ptembcr 6, i
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Phursday, September 6, 2001
Page 7B
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RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
Hey God > remember me?
People have sacrificed spirituality for society
A ll too often in today’s soci
ety, spirituality is crowded
out by commitments and
activities, a point of neglect that
has led our
nation into a per
petual spin down
the toilet bowl of
morality. As our
society continues
to be driven
toward seeking
financial success
at all costs, spiritual guidance in
the home has hit an all-time low.
This neglect can be seen
everywhere. A glance at late-
night television programming
reveals nothing but sexual situa
tions, while evening news pro
gramming revolves around the
latest murders and rapes.
Data from the U.S. Census
Bureau indicates that during the
last 40 years, violent crimes have
risen to 3.5 times the 1960 rate,
while rapes and assaults are up
nearly 10 times since that time.
Many blame our problems on
explicit television programming
and violent video games, but
these are only symptoms of the
larger problem.
America’s ability to shut out
indecent content has been lost.
Choices are made based on the
moral code that has been taught,
and it is no coincidence that the
family and societal values that
America wants to reclaim are the
same morals most religions are
built on. As society puts religion
further behind the pursuit of
money, its morals have drifted
accordingly. Unfortunately, this
spiritual slump is not restricted
to the working world. This trend
has slipped into the life of the
average college student who
often finds it hard to manage
their time. The decision to attend
church on Sunday morning has
become trivial, hindered by long
hours at the office and sleepless
nights of school work.
Without the moral direction
offered by the church, the aver
age household becomes vulnera
ble to many negative influences.
Society has become too busy to
police itself and is allowing the
media to dictate the moral code.
The average business person's
schedule has become so full that
he or she is no longer able to
monitor what enters their house
hold. Children are often left at
home alone, too naive to turn off
an explicit show. With no one
home to guard their eyes.
As our society continues to
he driven toward seeking
financial success at all
costs, spiritual guidance in
the home has hit an all-
thne low.
America’s youth are bombarded
by shows like “Temptation
Island” and “Jerry Springer” and
left at the mercy of the TV net
works for role models.
Growing up in a home where
these shows are regularly
watched has left many young
adults craving sensationalism.
People have become too interest
ed in shows focusing on sexuali
ty and shock value, and are now
unwilling to sacrifice just a little
entertainment for the sake of
moral decency. America is head
ed towards a state of moral
instability with little hope in
sight.
A new generation must repair
the damage done by the morally
lax policies currently in place.
As soon-to-be leaders of the
community, students must make
the decision to develop their
spiritual identity early, in order
to make an impact in their own
households.
Unfortunately, in college the
decision to maintain spirituality
becomes tough. Between home
work assignments, organization
meetings and work schedules,
students barely have the time to
attend religious activities. The
tendency to start strong and finish
weak is a common one. Students
often begin the year by attending
religious gatherings, but become
overwhelmed by school and quit
going.
“Each year we see a drop off
rate of about 20 percent from the
beginning of the year to the end
of the year.” said Gregg Matte of
Breakaway Ministries, which is
a praise-and-worship ceremony
held weekly in Reed Arena.
Students often begin with the
best of intentions only to be
sidetracked by other commit
ments. People must make the
decision to set aside the time for
religion or otherwise risk
becoming another person with a
full wallet and empty morals.
These problems will not improve
until people institute spirituality
in their homes. The American
lifestyle has become too busy for
spiritual focus and is now paying
the price by slowly destroying
itself.
Tim Dyll is senior electrical
engineering major.
TIM
DYLL.
MAIL CALL
f\0\\ Rowan was wrong
In j response to Rolando Garcia's
Se/ f . 4 article:
dicures
on,
■ The Josh Rowan matter has
generated a lot of discussion on
the A&M campus. After reading
the article on Monday in which
Rowan was interviewed, I was dis
gusted by his blatant attempt to
defame other members and con
tributors of his own organization,
p He gave no evidence to back up
his accusations, and then he
defamed himself by allowing the
letter from Tom Fitzhugh to be
published in part. Before I move
into the crux of this response, I
would also like to point out that the
alcohol issue is probably one of the
lesser matters in this case. Alcohol
has been deemed the central
theme in this case because 1) that
is all that Rowan has admitted to
and 2) that was a main theme of
Fjtzhugh's email. I believe the
other matters - drugs and inappro
priate sexual behavior - are proba
bly more relevant.
! After many of Rowan’s com
ments in the article on Monday,
specifically his last ditch effort at
bringing other MSC members
down with him, and from knowl
edge of past events, it is not incon
ceivable that those charges are
true as well. This leads to the real
intent of the response. Many peo
ple have complained that this mat
ter should be made public.
I disagree with this when look
ing at it from the MSC’s perspec
tive, and here’s why. People
make mistakes. People change.
The first statement means that
people sometimes do stupid
things, sometimes repeatedly
until they are caught.
No matter the circumstances,
these people should be able to
face the music with little publicity
when possible. In this case,
Rowan acted inappropriately on a
trip to Italy. No one else besides
the MSC and the other students
and sponsors involved should have
to know while a decision is made.
This leads to the second state
ment — people change. It would
be a shame for someone to make
a mistake and then be branded for
it forever. When the person
changes, he or she could never
regain what was lost. In the case
of student leaders, the MSC and
the University is trying to protect
students from just this sort of
thing.
Finally, there is the problem of
teaching student leaders to be
CARTOON OF THE DAY
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responsible. Surely, by hiding
these types of incidents and allow
ing student leaders to continue
serving the student body, A&M is
not ttaining effective leaders who
possess strong character and
integrity. By making these inci
dents public and forcing student
leaders to take more responsibility,
the likelihood of producing such
leaders increases dramatically. I
personally favor this latter
approach to the forever.
Ryan Riley
Class of 2001
The tradition is lost
In response to Sommer Bunco’s
Sept 5th article.
It should come as no surprise
to anyone that there wa such a
poor response to the request for
ideas on 2002 Bonfire. When the
committee’s were established they
instituted a wall between those
who passionately love the tradition
of Bonfire and the MSC politicians.
With the design committee
chaired by Josh Rowan and out
numbered by staff members 8 to
6, there are inherent flaws here
and this is evident in the response.
I have personally met the engineer
and think he is a great choice. He
wants all the input he can get and
is very receptive however all input
must go through the University’s
head of the physical plant.
If he is working for us and for
our tradition why can we not sub
mit ideas directly to him at a forum
here on campus? There are many
ideas out there that people are will
ing to submit as well people who
want to get involved. It is time to
overhaul the Bonfire 2002 student
leadership to include those who
are passionate about it. When you
allow unbiased and even student
input the walls can be torn down
and Bonfire can once again unify
our campus.
Joe Dyson
Class of 2002
Small Town World
President Bush visits small town America
(U-WIRE) MADISON, Wis. — “It was
cheesy, and he knew it.”
That was the reply of my associate after
taking pictures of President Bush sawing
boards and laying tiles during a photo oppor
tunity. The pseudo-carpentry took place dur
ing a Labor Day rally at a carpenters’ union
trading center in Kaukauna, Wis.
The comment encapsulated my feelings
about campaigns in general. 1 could not under
stand how rallies, commercials, and cheesy
photo-ops could be very effective. They cer
tainly had no effect on me. I actually found
these traditional campaign tools rather humor
ous and the blatant pandering a bit embarrass
ing. But then 1 remembered a realization I had
just a few weeks earlier upon my return from a
summer in Washington, D.C.
After picking me up from the airport, my
father was kind enough to take me out to eat at
the nicest restaurant in my hometown. I soon
realized that two months in Washington was
enough to induce culture shock over the fact
that a meal could cost only $15 (remember,
this is the nicest restaurant in town!).
Soon after being seated, I overheard a gen
tleman at the next table ask what the price was
for the “Catch of the Day.” I reflected that not
only would I be too embarrassed to do the
same in Washington, but also I would definite
ly order “The Catch,” regardless of price. It
would be mortifying to do otherwise, even if I
was a poor college intern. Suddenly it hit me.
A mere two months in Washington and I had
already forgotten about small town America.
Of course, I was not alone. Few, if anyone, in
Washington remembers small town America.
Small town America is awed and deeply
appreciative when the leader of the free world
takes the time to visit. In Kaukauna we wit
nessed the president make an appearance in front
of 1,700 union members, traditional Democrats,
who cheered for nearly a minute and a half and
chanted “George Bush” as he was introduced.
Signs and billboards up and down the highway
welcomed him to Green Bay. All listened atten
tively to the president’s speech, and the intermit
tent cheering suggested that the crowd agreed
with a quite a bit of it, or at least they did now.
Needless to say, our critique during the car
ride home was not quite as kind. But once I took
a step back and realized the position from which
we were making our critique, I realized the
speech was not for us, but for those carpenters
who care infinitely more about the Green Bay
Packers than they do about Washington politics.
In fact, small town America usually notices
Washington only when they are directly affected.
And the number of issues that fall under this
classification may be small, but the feelings pro
voked are not. In short, while Washington is
pragmatic, small town America is principled.
For example, the congressman I interned for
comes from a very pro-life district, and thus it is
no surprise that he himself is pro-life — quite
avidly so. But the reality is that he has no ehoice.
I witnessed this by reading constituent letters
during President Bush’s prolonged deliberation
on stem-cell research. The vast majority equated
stem-cell research with infanticide — an extreme
position, regardless of your views on the issue.
But such sentiment is widespread, leaving the
congressman with no viable political option
other than opposing the research (1 do not know
his personal feelings on the issue).
Similarly, those that support gun control
often seem puzzled why they are unable to
enact more legislation. The answer is that
there are millions of pro-gun Americans who
vote for politicians solely on their stance on
guns. Polls may indicate that most Americans
favor gun control, but polls do not reflect the
intensity of those that favor guns. But the
starkest difference between Washington and
small town America is that while Washington
sees money in millions and billions, small town
America sees money in dollars and cents.
For those in small town America, the “Catch
of the Day” may just break the budget. In
Washington, politicians fight for earmarked pork,
and are concerned that they have not “gotten
anything” for a major town in their district.
This fundamental difference in the perception
of money is the most compelling argument for
local government and lower taxes. I thought I
spent money liberally when I was in Washington
— I can only imagine my behavior had the
money not been my own.
Small town America is impressed by the pres
ident sawing a board. It is about time for
Washington to understand the voting power and
be impressed by the fiscal sanity of small town
America.
Ben Thompson is a writer for the Badger Herald
at the University of Wisconsin.
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