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Technological regression
Mike Walters questions the Pope’s view on technolo
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homas Jefferson once advised people to “question
with boldness even the existence of a God; because,
if there be one, he must more approve of the homage
of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.” It’s the human
ability to question and reason that has fueled science
and technology and is responsible for the prosperity
enjoyed by people every day.
There are many things that guide people
through their daily lives — their philosophies
and religious beliefs, especially. And while
there’s a tendency to accept basic tenets of re
ligion and philosophy, it’s important to always
question what leaders say, rather than blindly
pting things asserted as truth. While many people
may be reluctant to question things preached by Pope
John Paul 11, his recent comments regarding technology
must be examined.
In a message written on Aug. 6, the Pope criticized
the British government’s decision to permit hu
man cloning for research purposes, denouncing
“the sense of power that every technical progress
inspires in man.” While cloning is a separate issue,
it’s appalling that the pontiff chose to attack not
just this recent breakthrough, but technology itself.
“The results achieved in various fields of sci
ence and technology are considered and defended
by many as a priori acceptable,” he said. “In this
way, one ends up expecting that what is techni
cally possible is in itself also ethically good.”
Few' people would disagree that just because
something is possible, it’s good. For example, it’s
possible to blindly annihilate every human being
on the planet given this nation’s nuclear arsenal,
but obviously this would be a terrible act.
But technological advancements are directly
responsible for the exponential increases in
life expectancy over recent times, as well as
improved standard of living for young and old
alike. The Pope criticized cloning efforts as a
manipulation of human beings, saying that its
researchers believe their efforts to be better than
the efforts of God.
But hasn’t that been the purpose of technology
all along, to increase the quality of man’s life above
what he may be without it? Technology is man’s
means of survival. Man does not have the strength
or claws to compete w r ith animals for surv ival;
he must create tools to live. Those tools began as
spears and fishing and evolved into industries that
in a manner so fantastic that, even a generation ago, couldn’t have been imagined,
advancements bring pride and a sense of power and accomplishment to the human
creators? The power to control one’s own life is natural
and inherent in the acts of living and creation, which
is necessary for life. Medicine certainly “manipulates
human beings.” It’s ironic that the thing which eases
the Pope’s health problems is part of the same things
he’s condemned.
There are talks given every year on this campus
regarding the compatibility of science and reli
gion, and it’s widely believed that it’s possible to
maintain an interest in science without giving up
one’s religious belief. The question of how to inte
grate both of these into one’s life must be answered
individually as students will soon enter any number
of scientific fields.
Author
Jacob
Chanows-
ki once
wrote “It
is impor
tant that
students
bring a certain
ragamuffin, barefoot,
irreverence to their stud
ies; they are not here to
worship what is known,
but to question it.”
As a generation of
men and women soon
to take the world’s stage
as the new scientists,
doctors, engineers and
teachers, it is important to
realize that blindly accept
ing the words of others will
bring only stagnation, but if
they all value progress and advancement, every
thing must be questioned and accepted as truth only
after careful thought and study.
It’s the ability to question everything that will
enable these men and women to be successful,
and students should realize that this questioning
has to happen all the time — be it the words of
teachers in a classroom or the head of the Catho
lic Church.
Mike Walters is a senior
psychology major.
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Joshua Dwyer says Democrats need to listen to their own party members
JOSHUA
DWYER
ith less than two months before the
presidential election, the Demo
cratic and Republican parties are
working hard to energize supporters and
influence undecided voters.
One of the larg-
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est hurdles each
national party must
face is portraying a
clear picture that its candidate will bet
ter represent the voters while providing
a clear sense of direction. Often, this
challenge can become daunting when
either party neglects to recognize a large
group of potential supporters. Discern
ment is necessary, as appealing to diver
gent groups to win an election can make
a candidate appear too political and
insincere, though insufficient outreach
depicts an aloof, unresponsive nominee.
“Our party’s diversity is just one
more reason why Democrats represent the real values of Amer
ica,” said Terry McAuliffe, the chairman of the Democratic
National Committee. The Democratic Party now faces a signifi
cant challenge in its attempt to win the presidential election in
November; representing its constituents.
In light of recent polls by the nonpartisan polling firm Zogby
International, the Democratic Party should openly engage the
abortion debate if it truly wants to represent the values of America.
In an interesting report, 43 percent of Democrats agreed with
To think that the Democratic
Party can avoid an open and
honest dialogue on an issue that
is supported by a majority of
Americans seems like a reckless
way to run a political party.
the statement, “Abortion destroys a human life and is man
slaughter.” The Wall Street Journal reported a more recent poll
by the same firm that concluded 47 percent of Democrats op
posed abortion, except in cases of incest, rape or when the health
of the mother was in jeopardy.
A steadily more vocal segment of
Democrats describe themselves as pro
life, yet the national leadership isn’t ad
dressing their concerns. In fact, none of
the speakers at the Democratic National
Convention were pro-life, nor did any of
the speeches mention the issue of being
a Democrat and opposing abortion. In
contrast with the Republican National
Convention where several speakers were
pro-choice, including some in primetime
television spots, the Democratic leader
ship has some explaining to do.
The facts were the same for the 1992
Democratic National Convention, but
the party may not be able to count on
the same outcome — winning the presidential election — given
the current political climate.
This may be partly attributed to the fact that the national
responses to the polls present an even graver picture for the
current stand of the Democratic Party on abortion. The state
ment, “Abortion destroys a human life and is manslaughter”
was favored by 56 percent of Americans. To think that the
Democratic Party can avoid an open and honest dialogue on an
issue that is supported by a majority of Americans seems like
a rather reckless way to run a political party.
Not only has the Democratic party failed to address the con
cerns of groups such as Democrats for Life, it promotes candi
dates such as presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, who will use
abortion as a litmus test to nominate federal judges, according
to his Web site. This may not be the best way to run a successful
bid for the White House.
Other instances of the Democratic party’s disconnect with the
electorate on the abortion issue include opposing parental notifi
cation and supporting the Intact Dilation and Extraction pro
cedure, or partial-birth abortion. Parental notification involves
notifying a minor’s parents when she seeks to have an abortion
and partial-birth abortions are late term abortions performed as
the doctor delivers all except the head of the fetus, “but then
punctures the back of the skull and removes the brain before
completing delivery,” according to About.com. The Democratic
Party doesn’t entertain debates on either issue, though the public
response to both has been overwhelmingly at odds with the
party’s positions.
If it seeks to represent Americans with any conviction in the
future, the Democratic Party should not exclude certain people
just because they may have different opinions, even on contro
versial subjects such as abortion.
Joshua Dwyer is a sophomore
political science major.
MAIL^CALL
17!
All groups should receive
football block seating
I would like to request that my roommates and I be
given a reserved block of four seats on first deck for
all football games this year. Just like the Aggie Greeks,
we give many things back to A&M and this community
every day in our own special way, and thus we think we
deserve the best seats in Kyle Field every week.
One of my roommates regularly does more commu
nity service around College Station than the average
Greek student is required to do. Another one of my
I II roommates is an executive in Town Hall and is respon-
| sible for bringing music and culture to our campus. My
M other roommate is a writer and a painter who brings
'I honor and prestige to our Liberal Arts department on a
|| daily basis. Finally, by working at CIS, I make it a prior
s' ity everyday to make sure your Internet and computing
technology is always up to date and in working order.
We understand that we haven’t been around as long
as the Corps, but we feel that our accomplishments
are just as important. I know that the Greek community
will support us 100 percent because they are fighting
the same fight. They are working hard to remind all of
us that they are more important than every other Aggie
in Kyle Field because of the size of their membership.
Joel Edwards
Class of2005
Assault rifles don’t have
impacts on violent crimes
In response to John David Blakley’s Sept. 3
column:
According to state reports from Florida, California
and a number of other states, before the 1994 gun
ban was put in place, assault weapons were used in
approximately 2 to 3 percent of all crimes. A police
chief in New Jersey said that his men were more likely
to face a tiger on the street than a criminal with an as
sault rifle. The National Institute of Justice and the Jus
tice Department recently completed a study in which
they could find no correlation between the assault
weapon ban and crime reduction. With these facts in
mind, Mr. Blakley’s claim that assault weapon-related
crime was reduced is meaningless.
Mr. Blakley said that this ban is not an effort to
curtail Second Amendment rights. The purpose of
the Second Amendment was to guarantee that the
people always be armed to be able to defend them
selves against all enemies and to prevent tyranny in
this country. For this reason, the idea of a standing
army was rejected by many of our Founding Fathers,
because a standing army could easily become a tool
of the government in enslaving the people. Appar
ently, Mr. Blakley does not trust his fellow Americans
with their rights as citizens.
Timothy Cook
graduate student
College Station should
let everyone recycle
I applaud the efforts of the City of College Station for
their curbside recycling program, although currently
no program is in place for multi-family recycling. Multi
family recycling would include recycling in apartment
complexes. Due to the high amount of apartments lo
cated within College Station, it is disappointing that this
service is not provided for the large population living in
multi-family units.
In the past, the city has tried several multi-family
recycling pilot programs but due to high amounts of
contamination levels the pilot program was dropped. I
believe that people living in multi-family units are just
as capable as those living in single family units as long
as information on separation and on what can and can
not be recycled is available and visible at all locations.
The City of College Station has received consider
able citizen input about implementation of a multi-fam
ily recycling program, but due to the current economic
environment this proposal has yet to make it to the final
budget. This may change if more residents in multi
family units support a multi-family recycling program
by notifying the recycling coordinator of College Station
either by phone or e-mail by going to the City of College
Station’s Web site.
Tyann Blessington
graduate student