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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1995)
EDITORIAL Don’t skip, cancel classes for rally A bright banner posted outside the EMU encouraged students to boycott classes Wednesday. A teacher can ruled class so his students could attend a rally, although most opted for other ways to enjoy the sun shine. What merits this ban on classes? About 200 student activists attended a rally in the EMU Courtyard to protest the “Contract With America* along with the demolition of the Amazon Housing Complex. Although no direct correlations were made between Newt Gingrich and the University's threatened housing com plex, rally speakers showed their concern about America's shift to the right and were worried that the Republican-minded government will endanger critical social and educational programs. Student activism is vital fora country that’s supposed to be based on democracy. Everyone benefits by the introduction of now ideas in a public forum. The only way to provoke change is to stand up for what you believe is right or wrong. Hut it doesn't make sense to skip class in order to lobby for education. If students want a better education, tiies shouldn't neglect what education they already have, An employee wouldn't lobby for a raise from his or her boss by not showing up for work — unless everyone else was skipping out too. Alone or In small numbers, he or she would bo out of a job long before reaping any salary increases if students want to show the government they're wor thy of more education dollars, they need to show that they value what they have and would value more if given the opportunities. Skipping classes is irresponsi ble and shows government leaders that students don't (are about their ( lasses Why should they offer students more classes to skip? Classes are expensive and missing class is tike flush ing money down the toilet. How can students ask for more money when they're already throwing it away? There’s no question that this country is facing an edu cation crisis and something needs to tar done to ensure the futures of millions of bright students. However, there are much better ways to got tho government's attention. Instead of promoting a campus-wide ban on classes, try using the dozens of hours between classes to write or call Congress members. Show them what you've learned and would you could learn if given tho oppor tunity. Organize campaigns in support of education, or what ever your cause may be. Use the many resources at the University. Co to class — you could learn something that may be the key to solving some of the nation's crit ical problems. The nation will continue to spend its money on guns and bombs if students don't prove they're worthy of more educational dollars Walking out of classes isn't the answer. 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OffVc« 346-1511 Dttplay Atfv#rti*mg ActviKtt*4ng 34*0712 MMM WTPOOUCIHC OURCl£A*A« ANOOUR fNDANCERtD SPtOfcS nr ■ OPINION America needs more than a contract Brian Womack The Republicans in Wash ington have boon working tirelessly in their efforts to get the “Contrail With Amoriu" passed Even with a majority in tx>th houses, though, not all has boon peaches and (.roam First the balanced-budget amendment was defeated by a single vote in the Seriate Now term limits and welfare reform are under intense attack. I still hope that as much of the contract as possible passes I'm always in favor of streamlining government, which is exactly what the contract is attempting to do. Yet as much as I support the Republicans in their efforts, I realize that many of the prob lems with this country go far beyond anything Newt, Hob or anyone else i an fix w ith legisla lion. The problem is where the soul of the country lies where we Americans decide what is right and wrong, where we decide to draw the line on what is accept able and what is not It's at those crucial points that Americans determine the direc tion our society w ill go. Those lines help to define us as a jh»o ple. The problem is that we don't seem to know where that line is anymore. And the ironic part of it is tfiat we’re almost proud of it. We have fully embraced the ideas of the 10th-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who said that no one has the right to say one is more right than someone else Everything is relative, including morality. As some of our parents might have said. “If it feels good, do it." In fact, the 19fi0s were a time in America when these ideas took hold of our culture. Most Americans don't dis agree with moral relativism. Because society is so entrenched in this way of thinking, many don't even realise how harmful these idea* really an* A society that doesn't know right from wrong will soon dis integrate because there is no moral foundation — members of a relativistic society i.un justify pretty muc h whatever they do. Take crime for instance Using the relativistic line of thinking, if a criminal wants to take your car because he doesn't have one, who c an really question him? It's his or her morality The same goes for everything from murder or raje* to cheating on a test Free societies must have a standard of right and wrong if they are to progress. After the constitutional con vention. Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government America would have He responded. "A republic, if you i;an keep it." This founding father rightly saw that because our country is founded upon the idea of self rule, the people have to possess the morality to allow for society to hold together Otherwise, government will have to play an increasingly larger role in soci ety. Bill Bennett points out some of the ways si* tety has disinte grated in an interview in the November issue of USA Today Magazine He said sinc e 1960, while the population grew -t l percent, violent crimes leaped 500 percent, teen-age suicides tripled. illegitimate births increased by more than 400 per cent and the divorce rate dou bled Bennett believes one of the reasons these travesties have taken place is that "during the last quart er-centurv. the Ameri can people Increasingly have abandoned time-honored moral c odes The ll.S. is now seeing the results being played out on urban streets and in hospitals and emergency rooms, the courts, and the classrooms." Moral relativism doesn’t give us a “moral code," This begs the question. Where do we get it? It lies quite simply in Ameri ca's religious heritage. From the foundation of religion does our moral code arise Alexis de Tocqueville. the premier classical liberal of the tilth century, saw how impor tant religion was to America, A native of France, he visited America in the early part of the 19th century to see how Ameri ca. a free society, worked and how liberty could lie preserved. He was greatly impressed with America, calling this country the "most enlightened and free nation of the earth." John McCole, assistant profes sor of history at the University, says de Tocqueville believed religion was the most important institution in America for pre serving liberty. It provides for the discipline and the ability for people to look outside them selves, which ts important in keeping a free society free. He believed religion is an essential part of America. "There is no country in the whole world in which the Chris tian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America, and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its conformity of human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully over (Ameri ca!,** Do we value the "Christian religion" like we did in the pre vious century' No. We're so worried about making sure that were open-minded in our approach to religion that our brains have leaked out. As a result, our morals have suffered immensely. This is not to say that religion will prevent people from ever committing wrong acts, but it will help to discourage them. So as our society continues to slide, we must not look only to Washington for the answers to fixing the problems, Society needs to look witnin and return to our moral founda tion. Only then will our society tru ly be able to return to some of the order we once had and avert even further horrors in the future. Brian Womack, is a columnist for the Emerald.
