VIEWPOINTS
EDITORIALS OPINIONS tETIIHS 10 THE EDITOR
'Neighbors’ campaign
brings people together
■ OUR OPINION H&*
program will teach peopk*
about community
“It** * beautiful day in the
neighborhood ..."
Mmi of us am sing or at
least hum the words to that
funny little theme song from
the long-running Mr Rogen'
Neighborhood TV show
After years of ridicule for
being America's biggest nerd,
the aoft-apoken. sweater-dad
man has recently been
praised for his work with
children and for his efforts to
educate society about basic
concepts such as tom pas
•ion. making friends and
treating others with respec t
You can laugh at his
cheesy programs and silly
songs and maybe even haik
over the silly puppets and
the red trolley that rings its
hell to speak, hut the sad
reality is that the U.S des
perately needs people like
Fred Rogers
We need to learn how to
treat each other Imtter. how
to communicate with one
another better and how to be
lietter neighlairs to each oth
er. literally and figuratively.
Unfortunately, there seem
to be a number of barricades
(cultural, psychological and
social, among others) that
prevent many people bom
making connections with
others — whether those
“others" are next door or in
a nearby cubicle at work
Whether these tterriers come
from busy and hustling
lifestyles or from a subcon
scious defense against the
fear of crime, many people
seem to lie unable to meet or
make friends with others.
Did you grow up knowing
your neighbors? Do you
know who your neighbors
are now? Have you ever said
"hello" to those people who
just moved into the area?
Thunks to a campaign
»l»on*or*d by the City dub
of Eugene. The Register
Guam, the Eugene Neigh
borhood ii»d«n Council,
the League of Women Vo)«t
of lane County end lane
Community College's FM
radio station, city residents
ere being given the opportu
nity to thine stories of how
their nnightiorhoods have
(f
You run lough at his cherry
programs and silly songt and
maybe even balk over the
silly puppets and the red
trolley that rings its bell hi
speak, but the sad reality is
that the U S desperately
needs people like bred
Rogers
99
tut-eroded in bringing peo
ple together.
Hated on a !9tt4 Oty Club
forum that identified citi
zenship and "notghborlt
noss" as two issues Eugene
residents considered vitally
important, the Sin restful
Neighborhoods’* campaign
is an attempt to reveal and
advertise examples of com
munity building. Those
ideas and formulas will then
he applied to other neigh
borhoods throughout the
community
There are people who
actually know who their
neighbors are — right here
in Eugene Some neighbors
actually talk to each other
and do crazy things such as
throwing block parlies and
helping each other out when
they need an extra hand.
It will be interesting to
bear their stories and learn
from their examples We can
all benefit from Swing better
neighbors and having just
one more friend
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If sports were like politics
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Bill of Rights doesn’t give license to kill
*.. that whenever any farm of government
became* destructive of theme emit, it it the right
of the people io alter or to abohth ft. and to
tmtituto new government *
— The Declaration of independent»
It would seem (lull out Founding Father* ere
ated the Bill of Rights in a linear fashion
They wrote the most vital clauses first, the
neat roost important second and so on The
First Amendment allowed lor wm noisy Ameri
can* to always he heard — regardless of what
ws navi* to uv i ni* .nximu
Amendment give* u* the
nwwm to *upporl th» righ:
iboutd tho need trite, whether
it he againai a foreign power
(Greet Bntatn in their um| or
agairut our own government
{In our cate)
Yet, the NR A doe* have our
beta intereti* in mind (Don't
worry. I hate era tool Dr per
hep* more *< < uratelv —
they're doing the right thing*
ww me wrung immiu l he .Second Amendment
w« not intended to protect the right to boar
hunting rifle* Rebellion* aren't fought with i
»•» The Second Amendment wa* designed
to protect the right to bear handgun* Ak47»
and other »u« h lethal knickknacka whom *oUt
purpose is to kill human being* The only thing
you tan hunt with a bazooka U either a tank or a
bmntwMufu*
The Second Amendment'* intention wa* to
allow the people to fight back against a govern
merit that they thought wo becoming too tyran
Meal and out of touch with the populace
Thomas |of!en«n once wrote to |um Madison
that the occasional rebellion was a good thing
because it kept the government in line Remem
ber. this country was founded by a group of
rebel* What we called patriots, the British
called terrorists From this rebellion the greatest
country in existence was bom Whoops, there l
go being patriotic again lust put a cork in it,
quit vwr bitchui about the joy* of socialism,
communism and every other damn ’’Ism." toss
out your Marx (not C'.mucho) and giin us back
iiere in the not-so nuw real world If you don’t
like it hem. move to China Your cumradns over
them have got more freedom and liberty than
they can handle.
The problem is that these fruit loop militia*"
have gone overboard The whole idea of protect
ing one’s self from the government is a bad idea.
Ye*, they am a tad bit crazy But that's what
happens when your family tree doesn't brsnc b
What define* them at loony toon*’ Of course
we all know they am, so we let the FBI pursue
them But what if they honestly believe that
their civil right* are lining violated? And what if
they actually arrl Conspiracy or not. that threat
will alwav* p*i*t with any w>rt of government
Clinton want* to take a way our ability to defend
ourselves against the government ana each other
by restricting handguns and assault rifles under
the pretense of fighting crime. What good is a
.22 against a M 16 and body armor? If everyone
is to have access, then criminals invariably will
as well. You isn't have it both ways. Too bad
the president doesn't realize that I sincerely
doubt he would try or want to become Augustus
Caesar. but infringing on our civil rights will not
endear biro to those who hold the Bill of Rights
sacred
Clinton also signed into law the Telecommu
nications Decency Act. which bends the First
Amendment over the hood of his Mustang and
shoves the government's foot up its ass. Am I
paranoid or is there a pattern here? Or have I
just been watching too many of The X-Films
again?
The Freemen in Montana deserve the worst
possible punishment for being tyrants under the
guise of being “patriots “ But what of Randy
Weaver, a bigot — but as an American be has a
right to be — whose wife's head was blown off
by an FBI sniper while holding her infant child.
Not a weapon, a child. Or the debacle at Waco,
Texas, with the Branch Davidians. led by the
charismatic demagogue David Kurwsh The ATF
could have nailed him outside the compound
on his daily fog. best instead they opted fur a full
frontal assault that ultimately led to the immola
lion of the entire compound Stupidity on the
part of the federal government? Gee, them's
something new
But the government's dispersion of Justice in
the name of freedom and liberty? Where was
Justice when a woman's head was vaporized
while she smiled her child? Where was liberty
when blacks marched peacefully for civil rights
in the middle of this century and instead got fire
hoses, dogs, nightsticks and bullets in their
heads?
Is the government getting out of hand? Will
we only realize it once it's loo late? Am the
quacks not so crazy after all? The greatness of
America lies solely in the individual's love of
liberty and freedom
This may be they greatest country on the face
of the earth, but there's plenty of room for
improvement Until there's a perfect world,
who's going to defend your rights? The govern
ment f Don't be naive Grab your guns and keep
your wtts about you. Or maybe I'm Just para
noid Probably both, but why lake the chance?
/e*w I BahrtrrClancy. o senior majoring in bio
t hrmtxtry. iti a columnist for the Emerald E-mail
/bcluncydigladstone uOregon edu