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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 1996)
editorials, letters, commentary and perspective BY MAIL: P O Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403 BY PHONE: (541) 346-5511 BY E-MANj ode@oregon. uoregon. edu IN PERSON: Suite 300, EMU Next time, vote with an agenda ■ uuiUUMt: tlection showed candidates what they wanted: prepackaged politics are acceptable I spent election night in Max’s Tavern drinking desperately and wondering where it all went wrong. On the televi sion over the bar, I could see a map of the United States and the blue and red sections that divvied it up between Dole and Clinton. The coastlines were al most entirely red, and the heart land was very, very blue — as Sonja Sherwood I had voted for electoral reform, and he was losing again. For a jour nalism stu dent, 1 manage to stay out of touch with what’s going on in the media pretty well. I don’t read the paper except when called upon to write these columns, don’t subscribe to magazines and absolutely never engage in meaningful debates with my peers. I base my deci sions on a simple philosophy: Have a philosophy. Otherwise, you’re not making a decision at all. I thought about this last Tues day as I waited in line with the other voters from precinct 1429. My friend had just told me she planned to vote for Clinton. I wanted to know why. The spirit of her reasoning was that 1) Clinton is likable, and 2) Clinton will win. I then subjected her to 15 minutes of bribery, blackmail and a crash course in voter pnnosopny as 1 attempted to avert the inevitable. I told here she was perpetuating a defunct and unfair electoral system. I suggested she vote for the Lib ertarian Party, the Pacific Party, the socialists or just about any one other than Dole and Clinton. But she was determined. It was her first election, she said, and she wanted to vote for a winner. I don’t hold any voter account able for the quality of a decision — these things are relative, after all. But I expect that person to have a good reason for making it. An outright agenda is even bet ter. The voter who keeps pushing the same tired levers despite shrinking rewards isn’t partici pating in the democracy. He or she is only telling politicians that the people can indeed be won over by appealing to recognizable formulas and safe solutions. In a free society, many voters voluntarily abdicate their free dom —it’s easier to be a slave than a master. I happen to cherish, deep in side my self-righteous heart, an image of myself as a guerrilla vot er. It is essentially a policy of los ing. My strategy is to initially reg ister with one of the two major parties so that I am allowed to vote during the primaries. At this point, I vote for the Re publican or Democrat least likely to win, in hopes of skewing the otherwise stellar progress of shoe-ins such as Clinton. I then reregister with a third party. The Libertarian Party is al ways my first bet because they are the largest and most up-and coming third party in the country — it doesn’t hurt to make the donkeys and elephants nervous. Yet serious Libertarians are a gun-loving bunch willing to stand by while the planet be comes a corporation filled with privatized sidewalks. If the Libertarians ever actually stood a chance of wining, I would probably vacate after the first successful election. This year I went ahead and voted tor a Green president, if only to commemorate the first time since George Washington that a real person ran for office. I’ve written about my qualms with bipartisan politics before. The longer citizens continue to buy into prepackaged politics, the harder it will be to ask for anything else. All any of us want is a little leadership. But our candidates have as much in common with reality as neoclassical econom ics. The nature of the political pro fession, meanwhile, guarantees a parade of (mostly) white males whose success depends on their ability to rob selective Peter to pay collective Paul and to leave both smiling. Just about the only advantage of hiring politicians to govern our country is that it keeps them all off the streets. This leaves plenty of room in the American political system for voting patterns that monkey wrench the two-party process. It’s not enough to abstain. Like one of my fellow columnists wrote recently, participate be cause it’s the only thing standing between America and a dictator ship, more or less. I would add to that: Vote with a goal in mind, and it won’t seem like so much of a chore. You have four years to make your decision. Sonja Sherwood, a senior majoring in journalism, is a columnist for the Emerald. Her views do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper. She can reached by e-mail at cheers@gladstone. uoregon.edu P.O. BOX 3159. EUGENE. OREGON 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Fri day during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the sum mer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene. Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emerald operates independently of the University with offices at Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law. Editor-In-Chief: Steven Asbury Managing Editor Jennifer Carter Night Editor Jennifer Schmitt Community: Jennifer Schmitt, editor. Doug Irving Entertainment: Nicole Kreuger, editor. Jesse Stephenson Higher Education: Shana Cohn, editorTamyra Howser, in-depth. Laura Cadiz, Benjamin Kwasney Opinion: Ashley Bach, editor Chris Hutchinson, illustrator Brian Diamond. Larry Haiti. Sonja Sherwood Student Activities: Kristin Bailey, editor. Angie Suchy, Tom Potter Sports: Mark McTyre, editor Andrea DeYoung, assistant editor. Chris Hansen, Ryan Frank, Ryan Halvorsen Copy Desk: Thom Schoenborn, copy chief. Sarah Kickler. Mike Schmierbach, Kendra Smith Presentation: Dennis Bolt, editor Matt Garton Photography: Mathew Stiffler, editor Andrew Brackensick, Joe Bunik, Amanda Erickson, Shannon Kilduff, Chad Patteson Freelance: Lara Pittman, editor On-Line: Nicholas Stiffler General Manager Judy Riedl Advertising. Becky Merchant, director Anne Amador, Lee Yen Beh, Marco Ching, Yujin Chi, Matt Johnson, Anne Miller. Trina Shanaman, Rose Soil, Matt Solomon, Greg Walsh Classified: Tara Sloan, manager Natasha Lumpkin, Debbie Levy, Heather Moye Production: Michele Ross, manager Ingrid White, coordinator Shawna Abele, Laura Daniel, Susan Head, Trevor Kearney, Tara Knight, Melissa LeBahn, Molly McCanta, Allison Stormo, Mike Young Business: Kathy Carbone, supervisor Judy Connolly Distribution: John Long, John Pauli, Ferenc Rakoczi Newsroom...(541)346-5511 Display Advertising.(541)346-3712 Business Office.(641) 346-5512 Classified Advertising.(541) 346-4343 THE CABINET MEETING WILL NOW COW TO ORDER LETTERS Thanks EMU All too often, we forget to thank people and spread the word of good deeds. This letter is my attempt to do just that. I work near Willamette Hall, and I al ways get my morning cup of coffee at the Atrium Cafe. On Thursday morning, the window was not open. And there have been other times when it was not open ac cording to the schedule. I phoned EMU Food Services and received voice mail. So, I dialed zero to speak to someone else and received another voice mail. Well, I was a bit cranky by now and decided to go to the top. I called EMU Director Dusty Miller and explained the situation to him. Both Mr. Miller and Theresa Coleman Kaiser, EMU food services manager, were very helpful. I was treated to a fine exam ple of customer service. So please spread the word. There are still people on this campus who do care and do believe in customer service. Thank you, EMU em ployees, for your service. You were a ray of sunshine on a rainy Thursday morning. Shirley Trimble Biology Purchasing The Oregon Daily Emerald welcomes your opinions on this and other issues. You may submit fices at Suite 300 in the EMU or send us your thoughts via e-mail at ode@oregon.uoregon.edu a letter no longer than 250 words to the Emerald of