-
The Battalion
O PINION
Page 11 • Wednesday, November 10, 1999
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MARIANO
CASTILLO
uch
media
cover-
Ige justifiably
las been given
to crises in
Bosnia, Koso-
lo, Iraq and
last Timor.
id-the-clock missiMvars and eth-
ied on two gigantilje cleansing brought attention
rone and MagniHo these nations where civilians
mm was broughigLere caught in the middle,
ep Drone, whichM But while all eyes have been
ie ocean floor. ByMn the Eastern Hemisphere, the
iged by the sharp lined ia only recently has begun
ht, and Deep DiBovering the atrocities taking
:h, Hall said. Rlace in South America, and
ig into all possibHheir treatment of issues has
been poor.
In Colombia, the fight be
tween Marxist rebels and para-
- Arilitary groups have caused a
. -tva n|/ iHiinamtarian disaster. Both
[^/£j[£|^|Hides are selfishly driving peas-
|mt villagers to abandon their
done aftermath ranches and homes in the coun
tryside so they cannot side with
she other group.
failure, humane
If the United
States is serious
about its
war on drugs,
|fl intervention is
I the only option.
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President Andres Pastrana’s
plan to end this bloody civil war
is to negotiate with the rebels.
By doing this, Pastrana has set
up a Jose-lose situation.
Negotiating with rebels is like
playing with fire — only instead
of getting burned, innocent civil
ians are killed or forced from
their homes.
More than 1.5 million Colom
bians have become refugees
since 1985. In an attempt to
jmake peace with the main rebel
roup, the Revolutionary Armed
brees of Colombia (FARC), Pas-
rana has given the rebels an
rea of land to occupy until the
eace process is ironed out.
His decision marks a victory
lor guerrilla rebels, as he broke
the prohibition on negotiating
With them embraced by the in
ternational community.
Pastrana basically has ceded
a chunk of Colombia the size of
Switzerland to a group of rebels
Who see the act not as an initia
tion of peace talks but as a
chance to create their own inde
pendent nation. The biggest
concern is the rebel-held land,
which the government has no
control over, is being used as a
rebel training area and a co
caine-producing powerhouse,
f It is ironic the press constantly
overlooks these developments
but at the same time writes how
the war on drugs is being lost.
How can the battles be fought
if America does not know what is
going on? The guerrilla-occupied
territory is an autonomous
province in Colombia with a co
caine-based economy.
If the media would stop shy
ing away from the continent next
door and make the harsh reali
ties of war mainstream news, the
U.S. government would be able
to make an informed decision
whether to intervene. And if the
United States is serious about its
war on drugs, intervention is the
only option.
If the rebels holding the land
choose to stop negotiations
with the government, it will
take an all-out war to take back
the territory.
If negotiations work, it is
more likely than not that rebels
will retain control of their area.
The United States, the most
effective negotiator in the
world, needs to take part to
avoid chaos.
Just the fact Pastrana is con
sidering negotiating with the
FARC has set off an increase in
rebel and paramilitary activity
in Colombia.
Other rebel groups such as the
Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional
(ELN) have stepped up their kid
nappings and other crimes to
garner attention, which they
hope to turn into a chance at
scoring a deal similar to that of
FARC. Pastrana came off as a
hypocrite by not demilitarizing a
zone for the ELN.
Pastrana’s mistake was a lack
not just of judgment but also of
common sense.
His negotiations mark the
second time Colombia has tried
to make peace with the rebels
by compromising with them.
The first time was under former
President Belisario Betancourt,
who negotiated with the rebels
when they were confined to a
small area.
During peace talks the rebels
spread out around the country
and then turned their backs on
peace. Since then, they have had
strongholds across the country.
If Pastrana is not smart
enough to figure out the rebels
do not play fair, he should not
have run for president.
Jorge Rojas, director of a
Colombia research center, said
in Colombia, the situation gets
worse each year.
“If we look at the total num
bers [of casualties], it’s more than
Kosovo or East Timor by far,” he
told The Houston Chronicle.
If the world’s eyes are not fo
cused on Colombia, they cer
tainly should be.
The civil war is taking a turn
for the worst with Pastrana mak
ing the calls.
The situation needs attention
and involvement from other na
tions to tame it, just as in Bosnia
and Kosovo.
Mariano Castillo is a
sophomore international
studies major.
Floundering Father
Thomas Jefferson’s historical reputation grossly overrated
MARK
PASSWATERS
O ne of the more inter
esting things to
come out of “millen
nium madness” are the
many polls for person of
the millennium.
A&E’s popular series
“Biography” actually did a
poll of select scholars and
public figures ranking the
top 100 people of the last
1,000 years.
No. 16 was Thomas Jefferson, third presi
dent of the United States and author of the
Declaration of Independence, placing him
ahead of George Washington, Abraham Lin
coln and Napoleon Bonaparte. Most people,
remembering their high-school history classes,
would not have a problem with this ranking.
But closer examination shows Jefferson has
been overrated.
There is little question Jefferson was a bril
liant man whose impact will be felt around
the world for years to come.
Still, Jefferson is guilty of some of the most
common of human flaws: hypocrisy and an
inflated ego. Those flaws nearly cost the Unit
ed States its existence.
Jefferson was appointed governor of Vir
ginia after the Second Continental Congress
and did not make a good showing of himself.
In 1780, Jefferson refused to help Gen.
Nathaniel Greene’s army against the British
because he feared this military man might
usurp the power of the people’s official, de
spite the fact Jefferson was not elected. As a
result, Greene’s men were deprived of food
and horses they needed to do battle.
He also badgered Washington to leave the
North to the English and bring his army to
free Virginia, while at the same time refusing
to aid Washington’s subordinate, Greene, in
his quest to retake the South.
Jefferson was President Washington’s first
secretary of state, but what is not widely
known is what Jefferson did to undermine his
fellow Virginian’s presidency.
Washington was opposed to the creation of
any political parties, but Jefferson founded the
Democratic-Republican party (the Democratic
Party’s predecessor) while serving under him.
Fellow partisans James Madison and James
Monroe, while working overseas as presiden
tial appointees, would send coded messages
to Jefferson before they reported their progress
to the president himself.
Jefferson’s refusal to see the French Revolu
tion had gone horribly wrong nearly got the
United States into a war not only with Eng
land but also with the French themselves. Say
ing “the TVee of Liberty must be soaked” with
the blood of revolutionaries, Jefferson aided
attempts to drag America into France’s war
with Great Britain, against Washington’s of
ten-expressed wishes.
During his time as secretary of state, Jeffer
son carped that the president held too much
power and wrote he feared Washington would
make himself king.
Of course, Jefferson was elected president
in 1803 and promptly complained the position
of president did not have enough power.
The history books note that under Jeffer
son’s administration America made the
Louisiana Purchase.
They do not mention Jefferson scrapped
the federal army, saying it was unnecessary.
This decision, supported by his successor
James Madison, resulted in Washington, D.C.,
being burned to the ground in 1812 as Eng
land’s professional army brushed aside Jeffer
son’s belittled militia.
Jefferson’s most blatant fault has also often
been overlooked.
The person who wrote that “all men are
created equal” was a slaveholder. While this is
MAIL CALL
ERIC ANDRAOS/Thf. Battalion
no shock considering he was a large landown
er, Jefferson wrote many “scientific studies”
which “asserted” the intellectual inferiority of
African-Americans.
But Jefferson apparently did not think that
African-American women were too inferior to
sleep with. %
In fact, he took one of his female slaves,
Sally Hemmings, as his mistress. DNA testing
recently has proven Hemmings bore Jefferson
several children.
History has been very kind to Jefferson. He
should be remembered positively for the good
he did.
Whether he deserves the acclaim this na
tion — and “Biography” — have given him,
however, is another story.
Isdale has helped
Beutel care improve
In response to Chris Huffines’
Oct. 29 column.
Huffines’ column contained a
number of false and misleading
statements and unsubstantiated
criticism of the Health Center staff.
Upon her arrival, Dr. Isdale was
required to evaluate management
and fiscal practices.
Expenditures were cut, invento
ry and purchasing procedures
were revised and staffing patterns
were evaluated.
Isdale increased the number of
students seen by doctors and low
ered their wait time to about 20
minutes. The most prevalent stu
dent complaint prior to her arrival
was wait time — it exceeded two
hours. She also implemented oth
er changes to enhance student
care, including keeping the doors
open until 5 p.m. (previously 4
p.m.) and initiating a 24-hour Dial-
A-Nurse program.
Seventy-eight persons have left
the Health Center since September
1995, but not all have quit or been
fired. Fourteen retired, while only
six were terminated. Three termina
tions resulted because of Universi
ty rules to reduce over-staffing. Only
one employee has been fired.
Of the 10 physicians who left,
five retired, four resigned and one
was terminated.
Only one physician filed an em
ployment-related grievance.
Patient satisfaction has risen
the past three years. Qualifica
tions and experience of staff have
improved during that time. The
current physicians’ experience ex
ceeds 27 years on average. The
experience of the nurse practition
ers, nurses and unit supervisors
exceeds 20 years on average.
Huffines’ characterization of
the health-care providers as un-
Mark Passwaters is a senior
electrical engineering major.
suitable “for a Third World plague
ward" is ridiculous. Nothing about
the Health Center, its administra
tion or its staff warrants such a
derogatory statement.
Fully accredited by the Ameri
can Association of Ambulatory
Health Care, the staff is well-quali
fied, hard-working, dedicated and
committed to quality care.
Everyone is entitled to an opin
ion, but I believe Huffines owes the
Health Center staff an apology.
Dr. Bill Kibler
Associate Vice-President
for Student Affairs
Evolutionists should engage creationists calmly, constructively
S cientists are not
always civil, espe
cially when it
comes to a subject they
see as a perennial
thorn in their side —
creationism.
■But civility is pre
cisely what is needed
in the continuing de
bate over human origins.
■Ever since the successful 1955 play
‘Inherit the Wind,” which portrayed the
:rial of John Scopes, a high-school
teacher indicted in 1925 for teaching evo-
ution in his classroom, tensions between
the scientific and religious communities
3nly increased exponentially.
^Recently, a decision by a Kansas
chool board to require the teaching of
:reationism in state classrooms proved
he hatchet has not been buried.
HScientists across the country respond
ed to the Kansas decision with scoffs
ind scorn, which in turn provoked cre-
tionists to vehemently defend the
chool board.
_|Convinced believers on both sides of
he question have inherited nothing but
ot air and plenty of fighting. This con-
taht warfare between science and reli-
GABRIEL RUENES/The Battalion
gion has been unnecessary and definite
ly not nice.
The firing of high-school biology
teacher Stan Roth illustrates just how
low the quality of dialogue has sunk.
The Kansas educator was dismissed
from his job after blowing up at a female
student who asked whether he planned
to teach creationism. According to The
Washington Post, Roth responded to the
question from the “snot-nosed twit” (his
own words) by saying “nonscientific
crap” had no place in his classroom.
Roth has been in trouble with the dis
trict before for throwing chalkboard
erasers at some unruly students and
spraying others with a fire extinguisher.
Roth is not an isolated example of an
angry evolutionist. Pre-eminent biologist
Stephen Jay Gould is guilty of the same
lack of charity in his latest book.
Ironically, Gould said the purpose of
his book. Rocks of Ages, is to establish
that religion and science can coexist
peacefully. He argues that the conflict
between the two has been the fault of
confused thinking and advocates a rec
onciliation of believers and biologists.
But Gould himself does not practice
what he preaches.
The end of the book devolves (no pun
intended) into an angry polemic against
creationists, labeling them as “ignorant”
and “stupid.”
After spending the better part of 100
pages saying religion and science do not
have to fight, page 147 urges evolution
ists to “fight back” against creationists.
How can Gould call creationists out
while calling for reconciliation?
Such adversarial words do a disser
vice to constructive dialogue.
Regardless of who is right or wrong,
evolutionists and creationists stand to
gain nothing by lacing their discussions
with incendiary epithets.
By casting the debate as a “fight,”
both sides stand to lose.
In her book The Argument Culture,
linguist Deborah Tannen criticizes the
“pervasive warlike atmosphere that
makes us approach public dialogue, and
just about anything we need to accom
plish, as if it were a fight.”
Tannen notes how often headlines
blare provocative plugs about the “war
on drugs” or the “battle of the sexes,”
using antagonistic metaphors that im
pede cool, collected discussion.
“Nearly everything is framed as a bat
tle or game in which winning or losing is
the main concern,” she wrote.
The controversy between evolutionism
and creationism clearly is guilty of this
mindset. And Tannen herself, in a book
otherwise urging calm communication,
characterizes creationists as being on
“the fringes of lunacy” within the first 10
pages. She is not a good example of what
she advocates in the book.
To be fair, creationists are just as
guilty for their Cold-War relations with
evolutionists. Some of them historically
have branded their scientific opponents
as everything from heretics to satanists.
Believers in a literal six-day creation
should take more literally the words of
Jesus: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
But evolutionists sometimes are
quicker to zing creationists for their
zealotry than they are to see bombast in
their own ranks.
The subject of where humans came
from requires the utmost sensitivity; it is
a serious question. It does not deserve to
digress into juvenile bickering. And it
surely is a debate worthy of more dignity
than words such as “crap” and “twit.”
Caleb McDaniel is a junior history major.