VIEWPOINTS
EDITORIALS, COLUMNS. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Vote by mail misses
point of the process
■ OUR OPINION
convenience increases
apathy, not action
(aiv. Kst/haber
announced Friday that hr?
intends to vatu an Ori son
bill that would t hangn nil
general and primary elec
lions ton votn liv mail s\s
tom. The elimination of
the one da\ public
polling system is fraught
with potential problems,
and could < au.se an unex
pet led shift in tin* demtx
ralit prt.H ess
Proponents of the hill
c laim it would lie more
convenient for < fregonians
and would in roast' voter
turnout. I lowever. as t iti
/ens become increasingly
tlist on netted from the
communities in which
they live the proposal
could i an se voter a pa tin
rather than action T« It
nologit al advances and
convenience services con
tinue to dec rease the need
lor people to leave their
homes. Computers and
satellite dishes, grew erv
and restaurant deliveries,
modems and mailbox
shopping, allow people to
work. eat. shop and do
their banking without ever
leaving their four-walled
cocoons I Ire public elec
tion is one of the few
mechanisms that forces
people to be at live part it i
pants in their t (immunity
The pubih polling place
brings people together
around common issues, it
mandates interaction
beyond e-mail.
In addition, the mail in
system removes the imme
diacy of the puhlii spat e
election. By giving citizens
a larger window of time in
which to make i hoices
and mail in their ballots, it
may cause people to pro
crastinate past tin* post
mark deadline
Voting by mail should
lie allowed .is a supple
ment to traditional {tolling
lor the physically house
bound and those who have
temporarily left the area
Replacing the t urrent
polling prot ess, however,
is a mistake
Family leave keeps
Oregon progressive
■ OUR OPINION "
moves pro-family"
stance beyond rhetoric
Starting in September,
Oregon will have the most
comprehensiv<« family
leavi! act in the country
t aider the new law. Orego
nians who work for com
panies with 25 or more
employees will be able to
take up to 12 weeks of
leave a year to care for a
sick relative or receive
medical treatment lor their
own serious illnesses The
law will also allow
employees to use accrued
sit k time and vat ation
time during their absence.
Oregon's position as a
progressive statt* continues
to be reinforced tiv pro
humanitarian de* isions
such as tins beneath tin*
din of "pro-family-'
rhetoric, Oregon's legisla
tive and extH utive bodies
opted for at lion over self
serving attitudes. In a
remarkable show of sup
port. state business lobbies
nave also approved the
law All involved parties
realize that workers who
feel appro* iatod and are
allowed to take i art* of
themselves and their fami
lies will be more produc
tive. In a time of turbulent
political divisiveness, it's
rewarding to see that elet t
ed officials < an still work
together for the * ommon
good.
In* Oregon f «s put&iftec! $&•*> Mc**My i*«c .>gh F< clary (fejrtng !h* *:ftooi
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INTERNET
will bring
information
to the
people
A
TV
unll bring
culture
to the
people
Uh-oK for inlorj^ation
OPINION
Cyberspace doesn’t have front porches
A
few v ears ago mv I it! It*
brother married a
wonderful women
from Pennsylvania In
tael, ih<> two decided lo
exi hsnge their vows on Aineri
im s birthday in one of Aineri
< a s older and more pat noth
cities Philadelphia on the
fourth of July The wedding,
held on a (lassu 1 fith-century
college campus, was incredibly
beautiful Picture in ivurv wed
ding on the steps uf a gorgeous
w hite building
As the rei option lwnd played
into the evening, the fireflies
t ame out and danced all over
the manicured lawns It was the
kind of romantic evening you
dream about.
Before and after the wedding,
our famitv stayed m a mid l9th
t entury house owned and rent
ed-out by the bride's mother
and father The structure was a
veritable museum It had a nar
row “servant*'” staircase behind
the walls that led to the top
floor and attic where the ser
vants' quarters were The plat e
also had summer rooms and a
huge front porch
They had the kind of porch
where you could sit in your
fnvonte chair, put your feet up
on tile ratling, drink sun-brewed
tea. and say "Hi” to your neigh
bors as they walked down the
sidewalk. There was a tune
when you might even ask that
neighbor up to the (Kirch for
some of that iced tea.
Today, it st-etns many people
would prefer to keep in the pri
vacy of their homes than inter
act in any way with the rest of
the world. No many Americans
lock themselves in their homes
where they can safely watch TV
or spend time with their com
puters
While 1 think most of us
would l>e much better off if we
got off our rear ends, walked
over to the tula?, unplugged it.
and threw the stupid brain
sucking things out the window
{commercials, sitcoms, talk
shows. ALL OF IT — except for
college sports), I feel that com
puters aren't quite as had It's
just where they're Inking us that
makes me more than a little tier
volts
For people w ho work out of
their homes, computers have
given the ability to cnmmuni
cate immediately with t owork
ors, customers and i lients For
David
Harden
tne Business
world, i oin
puturs help
lower costs in
everything
from inventory
tnii king to
bookkeeping
Computers do
incredible
things for
commerce,
entertainment.
government, law enforcement
ami education
America's physically chal
lenged and senior i iliaens.
some of whorn are unable to
travel to buy something as bash
as a week's worth of groceries,
also benefit greatly from com
puters But computers have the
tendency to shut us off from
each other as individuals in a
society
A colleague of mine has a
friend who used to In* an
absolute social Tasmanian Dev
>1 He used to go places, outside
even, and get real sunshine and
breathe real air This person
had an entire group of friends
he used to spend much of his
free time with He vs as fun-lov
ing and fun to Ihj with
Then he hooked up with, and
got hooked on. the Internet.
Now this formerly close
friend spends all of his spare
time “on-line" communicating
with people from all around the
world People he has never met
and prohahlv will never meet, at
least in the physical sense, are
his new friends He's always
with them now. talking almui
all kinds of interesting topii s
and being exposed to all kinds
of interesting ideas (I'm sure).
Hut he never leaves his home
now and the "real" world is
passing him by
Win should he leave his
house? Almost everything is
available over the internet
There are books, news reports,
'( vbersex" and literally thou
sands of sources of information
and the talk in the industry
is that it is just the beginning.
There ore even plans to put
libraries on the 'Net
So mui h for progress The
world at our fingertips Yet if
we allow it to happen, this new
"< yherspac e" world can keep us
from interacting in the real one
And that's where the danger
is
Ust week the Emerald ran a
story on the University's dev i
sion to wire Rilev flali and the
University Inn with an Internet
capable network
l-'or the safety of female stu
dents who are justifiably afraid
of going to the library at night,
and a handful of other good rea
sons, this decision is a good
one But won't tins provide just
another convenient excuse,
admittedly a small one. that
will keep us from meeting with
eat h other ?
Just a few days ago I e-mailed
a note to a co-worker who sits
about .tt) feet from me We are
separated by one of those low
office-complex walls, but the
reason 1 e-mailed her wasn't
because of the barrier. 1 just
dtx ided that I shouldn't bother
tier Well, my letter was "unde
liverable" because her mailbox
yvas full. I printed the tiling and
walked over to her desk and
handed it to her. face to face,
human being to human l>eiiig.
She read it and we talked.
Since about the 1960s houses
in America have been built
yv ithout port lies May lie it s
time to bring them back And
while we're at it, let's invite
some friends over for iced tea
and a little conversation.
David Bartlett is a columnist for
the Emerald.