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Tuesday, April 15,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Commentary
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor.
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Page Assistant:
Salena De La Cruz
Editorial
War on terror
claims casualty :
government’s
common sense
The story of Jake Johnston, a Salem native and friend
of University freshmen Jay Rowan and Thomas Maffai, is
just short of ridiculous. And the ridicule doesn’t belong to
Johnston or his family, but to the hypervigilance of gov
ernment officials who think they will somehow stop all
evildoers by trampling on common sense and freedom.
Nineteen years ago, Johnston’s parents were living in
northern Washington and rushed across the border to
the nearest hospital to have their child. Paperwork was
never completed, by his parents or by immigration offi
cials, and so on March 24, Johnston was detained while
trying to re-enter the United States after a spring break
ovemighter to Mexico. He was promptly incarcerated in
San Diego for more than two weeks.
What’s amazing about this story is that his release re
quired significant intervention by Johnston’s friends,
who collected signatures on petitions and contacted
elected officials to ask for help.
The government has said it is making renewed efforts
to “connect the dots,” a catchphrase that became popu
larized after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The newly cre
ated Department of Homeland Security, which current
ly oversees immigration, is supposed to be able to
combine the workings of hundreds of other agencies
and departments into one giant bureaucracy that can
see all of the dots at once — in order to connect them.
But is anyone really safer since this effort? Sure, as long
as you don’t cross the border with a bureaucratic snafu in
your past. Is it really possible that there was no one in the
immigration office at the Mexican border who could see
the insanity of detaining Johnston and throwing him in
jail? No one in that office had the common sense to con
nect the dots and see Johnston isn’t a terrorist?
Apparently, no is the answer. Johnston’s mother
went into bankruptcy pleading her son’s case and pay
ing for a lawyer. Either the government is going over
board, or a dangerous terrorist is free in Salem, wait
ing to make his move after 19 years of laying low in
order to pull off this clever ploy. We hope the sarcasm
is evident in the latter choice.
What’s also amazing about this story is that John
ston was let out at all. Kudos to his friends and family
for pushing the issue. But how many other stories
with similar details exist out there and no one hears
the cries? Would this story have ended the same way
if Johnston was black or Hispanic, or Middle Eastern?
It seems unlikely. What would have happened if the
family hadn’t intervened? When would officials have
come to their senses?
The lesson is that much of America’s infrastructure is
porous. It’s designed that way, so freedom can flourish. It
means that sometimes, people with bad intentions get ac
cess where they shouldn’t. Look at the example of the U.S.
soldier suspected of a grenade attack against Gamp Penn
sylvania in Kuwait just four days into the war with Iraq.
Americans will never be completely safe, no matter
how large the bureaucracy, no matter how wide-ranging
the powers to squash freedom and civil liberties. But the
less porous American life becomes, the more it will re
semble a totalitarian regime. Let’s be hypervigilant
against that for a change.
v
Steve Baggs Emerald
Unsportsmanlike conduct
Last week, the Baseball Hall of Fame
canceled plans to celebrate the 15th an
niversary of ‘Bull Durham,’ the superb
movie about life in the minor leagues.
The reason? Its costars, Tim Robbins and
Susan Sarandon, had spoken out against
the war on Iraq. The Hall of Fame
claimed it did not want to be pro-war or
anti-war. Said Dale Petroskey, its presi
dent, on the Hall’s Web site: “As an insti
tution, we stand be
hind our president
and our troops in
this conflict.”
Say what?
This act of cen
sorship violates
American values.
Robbins and
Sarandon, partners
on and off the
screen, had not
planned to protest
at the Hall of Fame.
This disinvitation goes beyond limiting
dissent at Gooperstown. It silences dis
senters. It encourages others to exclude
people with unpopular views, which
discourages people for their exercising
their freedom anywhere. And the free
dom to express our thoughts is the
bedrock of American democracy.
Since when did supporting our troops
mean silencing the dissenting voices?
Haven’t our troops fought to give Iraqis
the very freedom to speak?
The Hall of Fame’s action is also un
sportsmanlike. In a letter to Robbins,
Philip
Huang
A different light
Petroskey wrote that his “very public
criticism of President Bush at this impor
tant — and sensitive — time in our na
tion’s history helps undermine the U.S.
position, which could put our troops in
even more danger.” So dissenters are aid
ing the enemy! Now that’s hitting below
the belt. The insinuations of disloyalty
also shatter the Hall’s neutral pose.
In sports, rules ensure fair play. Sports
fans accept whether their teams win or
lose, because the rules are neutral. They
apply to everyone. Not so off the field. After
basketball star Steve Nash wore a T-shirt
saying “No War / Shoot for Peace” last
month, team owner Mark Cuban reported
ly told players not to talk about the war.
Then he wore a flag-waving T-shirt himself.
Here’s a secret: On the political spec
trum, the sports world is hardly neutral.
It often huddles on the right, near the
land of country music, which just wit
nessed the burning of Dixie Chicks CDs.
At least no one is ripping Steve Nash bas
ketball cards. What do track legend Jim
Ryun, football star Steve Largent and
Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning have in
common? They were elected to Con
gress, largely on their celebrity status.
They are also conservative Republicans.
Dale Petroskey himself served Presi
dent Ronald Reagan as assistant press sec
retary and as spokesman for the Depart
ment of Transportation. “I don’t think
we’ll ever see another president like
Ronald Reagan,” he once gushed to the
Daily Star, which covers Cooperstown.
Not surprisingly, the Hall’s Development
Advisory Group includes W. Dennis
Thomas, another member of Reagan’s
staff, and Robb LaKritz, a current Bush
Administration lawyer. No wonder we’re
told to “stand behind our president”!
Being neutral is often difficult. The
only solution to our bias is not to dis
criminate against other views. Only a bad
sport tries to disqualify opponents from
a game before it starts.
Finally, this decision profanes the spir
it of “Bull Durham.” This funny and sexy
film reveals a little-seen side of sports.
Where the Hall of Fame puts athletes on
a remote pedestal, “Bull Durham” pokes
fun at their flaws and brings you into
their daily lives. While the Hall admits a
select few, the movie is about the count
less boys of summer who play in obscu
rity for just one chance at The Show.
Ron Shelton, the writer and director of
“Bull Durham,” also made “White Men
Can’t Jump” and “Tin Cup.” In those
films, the most dynamic character is not
a man. And she’s not an athlete. Saran
don plays Annie, a smart, sassy woman
who isn’t afraid to tell off the men in her
life. She takes under her wing a cocky
young prospect named Nuke (Robbins),
who has a “million-dollar arm and five
cent head.” His saving grace? He learns
to listen.
If only the five-cent heads in this world
could follow his lead.
Contact the columnist
at philiphuang@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald.
Letters to the editor
Christa and Greg have
leadership experience
Christa Shively and Greg Bae have
what it takes to be an effective team for
ASUO Executive. Succeeding in student
government requires experience and
leadership, and Christa and Greg will
work hard, ensuring that their experi
ence and leadership make the Universi
ty a better place for you to go to school.
Shively and Bae have been very in
volved with our student government.
Christa, for example, has worked as the
ASUO Community Outreach Director,
she has served on the Associated Stu
dents Presidential Advisory Committee,
and she is the EMU Board chair for the
third year in a row. Greg also has been
very involved, as he has worked as the
programs director for the Multicultural
Center, as a board member for OSPIRG,
and served as the treasurer for our frater
nity, Delta Sigma Phi.
Christa and Greg know how important
leadership is and will further the creation
of a Leadership Development Center,
which will benefit all students looking to
become better leaders. This is just one of
their many great platform ideas, which
are outlined at http://gladstone.uore
gon.edu/~gbae/. Christa and Greg are the
most qualified candidates for ASUO Ex
ecutive. Please join me in voting for
Christa Shively and Greg Bae.
Justin F. Zuiker
* senior
business administration
Stop hating Christian
fundamentalists
I’m disappointed in Jerome Garger’s
letter (“Free speech in classes shouldn’t
be stifled,” ODE, April 2). As I was read
ing, I was thinking, this was going to be a
rational letter regarding intellectual free
dom. However, I was saddened by the
hate-filled and intolerant rant against so
called “Christian fundamentalists” that
ended the piece.
While not religions myself, I have re
spect for those who are, and despite what
the media and our Dead Kennedys’ records
have told us, many “Christian fundamen
talists” are very thoughtful, kind and intel
ligent people. Even when I was at the
height of my radical days, I was never
treated as anything less than equal by the
so-called “American Taliban.”
My conservative aunt never “preached”
about hellfire and damnation but invited
me to reach my own conclusions through
logic and reason, not “indoctrination” or
“intimidation.” Sure, there are conserva
tive Christians who are nauseating people,
but name a group that doesn’t have these
people within its ranks.
I’m disappointed at the intolerance
shown toward these people. I’m further
disappointed that this kind of hate speech
goes unchallenged. In the spirit of equali
ty, diversity and tolerance, let’s stop the ha
tred of “fundamentalist Christians.”
Lucas Szabo
junior
political science