arch 10, |i
Battalion
Opinion
Page 9 • Wednesday, March 10,1999
0
et’s talk about sex, Billy
linton’s sexual behavior exemplifies symptoms of sex addict needing professional help
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David
LEE
F ine, no more
Monica Lewin
sky talk. But
for the sake of argu
ment, forget for the
moment that Bill
Clinton is the Presi
dent of the United
States.
Forget the notion
that he is the most
powerful man in the free world.
When it comes down to it, he is a
perverted old man with a family in
shambles.
These are harsh words for a harsh re
ality, a reality shared by many families
across this nation who have been
ripped apart by infidelity. Perhaps this
is why so many people can relate to the
soap opera of the past year and still
support the President.
it is truly sad that in the midst of all
the sex, lies and videotape, no one has
cared to examine the human elements
of this tragedy; a wife scorned, a daugh
ter disgraced. Those wounds may never
heal.
No one knows if Clinton’s meager
attempts at reconciliation will work.
So, what is the best course of action
he can take in regaining the trust of
his family? Other than swearing off his
craving for cigars, he should admit
that he is a sex addict and seek profes
sional help.
There.is no denying it; all the signs
are there. Sex Addicts Anonymous’
(www.sexaa.org) and Sexaholics’
Anonymous’ (www.sa.org) self-ques
tionnaires urges anyone who answers
yes to any of the following questions to
seriously consider getting professional
help for sex addiction:
Do you keep secrets about your
sexual or romantic activities from
those important to you? Do you lead a
double life? Yes and yes. It is not likely
that Bill informed Hillary of his close
encounters with his mistresses as they
were going on. The infamous Starr Re
port documents quite thoroughly his
two-faced nature, how he led a naive
Monica Lewinsky into thinking that he
would leave his wife after his term in
office expired.
Months later, at his reelection victory
speech, he clasped the hands of his
daughter and his wife proudly in front
of the cameras, extolling the greatness
of family values. Yeah right.
The Starr Report also cited his re
marks to Lewinsky that he had cheated
on his wife countless times before, sub
stantiating the claims of Gennifer Flow
ers. This is obviously a disturbing pat
tern that cannot be denied.
Have your needs driven you to
have sex in places or situations or
with people you would not normally
choose? Well, the hallway outside the
Oval Office is not exactly the most ro
mantic of places to get intimate with
someone.
Perhaps a romantic romp through
the Rose Garden may have been more
appropriate of a setting. Unless the
President has a seriously perverted
sense of what is kinky, receiving oral
sex while on the phone with a member
of Congress is not something any nor
mal person desires.
Do you lose time from work for it?
Seeing as how all of the encounters in
question took place near or within the
Oval Office, one can argue that the Pres
ident was slacking off on the job.
Does pursuit of sex make you care
less for yourself or the welfare of your
family or others? Vernon Jordan, Sid
ney Blumenthal, Betty Currie, Monica
Lewinsky, Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clin
ton, the Republican party, the American
people. The casualty list goes on and
on.
As the saying goes, the first step to re
covery is admitting a person has a prob
lem. Who knows, maybe when his life in
the White House is over. President Clin
ton can become a spokesperson for sex
addicts everywhere. Maybe a joint speak
ing tour can be arranged with his former
competitor Bob Dole, the spokesperson
for impotent men and Viagra.
Two men at opposite ends of the sex
ual virility spectrum. They would make
strange bedfellows. The possibilities are
endless. The President should seek pro
fessional help in light of this impromptu
questionnaire.
History will make its judgement on
him as a president, something that he is
consumed.
Perhaps with the admission that he
has a problem and is willing to seek
help, history will not be as cruel on
William Jefferson Clinton.
David Lee is a sophomore general
studies major.
d the in
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4) gave
st exhifc
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mpton
id in the
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People should be allowed to smoke without fear of punishment
■
U r-p
I I
hank you for not
smoking.” In such a
politically correct
Jftie, when a person cannot
V doilt 1 ca ^ a “ a midget”
‘ 1I 1 .they prefer to be called “little
hris ^
Hernai
jHople”), it is astonishing that
h£re is still one group of people
1 the
idded aif
Demond
REID
’ l ? c j^>ho are discriminated against.
?aa ■This group is publicly
shamed, and outright ridiculed
1 1 :or what they choose to do. No, not the Spice Girl
’ ^ IU ‘ :ans, the persecuted group in question is the yel-
ow-toothed, funky-breathed, cancer cell incubator
a 10 ! iraternity known as smoking.
t Smokers are about as hated as the Internal Rev-
Service in mid-April. Smokers should be left
ilone and be allowed to suck on as many cancer
sticks as they can. As Darwin’s theory of natural
■ection proves, the herd always finds a way of
thinning itself out, and the herd in this country is
ping pretty thick.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau the popula
tion in this country is roughly 272 million. That is
too many people for this small piece of land. Smok
ers should be rewarded because they are volunteer
ing to kill themselves to make room for other peo
ple. If smokers do not care about their own health,
why should other people?
Based on the intense anti-smoking campaigns,
the majority of non-smoking zealots think the ends
justify the means, so they have the right to try to
shame smokers into quitting, because it is for their
own good. That raises the question, “Why is this
tactic employed against smoking when other bad
habits have just as a bad of an effect.”
Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop assert
ed obesity is a chronic disease that afflicts more
than 58 million Americans, accounts for $100 bil
lion annually in health care costs and causes
318,000 deaths per year.
Obesity’s annual fatality rate falls a close second
behind smoking’s fatality rate. Acknowledging
these statistics, why are fat people not as persecut
ed as smokers?
If Johnny Emphysema wants to puff down a
pack of Marlboros through the hole in his trachea,
that is his problem. But when big Bertha decides to
squeeze her 250-plus pound frame into a thong
bikini and scamper across the beach, it effects
every person who witnesses such an ungodly sight.
Anti-smoking legislation pops up in the most
unnecessary places. As of Jan. 1, Californians are
no longer allowed to smoke in bars. The reason is
Sacramento lawmakers said they are protecting the
health of bar patrons who do not smoke.
First of all-, if these patrons are so concerned
with their health, maybe they should not be in a
bar to begin with.
Second, and most important, there is no evi
dence linking second-hand smoke to lung cancer.
In fact a subgroup of the World Health Organiza
tion (a smoking foe), called the International
Agency on Research on cancer, did a large scale
study on the health risk of second-hand smoke.
It compared 650 lung cancer patients with 1,542
healthy people in seven European countries. The
results were expressed as risk ratios, where the
normal risk for a nonsmoker of contracting lung
cancer is 1.
People exposed to tobacco smoke in the home .
had a risk factor of 1.16 and the risk to people ex
posed to tobacco smoke in the workplace increased
to 1.17.
Ordinarily this would represent in increase of 16
or 17 percent, but since the margin of error is so
wide — 0.93 to 1.44 — the true risk ratio could be
trivial or even nonexistent. Simply, there is a better
chance of seeing Mark Fuhrman at the next Million
Man March, than contracting lung cancer through
second hand smoke.
In the Revolutionary War, brave patriots fought
for life, liberty and the pursuit of self-destruction.
This is the land of the free and the home of the
brave, so law-abiding citizens should be able to en
gage in any activities that do not affect anyone else.
Since second -and smoke is the only way smok
ers can affect other people, and second hand has
been proven to be harmless, smokers should be al
lowed to smoke without any social stigma.
Demond Reid is a sophomore journalism major.
MAIL CALL
e.
Is
to the
-ableS/
onday
-chase
Cash,
h
lome-schoolers
>t poorly educated
In response to Brandon
Vlullen’s Mar. 9 opinion column.
■ I agree that home-schooled
students should be held to high-
sr standards than the Universi-
yls current admission stan
dards. Placing them on the
same level as out-of-state stu
dents seems appropriate,
i However, I believe Mullen’s ar
gument that home-schooled stu
nts are socially “undevel-
ed” is absurd.
My sister has been taught at
me for the past 10 years. She
stable to communicate better
than some colleges students I
ow. She interacts with both
ults and peers without any
ndicap merely because she
attends school at home.
11 fail to see how the argument
an social skill development is at
all related to admission stan
dards of the University.
The only "other education”
home-schooled students may
miss out on is constant peer
pressure, popularity contests,
and crowded classrooms that
students from public schools re
ceive.
Home-schooled teens are no
different than other students ex
cept they learn in a more con
trolled environment that pro
motes a good self-image.
In the future, I hope debates
over home-schooled students re
mains focused on issues of im
portance. If you argue for fair
admissions standards, keep ar
guments focused on SAT scores
and extracurricular activities.
Please keep your own biased
views on social development out
of the argument.
Emily Puder
Class of ’01
As a student who was home
schooled from fifth to 10th grade,
I was concerned that the view
point expressed by Brandon
Mullen in his column on home
schooling would go without com
ment.
Home schooling is a difficult is
sue to address because, by its
very nature, it is characterized by
a wide disparity of academic and
social development.
I am quite fortunate because
my parents worked hard to pre
pare me academically and socially
to meet the challenges of the
world. I feel that their efforts have
largely paid off.
Academically I have done well, I
am a junior physics major with a
4.0 GPA. Socially I think I have
also held my own. I am the presi
dent of a student organization,
and a small group Bible study
leader.
I credit whatever success I have
had in college to my parents’ abili
ties and commitment in educating
me at home. In my experience,
home schooling works when the
parents and student are willing to
invest time and effort into it.
The people I have known who
have had negative home-schooling
experiences had parents who did
n’t do a good job.
Home schooling allows par
ents to provide a rich, challenging
and nurturing learning environ
ment for their student which is.of
ten better for all aspects of his or
her life, including the social as
pect, than a conventional class
room.
I know that I have more to offer
A&M because of my years of be
ing home schooled. I have not
been “short-changed for life,” in
stead I will be reaping benefits,
-both academic and social, all my
life.
Julia Smith
Class of ’00
Professor’s policy
necessary step
In response to Zach Hall’s Mar.
9 opinion column.
The key question that Hall
fails to ask is, “Who’s in power?”
Who makes more money for
equal work, males or females?
Who maintains the vast major
ity of political power in the U.S.,
males or females?
Who is centralized in issues
of language, males or females?
On the other side of the coin:
Who are more often the vic
tims of rape and aggression by
members of the opposite sex,
males or females?
Who, as victims, are more of
ten blamed for instigating the
rape and aggression they suffer,
males or females?
Who, only recently, finally re
ceived the legal right to vote in
the U.S., males or females?
In order for men and women
to be treated equally in the U.S.,
structural changes in our society
will have to take place.
I believe the Boston College
professor is working toward that
end.
Tim Birchard
Doctoral student
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