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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2001)
iason, the Aja -0 win over theli the Aggie Soci son. Tech is 2-5 (Utscored 15-9, li ;a, which A&M ibition play. ) has also strui The Buffaloes not scored more i any game, eat Colorado tii once in the rei I once in the : Big 12 toum; lined score of a 6-0 all-time Buffaloes, ies have been lai .insey Johnson mson has scord five of the A] .‘ither leads the the lead in all ategories. She Jig 12 newconp r her performancti -Nike Invitati scored the w Washington. Aggies return weekend, they msecutive gaii^ ccer Complex, n-conference i Oct. 5, andei lebraska on Oct med from Ptif mixed doubles, .irded for each it team with theroT id vance to the net (petition, one of our npionship competi- only one that is co- AM men's mu Cass, “ffsitfi^ /e won two fXR t really putting th< he players, to®' ^t year, to bringtk j his weekend.” J m’s first schedulfi; was to be hi -16 in Fayettevill s canceled by i* Arkansas afterth ' President of Prayer folio* I n the wake of the largest terrorist attack in American history, questions of religion and faith have become central in the eyes of the nation. Churches across the country were flooded with worshippers who needed a place to pray and mourn for those who were murdered in the attacks. Despite the solace to be found in churches, organized religion as a whole has caused more pain and suffering than it is worth. Undoubtedly, religion in one form or another is an important aspect of each individual’s life, regardless of whether one actually attends church. In order to make sense of the world around them, each individual must have some basic set of beliefs in order to sensibly make their way through the world. However, while religion itself is important to individuals, organized reli gion has been a burden to society rather than a help. Since before the Crusades, people of organized faiths have been competing with each other to prove that their religion is the one true religion. As a result, the world has been inundat ed with holy wars throughout history. The most infamous example was the Crusades of 1096, when Pope Urban II pro moted warfare under the auspice of reclaim ing the Holy Lands from the barbarian Turks. Although the Crusades are the most well-known, it is by no means the only major war fought over religious differences. The Huguenot Wars, also known as the Wars of Religion, were a series of civil wars in late 16th century France in which the immediate issue was the French Protestant’s struggle for freedom of worship. Despite this, organized religion has been cited as a simple solution for vir tually all of society’s problems. Concern about violent crime, espe cially deadly crimes committed by youths on other youths has had the nation’s attention for over a year, and numerous columnists and religious leaders have pointed to decreased atten dance in church as the reason. Ironically, such solutions are proposed at a time when violent crime is drop ping. Violent crime against children is also decreasing. The fact is that despite, or perhaps However, while religion itself is important to individuals, organ ized religion has been a burden to society rather than a help. because of, a society that has become more secular, the world has become a better place over all. This is because for the first time in history, people are begin ning to realize that the edicts of organ ized religion must be thought about and considered before an individual adopts those ideas. As Martin Luther argued in the early 16th century, individuals must be able to think about religion on their own without the church acting as an intermediary. Once people begin to think for themselves and develop their own moral codes, the world stands in a much better position for peaceful progression. Even as an individual successfully argued that religion does not cause vio lence, it certainly does nothing to stop it. Religion serves as a useful tool for those who wish to perpetrate it. In wartime when virtually every American has been affected by the recent tragedy, churches have served a function in providing people with a place to congregate and mourn our losses in prayer. However, at the same time, Muslims within our com munity are too frightened to leave their homes for fear of misguided retribution. Why would Americans do such a thing? Perhaps they have read Matthew 10:14-15, in which Jesus tells his disciples to condemn those who do not fol low his teach ings. If Jesus has such a low regard for non-believers, why should his followers? In this way, religious teach ings can be used to promote violence and anger towards those of other faiths. As Robert Green Ingersoll said in “Crumbling Creeds,” “the doctrine of eternal punishment is in perfect harmo ny with the savagery of the men who made the orthodox creed.” America has needed a place to come together and mourn, and for such pur poses the churches have been useful. However, as a whole, organized religion has led to Holy Inquisitions, religious warfare and individual cases of violence against those of other faiths. Hopefully the near future will allow us to come to the point where organized reli gion will no longer be necessary, where each person will take the time to educate themselves about the various own views, experiences and needs. The time for indi viduals to be molded by the views of the churches they grew up in has come to a close. Rich Bray is a junior journalism major. SHARMILA BADKAR • THE BATTALION dies in New 1051 tgton, D.C., They will comps] igeles, Calif., at the ITA Al ^Michael Jordan should stay off the court impionsfrips. s team was als participate in legiate being hoS r University Waco, but tl* Irew earlier # next compete m Antonio win* te in the UTSi ctober 5-7. M ichael Jordan left the NBA at the top of his career. He hit the vinning shot in the NBA : inals and left on top of the >ame. In Jordan's last six full ieasons, he won six champi- mships. Charles Barkley char- derize Jordan as “the best to w play the game.” mance from tfe thest ranked nff ns redshirted se' the experiencef championships er runners (fori* : are going to ^ oing to be a yomi e squad. CONS I vrters For Rock, ' Aggie T-shirts! MENTION TIC AND LS. INCENSE RY. POSTEFSl i more! \rs Court I ALL THOMAS CAMPBELL By announcing his return as a player, Jordan elinquished his role as President of the Vashington Wizards where he was in charge of (layer operations. While rebuilding a team can aketime, there has been no headway in his effort omake the Wizards a championship-caliber team. Jordan has been working out and practicing ance March in an ill-advised effort to make a econd comeback. On Tuesday, Jordan innounced by fax, the much anticipated decision oreturn as a player to the NBA. Jordan’s return, lowever, will not benefit himself or the Wizards. Jordan will always be considered at least me of the best ever, but his imminent come- ack is a mistake. At age 38, Jordan will no onger be able to play at the level he once (layed. Jordan will not only be playing agains't other teams or challenging his teammates — Jordan will be playing against his own title as the greatest basketball player ever. Jordan will be competing against how great he was with the Chicago Bulls — and he will lose. A few months ago, Jordan broke some ribs in a scrimmage. One of Jordan’s best friends, Barkley, witnessed Jordan’s injury. Barkley said “It wasn’t a rough tactic when he got hurt, and it was something that 10 years ago would n’t have affected him.” Things that would not have bothered Jordan before have become more of an issue now, since his body is aging. Jordan’s return will also be bad for the future of the Wizards franchise when dealing with their NBA success. The best thing the Wizards can do is build their team around the young and talented Kwame Brown, their number one draft pick in 2001. Brown is 20 years younger than Jordan, and has the potential to play many more years. The Wizards team is young, and when Jordan plays with them, it could stifle the team’s growth. Jordan will be the go-to player, which would mean less chances for the young and inexperienced players to improve. The Wizards are no-where near where a championship team needs to be. The team will be more reminiscent of the Chicago “Jordanaries” of the late 1980s — teams that were good because of Jordan, but had no one else. Jordan’s championship teams in Chicago had very good supporting players — which he will not have in Washington. Washington will improve with Jordan, but not enough to con tend for the championship. And they will have too good a record to continue rebuilding through the draft. One reason for a comeback is money. Right now the Wizards are not one of the most mar ketable teams in the NBA. Their only “star” has never played a game above high school varsity. Washington is scheduled for no games on NBC. Adding Jordan would instantly add millions of dollars to the Wizards revenue as well as to the Wizards internationally marketability. NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol stated that NBC would show the Wizards on television the maxi mum number of times, 11, if Jordan came back. Turner spokesman Greg Hughes said that TBS and TNT would broadcast their maximum of 15 games for the season should Jordan return. Going from not being nationally televised to being seen more than any other team would instantly add to the Wizards profits, which Jordan has a vested interest. Jordan is currently an owner in the 5-10 percent range according to ESPN. According to CNN, Jordan, the Wizards and NBA Commissioner David Stern had meet ings to talk about transferring his share in the Wizards for a larger share of the Washington Capitals, an NHL team, as well as the parent company of both teams. Jordan’s return looks more like a financial deal than anything else, despite his pledge to give his entire salary to victims of the attack in Washington and New York. The only people it would benefit are those in line to make money off of his return, including Jordan himself, despite his charity in donating his salary. Jordan has passed the torch to such stars as Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. By taking the spotlight away from these young players, NBA fans may lose interest when Jordan retires again in a year or two. It is time for Jordan to make his mark and show his excellence in a new way, in the front office of the Wizards. Jordan can create a new legacy a GM, and further build the legend of his His Airness. Thomas Campbell is a senior agricultural journalism major. banning media protects lives 'n response to George Deutsch’s Sepf. 26th column: F « Ir. Deutsch’s idea of letting the ^ nedia accompany the military luring combat operations may 7 1 sound like a great idea in the class- oom and on paper, unfortunately 1 doesn't work nearly that well out tithe field. My own experience in lealing with the media came while fcrving as a machine gunner in he United States Marine Corps in Somalia in 1995. My gun team, with three others, was sent in ahead of the rest of the battalion to secure the area. As soon as we hit the beach, reporters and cam eramen were all over us. Everytime a firefight would break out, media personnel would come rushing in. There is enough to worry about when a sniper is tak ing shots at you and your fellow Marines without having to worry about some reporter or camera man getting in your way and com promising your life or the lives of your fellow Marines. The ban on civilian media accompaniment of our troops is to protect the lives of our fighting men and it is the right thing to do. Steve Griddle Class of2004 MAIL CALL UT grad admires Aggie pride As a 4th generation UT gradu ate, I never fully understood the Spirit of Aggieland until Saturday, Sept. 22nd. I was on campus to watch my son, Kenneth, who is a fish in the Corps. Once I saw the t-shirts, I had to have one and to attend the game. Thank goodness I could still get a ticket. The half time performance of the Aggie Band was incredible and in the silence prior to the playing of God Bless America someone yelled, ‘‘Beat the hell Outta, bin laden!” Before I knew it, I let out siiiSiliiB* CARTOON OF THE DAY a whoop! with the rest of the Aggies. I am so proud of the stu dents’ efforts to RWB Out Kyle Field and of the cooperative efforts of Aggies across the state to produce the shirts. The patri otism displayed by the current and former A&M students was obvious. They are the type of people who have and will contin ue to make our country great. Ann Symanek Get off the phone If there is one thing that was never meant to happen in the progression of mankind, I think it would be talking on a cell phone while riding a bike. There is a fundamental prob lem with using one hand to steer and the other to hold a cell phone to make an undoubt edly important phone call. I used to get frustrated with traffic on freeways caused by distracted drivers talking on cell phones, but I think that this is a far greater danger to people. It amazes me that peo ple can ride their bikes around campus wherever they want and expect priority over the vast majority of campus, pedestrians. Thomas Franklin Class of2005 'TUs Rte>c>N'\vf-<£>