The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 08, 1991, Page 2, Image 2
Apathy
USC students for the most part
not concerned about issues
It is amazing that a war involving the United States can be
pushed to the back of public consciousness, on this campus and
nntintmii/la Tf o Vi,ma n/or <-?on'l not mir otiiHontc' ottontinn \17V1 ot
iiauuii wiuks. xi a uu?Vs wai van i gv/i v/ui oiuuwuo unvttuvtAf xmt
can?
A few examples will suffice: the fad of environmental concern
has largely blown over. Racism is good for a few letters to the
editor, but not much more. Recent surveys show that 80 percent of
Americans are "tired" of the homeless issue.
This article is not being wistful for the good old days of public
activism. It is just interesting that in one of the most volatile,
rapid-changing times in world history, the supposed conscience of
the country ? our nation's young adults ? cannot seem to get
passionate about anything.
When less than one-tenth of the students vote in the Student
Government elections, what can be said about USC student's concern
for their own interests? Evidently, apathy has turned off any
motivation to care about elections that can have immediate and
lasting effects on the university.
It seems that USC's apathy has even spread to its social life.
Bates was once declared one of the top 10 party dormitories in the
nation in riayooy magazine; inai win never oe agam.
This is no flippant observation; those who are old enough remember
that USC used to be a far more exciting place on the
social scene. Alas, for better or worse, USC has even lost the edge
off of its party-school image. v
This is not meant to condone drunken debauchery, but one wonders
what channels students are putting their energy into. It isn't
into protest marches and it isn't into unbridled hedonism. It can be
stated with great conviction that USC has gotten more conservative
over the past few years.
Why have the USC students turned into a bunch of neoreactionary
home-bodies? That is a question for sociologists.
This trend is not necessarily a bad thing. However, judging
from past history, those who would have USC grow into a national
source for stimulating intellectual and cultural movements
have little to be optimistic about.
HOT INCUIPEP IN THE NEW VWttP ORPER
The Gamecock
xt nnn a mn A^ACt
news, ///-//xu auvgiuauig. ///?*x**7
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Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should
be, at maximum, 250 to 300 words long. The writer must include full name, professional
title if a USC employee or South Carolina resident, or year and major if
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circumstance.
r >
iT%
d\?cQ...
War should
War.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ws
as a state or period of open and declared fighi
ing between states or nations.
Nice. Would you like to know what war re
ally is?
War is an explosion ripping a man's rib-cag
apart, leaving him face down in his own guts.
War is raping women and killing children be
cause both sides have been shooting at 'th
enemy' for so long that both sides have forgoi
ten the figures in the sights are flesh and bloo
human beings. Each side begins to think of 'th
enemy' as less than human, so it's all right t
hlrvw rvff o little ctpam with nnp r?f thf? lor;
girls or to shoot anyone who looks old enoug
to pull a trigger.
You might not like to think this is true; yo
might like to think as a race people are bettt
than animals, but then again name an animj
that deals in the mass slaughter of its own kind
I know the Air Force bombings have mad
the war in the Middle East seem clean, like
John Wayne movie where the All-American ki
gets to come home with a Purple Heart for
scratch and only the extras get killed. Th
ground war is getting started now, however, an
the Red Sea the news is going to be referring t
is going to be the one filled with the blood (
Americans, French, Egyptians, Canadians, In
qis, Australians . ^ .
The point of all of this is that I don't wa
any of you to have to face this. And by you
= " " "' ! !"u
LETTERS TO!
jg ? ,1 , .
Blind devotion 3?
# ment is !
un-democratic monger,
ashamed
troops 01
To the editor: Sorry
Regarding the Jan. 28 lettei nately 1
"Soldiers fight to protect U.S.' your naj
from Ms. Alice Branton of the tomac ii
USC College Republicans: foreign
Ms. Branton states that "regard- t(10se ??j
less of how anyone feels about this the ^60
war there is nothing that can be Avenue
done to change the events thai st,
have already occurred." Of course ietter t0
there is no way to change the past. You <
However, through intelligent, or- son car
ganized protest, events that are themseb
currently happening or could hap- can any
pen may be changed or prevented. jn himsc
No matter how one feels about the tjiat jju
war, the approval of apathy toward commit
anything is deplorable. an(j chh
"Dividing the country now will This
serve no purpose." Dividing the helped
country now? Like anything in the Iraq's s
U.S. was ever agreed upon unani- ^nd he
mously before. Isn't the point of hatred
democracy to have more than just complet
one voice speaking for the nation? so ^espt
"President Bush in no way The ans
wanted this war any more than any jg ppFj
other American." Wrong. Bush adage st
wanted this war more than many n0 01
Americans, such as the protesters tunately
Ms. Branton so despises. Or evjjs
doesn't she consider them 0f theiT]
Americans? Mussoli
This letter is not intended as a (continu
protest (there's that word again) rjans) v
against Ms. Branton's hawkish- bargaini
ness. What concerns me is her se- victim
vere black-and-white extremism. preposte
After all, isn't unconditional ap- complet
proval of a leader's every action tjons 5,
one of the defining characteristics nomic s
of a dictatorship ? like the one in Qn a
*ra(l? George
I'm not trying to slam Bush or ^ DjS|
the U.S. military. I am speaking ter be w
out about those who have an all- jn
or-nothing attitude because, invar- 0f beco
iably, nothing is all you get. volved
Erik Smith knows
Media arts junior b(
He, a
IT7 1 1 _ui..
war nas 10 De ;uany;
in tough times
that job
To the editor force.
Just when you think American And
college students are somewhat point, a
educated on foreign affairs, stu- you, M
dents like electrical engineering to the i
sophomore Hope C. Peebles rear one wa;
m I
?T/?
^_ CM
not be f<
\
'" DENf
e '' .;.
e mean the yous here at US
t- lied forces and the yous ir
d And when I say I don'
e face this I mean two thin;
o together to try and get
.1 k.,? :f Iaa
U pCiK-GlUliy, UUl 11 UUl 1GC
h way and try to start a draf
The word around the i
u versity is that if there is a
ar Quaker then you had best
il if you don't plan on figh
ing to be many places tc
le countries involved in this
a make sure you leave your
d I'm writing this becaus
a be saying this, but it's no
e I AM NOT GOING T
d WAR.
0 I would fight to see it
>f to draft me I will not go.
i- coward doesn't fight for v
in; I would be a coward f<
nt This is a political war
1 with the crap that keeps
~LJ CI i r\ tT* s*\ i
nd lui i vji
?.???
y heads. Miss Peebles apbelieves
the U.S. governsuch
a bad guy, such a war
that we would should be
[ of ourselves and pull our
Lit RIGHT NOW!
Miss Peebles, but fortu'or
so many Americans,
vete does not cross the Ponto
Washington and U.S.
policy, except of course
peebles" camping out on
0 block of Pennsylvania
proclaiming the same insiitements
you made in your
the editor on Feb. 4.
:annot see how "any per1
find enough hatred in
/es to want a war." How
person find enough hatred
ilf to commit the atrocities
ssein's troops have been
ting on Kuwaiti women
dren? Huh?
is a peaceful nation that
fund more than half of
even year war with Iran!
w can anyone find enough
in themselves to attempt
e genocide, as Hitler tried
jrately to do in the 1940's?
wer, Miss Peebles: "WAR
L." Trite as it sounds, the
ill holds true today,
rie wants a war, but unforthere
are some necessarv
this world, and war is one
i. To think that Hitler, or
ini, or Hirohito or Stalin
le with list of other barbafould
have reasoned at the
ng table, or better yet, fell
to economic sanctions is
irous. These leaders would
ely emaciate their populasfore
succumbing to ecoanctions.
nother note, Miss Peebles,
Herbert Walker Bush won
tinguished Flying Cross af'as
shot down in the Pacific
II, and came within seconds
ming a POW. If anyone inin
U.S. foreign policy
th*> hpll nf war Hnn't vr*n
j does?
tlong with myself and probrery
other sane American,
>ur American boys home as
possible. But there is a job
Dne in the Persian Gulf, and
requires the use of military
that brings me to my final
nd then I will be done with
iss Peebles. Your reference
diot who said that if everys
eligible for the draft, there
IRAQI PERSONAL All
I
UNDEPLOYED
ought by i
Bush's it
ernment
IIS SHEALY !
j about va
; dents our
out of the
' in Tianar
~ forefathei
C, the yous in the Al- sive gov
i Iraq. change,
t want you to have to The or
gs. We should all pull wrapped
this conflict solved toasted tl
iders don't see it that protest fr
t, then don't go. on his lip
campus at Duke Uni- I woul
draft and you're not a side with
have a passport ready democrac
ting. There aren't go- for a cau:
) go to with so many As for
war, so you had best to fight
options open. I'm certs
e a lot of people may Saudis w
it showing up in print: its "white
O FIGHT IN THIS None <
armed fc
ended, but if they try their job,
, I'm not a coward. A they woi
/hat he or she believes in the Iv
)r fighting. them. Th
that has nothing to do Remei
falling out of George your opti
Nffc. ' \ " I , ' .
D v /
<< *''- *
would be no more war implies tha
our current military force is the re
suit of select "pickings" of th
population.
The U.S. has not reinstated th
draft, and every American servin,
in the Armed Forces is a VOLUN
TEER! And by volunteering ii
Uncle Sam's Army, you subjec
yourself to be at Sam's beck ani
call.
If he says fight, you fight. Wha
were they thinking when the
signed up? Does the militar
travel, a good income and fre
dental work for life?
I'm off my soap box now, Mis
Peebles. But, remember, "if you'r
going to San Francisco, be sure t
wear some flowers in your hair!"
Scott R. Saunder
Public relations senio
America must
set priorities
To the editor:
America can and will win th
war in the Persian Gulf. Our mil
tary forces experienced or not wi
defeat Saddam Hussein, one wa
or the other. The Bible says i
Mark 13:7, "There will be wai
and rumors of wars."
So we as Americans should nc
dispute this passage of scripture s<
down during the biblical day;
There have been wars and there a!
ways will be warfare.
America's biggest problem i
the content of our people's charac
ter. We as Americans cannot se
the forests for the trees. We do nc
have the objectivity to properl
deal with the situation.
When Americans protest by as
sembling in the streets, throwin
rocks and glass bottles, in m
mind that's war (if one disagree
with the government then I sugges
you give the government all th
grants and federal aid back). W
put ourselves in this position whe
we elected George Bush as presi
dent. We knew how he felt aboi
war. Bush is an ex-fighter piloi
He is gung-ho at wartime.
Not only are we at war in th
Middle East, we are at war here ii
America. Increasing national debi
decreasing job opportunities, in
creasing poverty, decreasing gov
ernment funding for needed prog
rams, racism, mental and physica
slavery. This is the war Americ
needs to win most, not in Kuwai
DEFENSE SYSTEM
r5fc^
jjrtJ ^
DEPLOYED
\
any person
iouth. Over the last ten years the govhas
been building a monster and now
s to do something about it.
'here was all of his political rhetoric
lues and democratic ideals when stu- age
were having their guts squeezed
:m and their skulls crushed under tanks
imen Square for showing the balls our
s showed in standing up to a represernment
and demanding democratic
ily finger raised by Bush then was one
around a champagne glass as he
le Chinese Communist leaders. All the
om him then was like everything else
s.
d have been willing to fight side by
i those young people for the ideal of
:y. I don't want to kill or be killed, but
se that I believe in, I would fight
Kuwait, no offense, but I'm not going
for nn nndp.mnrrfltir. flristnrrar.v And
rinly not going to fight in defense of
hose government refers to the U.S. as
> slaves."
of this is meant to slight those in the
>rces. They are there because that is
but I don't want them there and I wish
ild all come home. And if the factions
fiddle East want to keep fighting, let
ey've done it for centuries without us.
nber, all the "you"s out there, keep
ons open.
' '""m ' " ' I
it but the United States.
>- In five years, America needs to
e produce $500 billion dollars. Can
this be accomplished if we are fie
nancing a war costing $70 million
g a day? Can we accomplish this if
this nation continues to be in the
n recession we are in now? Can we
:t accomplish this if we have home
a less ana uniea cnnaren/
Can we accomplish this if we
it have white South Africans cony
stantly initiating physical and meny
tal enslavement on black people,
e as well as the physical and mental
enslavement in America. As long
s as apartheid is alive in South Afe
rica, it is alive and kicking in
0 America.
To Ms. Wright, (referring to
s your article Jan. 21) you stated,
r "Blacks have given up and resorted
to the world of fast cash
drug dealing." Blacks have not and
will not ever give up. We did not
give up during slavery ? the
, worst punishment ever conceived
of by a human being ? and we
sure as hell are not about to surie
render to white supremacy now.
i- I do not ever want to hear a
11 black woman utter those remarks
y again. Drug dealing! Drug dealing
n has been around for centuries. Ev"s
ery race on this planet Earth has
encountered this. I see the point
)t drug dealers make.
M If a young child is desperate for
>. the necessities of life: clothing,
I- food and shelter, I see no harm in
selling drugs (however, I know
s that this is wrong by law). But
then we must ask ourselves the
e question: where is the problem?
)t Drug dealing or drug usage?
y Thirteen- to 19-year-old drug
dealers don't fly first class on De>
lta airlines to Colombia, South
g America, to buy cocaine. Politiy
cians and government officials do
s that. We as Americans black and
;t white need to stop lying to
e ourselves and end this problem,
e We bombed Kuwait, so let's bomb
n Colombia. Our bodies don't run
off oil. You can not get red blood
it and plasma from oil.
t.
America (all nationalities) need
e to find our most feasible objective
n and execute properly or we will
t, suffer another recessive depression .
.1 - _ 1 AAA
greater man iyzy.
- Leon Johnson Jr.
il Engineering major
a Virgil L. Nixon
it Political science major