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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 4, 1989)
Editorial We must remember those eternal voices Next September will mark the 50th anniversary of the beginning of World War II. While most would like to forget the boleful sorrows of this horribly destructive period, there are groups of people dedicated to remem bering the suffering and displaying it. It is a cathartic release for the anxiety and the pain, ves: a way to deal with the loss. But the remembrance of the terrible things that have happened also serves as a lesson and a charge that we must never let them hap pen again. One University group serving such testimony this week is the Jewish Student Union, which is sponsoring the 10th annual Holocaust Remembrance Week this week in association with the University Religious Di rector’s Association, the (Campus Interfaith Ministry and the Judaic Affairs Committee of Sigma Alpha Mu. If you have not yet taken the time and effort to in spect the displays and lectures offered during Holo caust Remembrance Week, then we recommend that you do so. Fred Rosenbaum, founder and director of Lehrhaus Judaica, will give the week's keynote speech tonight at 7:30. in the EMU Gumwood Room. As the years since World War ii pass by. it has be come too easy to relegate all that happened to a distant past unconnected to today This myopia leads to an ig norance of the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis during the war. and the acceptance of atrocities (such as con tinuing race genocide in many parts of the world} and insults (such as Kurt Waldheim's ride of Austria} today that should never be tolerated. We need to be remind ed where such actions may lead. People's perceptions of the Holocaust seem skewed by the dramatic, sensational trials of war criminals caught in the 1980s; by highly acclaimed, hip Nazi hunting documentaries such as "Hotel Terminus;" and the not-always-justified news footage comparisons of the Holocaust and Israel’s ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. The trials, documentaries and newsreels are impor tant, but the rough glamour of these events has also distanced the Holocaust from us. The fact is that World War II is not vet far enough behind us that we should feel comfortable with it. Tne mass wartime slaughter of the Jews saddled the world with moral problems that haven't been resolved, in the Middle East or at home. The history is still close enough that you can touch it — perhaps the most mov ing part of the Remembrance Week so far has been the presentation by Eugene resident Maria Simpson, who survived the Holocaust as a teenager. The voices of those who did not survive must also be heard and learned from. ffi wn.MOSS,> ngmfi mWPaSlON' ^--—Ask" Letters— Disrespect Ann Tedards' ''Private is sue" (ODE. April 25) is correct in stating that there is a preva lence of male disrespect toward females in our society. For that indignity, men art* wrong To conclude that the abortion de bate is based on this disrespect for females is begging the is sue. Again. Tedards is correct in stating that a "fetus is part of a woman's body." The woman is not, however, entirely a fetus, nor is the fetus entirely the woman (list as the new-born infant is dependent upon the mother, so also is the fetus. De pendency does not constitute singularity While dependence does not imply singularity, it does re quire responsibility. The moth er will be greatly inconve nienced during the growth and development process. I hope that our society does not react to responsibility and inconve nience by justifying the disso lution of the dependent. Is public funding of abortions and legislation concerning abortion a "private issue?" Em pathy for any dependent crea ture; fetus, baby seal or condor egg makes the decision to cut short its nurturing a public is sue. How can the observed an guish and struggle of a fetus going through an abortion be reconciled with a humane peo ple. America? Tedards implied that pain, caused by male disre spect for females, is evidenced in the demand for abortion clinics. I-et us not allow the discrimi nation toward women result in the disrespect toward the de pendent unborn. If a fetus is aborted, America is the lesser May the doors of the abortion clinics close as we acknowl edge that disrespect for any liv ing creature is wrong. Daniel A. Teisan Student _Letters Policy The Emerald will attempt to print all letters con taining comments on topics of interest to the Univer sity community. Comments must be factually accu rate and refrain from personal attacks on the character of others. The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style. Forum Religious Studies dept has insidious influence By Bert Tryba An article. "U S. public schools add 4th ‘R' — religion — to studies" (The Oregonian. April 1). describes continu ing efforts by Christian zealots to breac h First Amendment separation of church and state to achieve their purpose Through a similar maneuver in the IttitOs at the University, religion was in troduced to a publicly funded university _Commentary campus, ostensibly, to advance social and cultural pluralism by presenting re ligion "comparatively.” The University Philosophy Depart ment recognized the attempt to circum vent Constitutional separation of church and state and refused to surrender de partmental faculty positions. The Muslim theologian, al Chazzali (1058-1111). in "The Incoherence of Philosophy" sought to subvert philoso phy to theology Under religious duress. Averroes (1120-1198) in "The Incoher ence of the Incoherence” courageously reasserted philosophy as separate and equal to theology. A separate Religious Studies Depart ment was formed at the University. Fac ulty was recruited from practicing cler gymen and graduates of theological in stitutes and seminaries Clergy who join the faculty of a public university come with the support of community church es wielding power and influence other faculty members need years to acouire This influence accruing for half-cen tury manifests itself in University cur riculum, programs, staffing, library ac quisitions and in myriad ways through out the community. The presence of a religious Campus Ministry further breaches the separation of church and state. These encroachments dangerously undermine democratic freedoms and the neutral character of publicly funded educational institutions An objective presentation of the histo ry of religious impartially comparing the doctrines and dogmas of various concepts of Cod with an explanation of the origin and development of opposing sectarian and atheist views challenging orthodoxy would be supported by Ratio nalists Unfortunately the 3,500-year documented history of atheist under standing apparent from the Bible is glossed over with explanations of Bud dhism and Confucianism — atheist reli gions whose philosophical origins are culturally foreign to most Americans. Religious studies courses stress Judeo Ghristian views in a favored perspective rather than skepticism. Atheism is the reasoned refutation of theist claims that God exists. It is not a religion. Protagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher, observed: “Man is the measure of all things." Thus people are encouraged to help all humans. The truth inherent in the "Golden Rule" be comes self-evident Atheists believe people can find realistic solutions supe rior to those they presently find in theist sectarianism It is the responsibility of those who posit the existence of God to prove God does exist It is not the responsibility of someone who does not believe in some thing to prove it does not exist. Increas ingly theists admit they cannot prove God exists. Like Luther, they insist God must l>e accepted on faith Such claims are patently irrational. William of Ockham (1285-1349 A.IT), professor of logic at Oxford University, in his "Rule of Economy" supports the philosophical priority of doubt and skepticism over faith Theists claim the universe is evidence of God’s existence. They are prepared to accept "God always existed and always will exist" even though they cannot provide empirical evidence thereof Ockham explains: It is more logical to believe the universe, in some form, mat ter or energy, always existed and always will exist than to posit Cod. We can em pirically prove the existence of the uni verse. YVe are asked to believe in Cod on faith. Many fundamentalist students, some seeking degrees in science, fail to un derstand the crucial philosophical dif ference between the empirical process of science and the dogmatic process of theist religion. This results from the role religion, with many active cults, has preempted on campus. Natural science departments have un wisely allowed fundamentalist students to progress towards science degrees without addressing the misunderstand ings and antagonism these students hold for science. The demands and interests of funda mentalist students results in a seriously polarized campus, a compromised edu cational environment and a reluctance of secular faculty without tenure to stand up like clay Jucks in opposition to what they know is wrong. Bert Tryba is a Eugene resident and long-time advocate of the atheist per spective.
