Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Responsibility key to moral U.S. society During the TOMMY three years I have written for The Gamecock, I have often written on moral issues and lifestyle choices. Although these issues are often related to the arena of politics, more often they are issues of personal responsibility. I am a major advocate of personal responsibility, as are "most conservatives. I believe strongly that our conduct is crucial to our society's well-beiAg. When I as younger, one of my Sunday school teachers identified a very important issue I have never forgotten. He said, "It is important for Christians to be a cheerful example of how to live life the right way by seizing opportunities, being optimistic and exhibiting good Christ-like virtues." Another important principle I learned years ago involves the issue of personal responsibility as it relates to sin. I was taught that no human is capable of living a life free of sin. We fall short of the glory of God, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to emulate Christ-like behavior. At this point, I should say personal responsibility and ethical behavior are not just a Christian thing. Persons of all faiths and those who are not religious at all have just as many reasons to live productive lifestyles as anyone else. I admit religion usually drives individuals toward ethical lifestyles. This is because religion supplies "targets" and "rules" to base one's behavior against. However, living1 a Dositive. ethical lifestvle can benefit anyone. Furthermore, the greater the number of individuals who pursue ethical lifestyles, the better the overall society will be. I believe there are two main issues relevant to a discussion of an ethical lifestyle. The first issue is the lack of moral education in today's society. The second is the misconception that morality and fun are opposites. First, our society severely lacks moral education. We, as a nation, have truly lost our sense of right and wrong. Too many Americans believe in relative morality or the "gray effect and have a complete misunderstanding of the concept of tolerance. Our nation's public schools have been teaching students moral relativism for 25 years. This idea that morality should be made to fit an individual's particular circumstances is absurd. In other words, if you went through your childhood with only one parent and never went to church, then it is okay that you abuse drugs. After all, you had a bad childhood. That reasoning defies logic. Also, many in our country believe tolerance is defined as the act of condoning other lifestyle choices and not offending those who practice that lifestyle by voicing your own ideas. This is totally wrong. Each and every American has the right and the obligation to advocate what they believe is right and wrong. It doesn't matter whether a liberal activist or an evangelical Christian is speaking, each has a right to voice their opinion. Secondly, too many Americans feel that being moral and having fun just don't go together. Nothing could further from the truth. I am an example of how striving for an ethical lifestyle is totally compatible with tun and games. The activities I enjoy most are playing sports, being a sports spectator, my job as a radio DJ, watching television, following politics and, most importantly, spending time with my fiancee. None of these activities involves drugs, alcohol, stealing, using profanity or any other immoral practice. The truth is that many people are fooled into thinking sinful practices such as drinking or promiscuous sex are fun. In reality, each sinful practice has longterm negative effects. In most cases, those who lead unethical lifestyles usually do not experience very happy lives. It is true some people may engage in unethical practices and achieve careers and financial success, but they don't experience true happiness. I believe choosing an ethical and moral lifestyle is greatly beneficial. It will lead you to be the best you can be, and it will allow you a much better chance at both career and family success. As a Christian, I allow Jesus Christ the authority to guide my lifestyle, and I truly believe his good grace has given me the inner laDDiness one needs to endure in this dfficult world. Letters to the Editor welcome! Responses should be 200 to 250 words long and delivered personally to Russell House room 333. fe"Ls QUOTE, UNQUOTE ui want to be mc The Finance Comn c History doe Morality. It's an interestingutopic that has covered these pages a great deal in the past few weeks, and it is a favorite topic of those who back the concept of the V-chip. (The idea of state-sanctioned morality that goes with the V-chip has its intrinsic problems, but I will leave those for another column.) It seems the Christian right and many of the leading conservatives in the GOP have embraced the idea that our society has declined into a state of morality unrivaled in U. S. histoiy. These are the same people who have decided it is their job to help bring back the morality our society has lost. Of course, my first question is fairly obvious: What constitutes a moral society? WpII T snnnnsp pvprunnp Vina an ?y rr""" ~ idea about this, and it is a personal issue, but that again highlights the problem of finding a consensus. One media outlet that serves this campus claims the majority of USC is, for the most part, morally sound. But by what standards are they measuring this? Those who support the V-chip claim television is the main culprit in our declining moral standards. I guess these people would like to go back to LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SG elections Now that all of the dust from the Student Government elections has settled, I have a few concerns that I feel should be addressed. First of all, President Wright, why don't you make one of your first official actions as president taking down all of your campaign posters? I'm sure I'm not the only student tired of seeing campaign material of all sorts across campus. Also, I want to strongly urge the Committee on Education Procedures to look at the happenings of the election and ensure that future elections will be more voter friendly. More specifically, I feel you should strongly suggest that candidates and their campaign committees not arbitrarily call students to "remind you to vote for..." On Feb. 14,1 was awaken from sleep, with a 101-degree fever, by such a call. On Feb. 20,1 was once again reminded, this time by a different candidate. Isn't it bad enough that students get attacked by candidates on the days of elections? To be honest, these phone calls made my final voting decisions (and I voted for the two winning candidates). Hopefully, in the future our SG will work for the students to create a more pleasant experience for all involved. Ryan Johnson History senior Diversity editorial put organization in bad light In Tuesday's lead editorial, there was a statement involving Hillel, the Jewish student group. The editorial seemed to take the view that not all student organizations uphold diversity or that the ones that do not seem to help break the discriminatory traditions many people may hold. The statement was made following a discussion of how complacency should not be the ? -?^2-$ SE (y.p, ling It Qt >re active than any other prec nittee is the most important, < losely watched committee." Student Government Treasurer Peter Siachos * H -4 *4 -4 sn7t hold key the times of "I I RYAN I Q Love Lucy" | WILSON | and shows a that resembled the morality plays of the 1950s. I can only assume the 1950s were s< a more morally sound period in the a history of the United States because rt of the wholesomeness displayed on television at the time. I guess since fc those programs failed to show men in p white sheets hanging black people, all the atrocities towards black people in the '50s I have read about in history a books must have never happened. & Or maybe those advocating a more pi morally sound society would like to go pi back to the 1920s in South Carolina ^ during^rohibition, since alcohol is the oj root of all moral evil Well, unless there are some bad statistics floating around, South Carolina had one of the highest ^ murder rates in the world during the it '20s. (Do I need to mention that, despite in the recent rash of crimes in Columbia, ft, the crime rate is declining. I guess ^ moralists aont rnctor crime into their theories.) Maybe we need to look further back into our history to find a more moral 31 society, but I guess moralists don't It consider slavery part of the moral to need to be vo goal but that we should press on towards full acceptance of one another, fe Then there was a comment made, tr; "We shouldn't be satisfied until a he Christian can feel comfortable walking ne into a Hillel meeting because they Lt simply want to broaden their scope of & the world." I feel that this gives the n ( negative connotation that Hillel has wc not made it possible for a Christian to sa do so. at Hillel is an organization that has ^ j done its best to go above and beyond ga university policies regarding diversity. We have several members involved in interfaith dialogue. We have an open- T door policy with regards to anyone , being able to attend our meetings, and we have had several non-Jewish members of the organization. We W? encourage members and non-members ^ei alike to join us for speakers and presentations. We enjoy discussions exploring the range scope of the USC he community and have even held joint meetings with groups such as the act Catholic Student Association. ide Please share with your readership Da that anyone is welcome at Hillel. It is Go very much in the Jewish tradition to aw encourage all members of our un community to share with us in our we: tradition. This year, as in past years, as we will have a sign outside our door bro encouraging anyone who is hungry to 0th come and eat at our Passover Seder, jjs] we: Beverly Wilson ^ Senior, past president of Hillel Homosexuality not condoned thi in Christian theology dl? I am a Christian who is very ang disappointed in Carson Bush's column mi! of March 19 that suggests that neither ab( the Bible nor Jesus Christ condemns homosexuality. That is totally and utterly false! r\ J i i \ l[ ?, K1 $ ' ? I vfV/i .s I , hiTfj |f sblu tal ' I I ^Wftenuvkn IFMiMjf | eding treasurer, controversial and to morality uestion, either. So, what do we do? Was their ever time in history that society was lorally sound, or is a morally sound )ciety possible? I would argue the tiswer to both questions would be a sounding no. Does this mean those searching ir such a society are out of luck? robably. As I said before, morality is really personal issue relative to upbringing, id one that can not be legislated. To at it another way, no one should to ash their views of morality onto lyone else. It seems many of those 1 the right want to do just that. I can't fault them for trying to what tey think is best for the country, but seems they are trying to achieve an lpossible goal. It seems, to better the iture, they are looking back for a itter time that never existed. Histoiy has taught us that society is never been a picture of morality, id it can be assumed it never will be. is time to end this crusade and try move forward, without looking back. >ter friendly Bush wrote, "I have spent the past w years researching the Bible aditions and teachings regarding imosexuality." Evidently, Mr. Bush ;eds to RE-research his research, iviticus (third book of the Bible) apter 18, verse 22 states, "thou shalt )t lie with mankind as with mankind: it is abomination." It didn't y it was an alternative lifestyle or riological trait To write that because s not written in the Bible that Jesus id anything against it makes it OK absolutely ludicrous. Jesus is not oted as speaking on abortion, race jcrimination or spouse abuse, but I ow he is against all of them. Another rng to consider is that whatever God is against in the Old Testament, sus is also against today. Mr. Bush also insinuates that King vid of Israel, a man after God's own art, and his best friend Jonathan ly have engaged in homosexual ivities. That is one of the most foolish as I've ever heard of! To think that vid, a man harshly punished by d for his sin of adultery, could get ay with such an abomination is believable. David and Jonathan re fellow soldiers who were as close brothers. It is not uncommon for there and sisters to be close to each er to members of the opposite sex. pecially at that time when women re seldomly held as equal citizens i never part of the military. I just want to tell Mr. Bush, if he nks homosexuals dislike being criminated against, he knows how pry God gets when someone willingly srepresents his word in favor of >minations like homosexuality. Anthony Banks Markptinn ftwhman ?U3ai Serving Wendy Hudson, Editor in Chi Edlti Chris Dixon, Martha Hotop, Karen Lay Ryan Sims, Stephanie Sonnenfeld, Cece bbrki [ 0 P I Creed Weef ion ' ? uou wiin gv In a perfect world, llivfvf we wouldn't need a HULL Creed Week. If you Qa haven't noticed, we don't Qre live in a perfect world. The Carolina community will celebrate mmam Creed Week starting Every Monday, March 25 with USC c workshops and movies shoul to highlight the fol importance of following Carolit the Carolinian Creed. rirppH WppV ia according to press releases, "a celebration, an educational opportunity and a chance for you to be involved in making the values of the Creed personal values for every student.* Kinda makes you feel warm and fuzzy, doesn't it? Every student at Carolina should be at least remotely aware that there is some form of creed stating the virtues every member of the university should exemplify. Any self-respecting university should have something resembling a creed or statement of academic integrity. The Carolinian Creed is divided into five statements to which, according to the Creed itself, every member of the Carolina community is obligated. "I will practice personal and academic integrity." This statement can be seen on blue books everywhere and should make even the most devious person feel a little guilty if Battles ove teach valua Many applauded I c when the major TV s/ networks agreed to a self- I imposed ratings system. The accord reached by television and our government was heralded as an important step in the fight against moral decay in our society. The same people believe that government, by stepping in and nudging the industry in the right direction, is setting a good example lor our children to follow. Well, I'd just like to be the first to publicly congratulate the government on teaching our children all about extortion. It's about time they learned the ins and outs of this popular and lucrative trade. I also want to thank Congress for allowing these kids the opportunity to learn by example instead of on the streets like I had to. Just think, if I had gotten an earlier start, maybe by now I'd be a successful loan shark or maybe even, dare to dream, an important member of the John Gotti Crime Family. Right now, the more narrowminded reader is saying to him or herself, "Extortion? I don't see it." And that's okay ? why don't you guys just skip the rest of this column and turn right to the comics. I *t5affcodt i Student Media Russell House-USC* C Wendy Hudson Robbie Meek Editor in Chief Matt Pruitt Tina Morgan Sports Editors Viewpoints Ed,tor ?than Myerson Martha Hotop Graphics Editor r'nno <rnn VnlnUn Mr * vw.v iwn ivwuiiit rvaren tayne News Editors Deanna Chris Dixon McLendon Stephanie copy Desk Sonn^nfeld Ryan Sims Features Editors Online Editor Allison Williams Jason JefTers Special Projects Cartoonist The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and is published Tuesday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, with the exception of university holidays and exam periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the editors or author and not those of the University of South Carolina. The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Department of Student Media is its parent organization. ffeock use Since 1908 ief Tina Morgan, Viewpoints Editor orial Board ne, Robbie Meek, Tyson Pettigrew, Matt Pruitt : von Kolnitz, Robert Walton, Allison Williams N I O N 1 t reacquaints lod virtues mm] their eyes catch a lUiJI glimpse of a neighbor's rolinian exam. ed Week The other four statements in the Creed can be lumped into one category: respect for one in the others around you. This :ommunity is probably one thing d strive to everyone could use a low the little practice with. tian Creed. USC recently celebrated Diversity Week, which covered l all of the aspects in the Creed dealing ' with respect towards others. Overall, Diversity Week accomplished its goals, but there is always more that ' can be done. We can celebrate diversity and have special theme weeks all we want, but until every student makes a conscious effort, there will be problems in the community. On a campus of more than 27,000 students, plus faculty and staff) respect is not an easy thing to be found. That is where the activities for Creed Week come in. No one should be so ignorant as to think the features and workshops of Creed Week will bring instant euphoria to the Carolina campus, but they should make us more aware of our community. No, we don't live in a perfect world, but we all can try to make the best with what we've got. Even if it takes a little nudge every now and then. r TV ratings ible lessons iitms understand Mother Goose LLMON & Grimm is especially nWfflT?nM| funny today. For those of you who like to question i authority on occasion, let's briefly 1 paraphrase the meeting between our government and the TV bigwigs. President Clinton and/or Janet . Reno issue an ultimatum: Either you regulate TV, or we'll do it for you. The networks respond with a whimpering "Uhh...Okay." Not that they had much choice. With such a wide variety of options to choose from, it is little wonder they collapsed like the proverbial stone idol with clay feet. That's like me holding a gun to someone's head and saying: Td like you to voluntarily hand over your money. You don't have to, but if you don't, I'm gonna pull this trigger." It doesn't matter what that person decides, either way Fm going to get their wallet. So once again, I'd like to offer Mr. Clinton a resounding "Well Done!" Now that you've got TV by the balls, you can move onto bigger and better things. Fm not sure, but I think that some libraries still cany copies of "The Catcher In The Rye." you better get on it. &: 777-7726 ertising: 777-4249 [: 777-6482 olumbia, SC 29208 T ? ... I Chris Carroll Tyson Pettlgrew Durc.or of Smden, Media Robert Walton Laura D Photo Ed.tors Creative Director Adam Snyder Jeff A Breaux Jennifer Stanley An Director Asst. News SUe McDonald Jennifer Hansen jjm Speelmon Dipka Bhambhani Graduate Assistants Asst Features Marilyn Edwards Achim Hunt Taylor Asst. Sports Markajng Direct0f Keith Boudreaux Erjk Co||ins Circulation Editor | Faculty Adylsor Letters Policy The Gamecock will try to print all letter* received. Letters should be 200-230 words and must include full name, professional title or year and major if a student. Letters must be personally delivered by the author to The Gamecock newsroom in Russell House room 321. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit all letters for style, possible libel or space limitations. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances.