VIEWPOINTS
EDITORIALS. OPINIONS. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Holiday wish: An end
to violence and death
■ OUR OPINION: America s
“coming apart at the
seams' and youth cnme is
one of the major reasons
I-as! Tuesday evening in
Springfield, a man walked
into a fast-food restaurant
and shot a 22-year-old man
to death.
t hat event alone was a
headline story. How the
man was apprehended
< ould have easily been a
story all by itself,
It should at least bo cause
for concern.
After {lulling the trigger,
the man ran out the door
toward the parking lot.
Another customer in the
restaurant followed him but
side, whipped out Ins own
semiautomatic pistol, and
ordered the suspect to stop,
drop his gun and lay on the
ground.
On Saturday afternoon,
same city, a man walked up
to a gas station on Main
Street, {minted a handgun at
an employee, and demand
ed cash. The suspect stuffed
an "unknown amount of
money" into one of his
pockets and fled on foot.
according to police
VVeh onto to Springfield.
Please chet k your weapon
at the door?
The man who shot the 22
year-old (an alleged drug
dealer) claimed the victim
had threatened the life of
his daughter.
If this allegation proves to
Ixj true, fine — just one less
low-life drug-dealing slime
preying on our young and
restless (or dumb and dumb
er).
Citizens who take the law
into their own hands usual
ly do so out of frustration
with law enforcement agen
cies, the legal system, rage
toward I ho perpetrator of
the crime and fear of further
victimization. These points
represent an opinion topic
of its own
The bigger picture is that
the recent shooting and rob
bery exemplify a growing
trend of crime in Eugene
and Springfield in spite of
national statistics that show
a decline in crime.
Recent statistics reveal
that teenage crime has risen
21 percent since 1900 Over
all. the crime rate for adults
ages 18 and older has
dec reased by 2 percent.
Why is tins happening!?
Police say it is partly duo to
an increase in our local pop
ulations, but there is no sin
gle reason.
Over tho hist two docudfts,
the American family unit
has disintegrated into a tide
washed sand castle of its
!u! mcr fur!rcss - like M'if
Men have gtv #Q up mi their
wives and i iiildren and
have left behind a vacuum
of hopelessness no family
counselor could over fill.
Our children have became
generations of "latchkey"
youth who go home to an
unsupervised existence of
boredom. babysat by an
entertainment Industry that
thinks killing is fun and
murder is sexy.
One study in youth crime
showed the crime rate
among juveniles reaching a
peak during the 3-D p m.
time bloc k. Junior leaves
school at 3. robs the store
with his gang buddies
around 4 and gets homo
before t> to do homework.
As long as the media por
trays a "life is cheap" pre
sent. and parents fail to love
and nurture their children,
our young will only have
pessimism and despair for
their future.
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Depression hurts, heals and inspires
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that
ton loses your understanding — Knhlil Gibran
Late one flight in the «ii‘ hours of the morn
ing. 1 w,»s cli< king through what was on late
night television when something caught my eve
It was a public service announcement dealing
xvith depression
The announcement centered around a Pablo
Picasso painting of an old guitarist The painting
was done during Picasso'* Blue Period, during
which he was in n severe state of depression for
more than four years
The painting then metamorphosed (with the
aid of computer animation) from a wretched old
man filled with anguish to an erect, happy,
shiny person while the announcer told of all the
wonders of modern-day counseling. The mes
sage ended with the words "so that not everyone
nowaday* will have to go through a blue peri
od.”
I found this rather frightening. It would seem
that this message
reflects an unhealthy
and simplistic atti
tude toward some of
the most important
emotions human
beings have. Granted,
depression and sad
ness are not among
the most pleasant of
feelings, but they are
necessary
it
Depression, as
unpleasant as it is, is
part of the healing
pros ess. We cannot
allow ourselves to
forget that
In this day and age * *
of group therapy and Prozac, people are much
too quii-k to dismiss emotions that are too
uncomfortable or that they are unable to deal
with. They crave a quick fix, whether that
means running to a shrink who merely tells
them. hey. you’re OK. and gosh darn it, people
like you." or hiding themselves at the bottom of
a bottle.
The darker side of the psyche is something we
a!! must face and more importantly, deal with
People who walk around all day perpetually
happy are also perpetually annoying
In reality, they are probably not all that happy
and hiding from themselves.
Of course, not everyone can cope with all of
the emotions of their souls running lose inside
their heads, and they may genuinely need pro
fessional help in sorting through certain things
Hut there are also people who run for help at
every emotional scraped knee, be it the loss of a
sweetheart, their dog's death or some other per
sonal crisis. This is detrimental because they
1"earn how to deal with their emotions H\
dealing with less serious problems, one is able
then to deal with more difficult problems, such
ns the loss of a loved one because of death or
emotional separation.
OPINION
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Depression, as unpleasunt as it is, is part of
th« healing process. We cannot allow ourselves
to forget that
When you lose someone you love after giving
him or her the best years of your life, growing
together, and learning what love truly is. it mat
ters very little if you don't grieve. If you merely
substitute a surrogate for what was once there,
what good came of the time you spent with a
loved one now gone?
Reflect upon what you once had, both for bet
ter and worse, but never let yourself forget
Grow with each passing emotion, and allow
yourself to heal. Grief is temporary; joy and
mirth will follow in time.
Depression and sadness also keep us in bal
ance. What is joy without sadness? What is love
without feelings of loss, despair and emptiness?
If we cannot judge our happiest moments
against something, they become meaningless
and hollow
If we went always artificially blissful, wu
would be drug induced zombies telling each
other things that we have never really felt. We
wouldn’t be alive. “Pop a Prozac if you're feel
ing down! Have some Valium if you just can’t
deal!" We want to feel better, and we want to
feel butter now.
But where would we be if no one ever had a
Blue Period? Picasso's masterpiece would prob
ably not exist today if some shrink back then
had said, "just have some Prozac, and call me in
the morning More important, perhaps, wu
wouldn't consider it a work of genius if it did
not bring out our sorrow and despair so exquis
Mozart s "Requiem ' is a mass for the dead,
and Beethoven's “Fifth Symphony" is the sound
of Death beating at the door. The works of Shel
ley. Keats, and Byron all tear at the heart, but we
read them anyway Why? Because they are a
part of us, and because like it or not, depression
sells.
)ust look at the annoyances of the Cure.
R.h M . Counting Crows and a plethora of other
angst bands that rake in millions off pain and
anguish.
Everyone needs a Blue Period every so often
to keep things in perspective. Friends and fami
ly will give advice without end. but they cannot
deal with the problem for you. There are things
that every individual must ultimately lace
alone. 1 his is what makes us stronger; what
makes us better; what makes us human.
/esse I. Bnhrvr-Clancy, a senior ina/oring in bio
chemistry, is a columnist for the Emerald