.
Jesus is not destined to return in the next
10 years.
In fact, the Old and New Testament
do not mention specific dates or descrip
tions. So Falwell is the bearer of bad
news by focusing the spotlight of the An
tichrist on God’s Chosen People.
In this instance, let the Reverend
choose somebody else.
Lisa Foox is a senior journalism major.
Aggies should take closer
look at racial prejudices
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GET CUliTOlf fWTY. WE
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A&V[
T here once was a lady who lived in
a shoe. She had so much time she
didn’t know what to do. She had
neighbors she didn’t quite favor be
cause their activities they didn’t quite
savor.
Each and everyday she looked
across the way to see if they changed
their activity this day. Each morning
she looked out of her window and
stared as her neighbors hung their
laundry with care.
Each time it blew her mind how they
could find the gall to hang up clothes
with such grime. It happened one day a
close friend stopped by and asked what
was interesting it kept eye.
She replied, “ After washing their
clothes, they hang them on high to en
sure that they will properly dry. Oh,
look how dirty,” she began to exclaim,
“those people should be ashamed!”
The friend agreed and walked to
wards the pane and as she leaned on it,
her clothes got stained. She looked at
her friend and loudly screamed, “You
stupid fool, your windows aren’t clean!”
In his book Race Rules: Navigating
the Color Line, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
states, “There’s no denying that in
terms of racial politics, where you stand
— and the history that makes that
stance both possible and plausible —de
termines what you see and hear.”
This explains why the media, within
its First Amendment right, further neg
ative images and portrayals of people
of color and are able to stand behind
their work with a fervency anyone
could admire.
This also explains why gatherings of
people of color are considered riotous
though they are peaceful.
It is very likely views will be skewed
and understandings will stagnate is per
sons of color are only seen in limited
roles and settings such as sporting
fields, protests and prisons.
Aggies are 34 days into the New Year
and already at odds on race. Most indi
viduals believe all hate crimes are
heinous and when the word “Jasper” is
spoken chills run down the spine of
every man. But on this campus, hate
crimes are committed everyday.
No, lately no one has physically
murdered, but many are being killed
softly. The constant emotional and
mental battles of racial prejudice.
stereotypes and harassment fought by
people of color could dishearten even
the haughtiest soul.
Texas A&M is on a pathway of destruc
tion and the failing ability of the adminis
tration, faculty, staff and student body to
understand and encourage people of col
or as a part of Aggie culture and tradition
is the vehicle by which this destruction
will occur.
If this University is ever to attain
“world-class” status everyone, from ad
ministration to the student body, must
learn to evaluate their thought and per
ceptions on issues of race or be willing
to accept the consequences of the fail
ure to do so.
In the Jan. 27 issue of The Bryan-Col-
lege Station Eagle, an overview if a
study that examined graduates of the
Texas A&M University system in the
workplace found that graduates dis
played deficiencies in areas of commu
nication, professionalism and diversity.
The study stated graduates of the sys
tem, specifically A&M, “lack exposure
to diverse cultures.”
The focus group that performed the
study encourages universities in the
A&M system to “produce more multi
lingual students who are able to deal
effectively with people from different
cultures.”
But the dialogue on race must not con
centrate on diversity alone. The term di
versity contains so many elements that
race becomes convoluted and diluted.
Dyson also states, “The refusal to
face race, or our courageous confronta
tions with its complex meanings, de
fines our national identity.”
The refusal of the administration,
faculty, staff and students to confront
our issues of race and confront its com
plex meanings will continue to define
the University and state.
A&M has been integrated for more
than 30 years. Our country has been
racially segregated and polarized since its
inception. How long will it take to re
move the grime associated with race from
our national personality and conscious
ness, much less collegiate perceptions?
Are Aggies’ windows clean?
LaSondra Carroll is a junior
journalism major.
Dessiree Ewing is a senior food
science technology major.