Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Suite 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
Email: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online: www.dailyemerald.com
Thursday, luly31,2003
--Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Brad Schmidt
Managing Editor
Ian Tobias Montry
EDITORIAL
Keep religion,
wedlock apart
In the weeks since the Supreme Court's ruling on Texas'
sodomy law, many groups have been abuzz about the po
tentials or pitfalls of gay marriage, depending on which
side of the issue they stand.
President Bush chimed in Wednesday, offering his most
honest take to date.
"I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman,"
he said. "And I think we ought to codify that one way or
the other. And we've got lawyers looking at the best way
to do that."
What the issue will ultimately come down to is settling
on a definition of marriage; then someone or some institu
tion — likely the Supreme Court — will have to decide
who qualifies for legally sanctioned marital partnerships.
No matter how the issue pans out, though, the debate
itself illuminates a compelling need to have a clear defini
tion of marriage.
Whether marriage is a state of mind, a verbal agree
ment, a written agreement, a state-recognized contract or
a commitment to love, a definition needs to be accepted
by government.
And in doing so, it must put aside conventional
Christian wisdom.
In America, the argument that marriage should be only
between a man and a woman stems mostly from Chris
tianity, a theology that says sex is partly for procreation,
something that two homosexual partners are unable to do
between themselves.
The United States, however, was founded on more than
just conventional wisdom — Christian or otherwise.
It is in fact the government's duty to uphold certain prin
ciples, such as the First Amendment, which states, "Con
gress shall make no law respecting an establishment of re
ligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
While the masses can certainly consider religion when
deciding their views on homosexuality or homosexual
marriage, the government should not weigh in, at least not
if it intends to use an argument grounded in religion.
President Bush is also entitled to his opinion, and his
position can be based on whatever he sees fit, religion in
cluded. Members of Congress, too, have this freedom. But
as elected representatives working to preserve democratic
principles, these individuals need to consider more than
just their own beliefs when creating legislation.
The bottom line is that an appropriate institution needs
to make a formalized description of what marriage is and
which couples are eligible for it. Whatever the verdict, it
will allow Americans to get on with their lives.
Base marriage on the premise of the act of sex, the emo
tional tie between two individuals, the necessity of the pos
sibility of procreation, or anything else that may be rele
vant. Found marriage on the belief that anyone can marry
anyone, save family; use moral legislation as a backbone,
and create limitations.
Codify away. Just remember the principles on which this
nation was founded, and leave religious rationale out of it.
EDITORIAL POLICY
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses can be sent to letters
@dailyemerald.com. Letters to the editor and guest
commentaries are encouraged. Letters are limited to
250 words and guest commentaries to 550 words.
Authors are limited to one submission per calendar
month. Submission must include phone number and
address for verification. The Emerald reserves the right
to edit for space, grammar and style.
CORRECTIONS
In the July 29 editorial, "Council's DPS ruling violates com
mon sense," and the Page One story "Council votes to expand
DPS responsibilities," the Emerald mistakenly referred to Ward
4 City Councilor George Poling as a former Eugene Police
Department officer.
Poling retired from the Lane County Sheriffs Office in Novem
ber 2001, after 25 years of service. He spent his last four years with
the office as a sergeant.
Also, the caption for the photograph accompanying the story
'Sweat for success* misidentified center Dan Weaver.
The Emerald regrets the errors.
LOOK AT ALL THOSE MOVIE STARS,
USING THEIR fame TO PRESS THEIR
LIBERAL AGENDA. HOLLYWOOD MAKES
ME SICK?
Peter Utsey
for the Emerald
OUS must treat classified staff better
University President Dave Frohnmay
er and Vice President for Administration
Dan Williams:
You may be aware that contract talks be
tween the Oregon University System and
Service Employees International Union
Local 503, Oregon Public Employees
Union are not going well.
The message -
that your dassi- GUEST
personnel
to make
to you,
COMMENTARY
fied
wish
clear
leaders of the University, is that we insist
on being treated fairly and with respect.
This is not happening in the negotiations!
The chancellors and other OUS repre
sentatives at the contract talks have in
serted what they may presume to be
"bargaining chips" into their proposals
— which would take away the tuition
discount and bus pass, and would cause
unacceptable erosion of union and
other layoff rights, among other infa
mous takebacks.
When I explained the above mentioned
details of the contract discussions to a
friend — not a union member — in an
other city, his immediate response was:
"That sounds downright hateful!"
Why is it that ever since legislation was
approved that separated OUS classified
workers from our fellows in other state
agencies — Department of Administrative
Services — higher education workers have
consistently been treated differently and
unfairly compared to our colleagues?
When the legislation was proposed, the
Chancellor's office insisted that university
workers would fare much better under the
measure The "promise" of fairer treatment
is a cruel joke on university system classi
fied workers.
Can you please tell me why this type of
treatment is happening to classified work
ers, as if we are sacrificial lambs?
Rest assured that higher education clas
sified workers will not only insist on eco
nomic proposals that are on par with the
tentative agreement on which DAS work
ers will soon vote, we also insist that OUS
withdraw the mean-spirited, non-eco
nomic takebacks being proposed. In the
words of our admirable table representa
tive Star Holmberg: "The tentative agree
ment reached by DAS did not include a
bunch of takebacks that they had to settle
for in order to get the pay (or) insurance
package they ended up with."
1 for one am certainly ready to go out on
strike the first week of dasses in September
as long as classified workers are treated
with the unfairness and disrespect we've
been confronted with by OUS at the bar
gaining table thus far!
James Jacobson is a member
of the University classified staff
and a former bargaining table representative.
Israel conflict should be presented fairly
A recent campus happening gives local
awareness to a situation that threatens free
expression, not only at the University, but
throughout U.S. society. It should be of
particular concern to Jewish citizens,
whose long history of supporting free ex
pression is threatened by a minority of Is
raeli activists known as Zionists.
Sensitivity to the happening was
strengthened by recalling a related event
— the anti-Semi
te label wrongly mm_
placed on a Uni- ^*31 U S
versity faculty COMMENTARY
member, Dou- __
glas Card, some
months ago by a leading figure in Zionist
misinformation campaigns, New York
Post columnist Daniel Pipes.
The more recent incident came at a
meeting of the Pacifica Forum at the Wes
ley Center. A group had just seen a video,
"Jenin," from Palestinian distributors. It
graphically showed recent destruction in
the Palestinian town by Israeli military.
At the end, two visitors representing the
Israeli point of view distributed pamphlets
calling the video propaganda. The video
showed havoc from the Palestinian per
spective, not the Israeli one. What it re
vealed was from an angle our society rarely
has a chance to see.
Propaganda was a fair term, as this is a
time when public relations goals domi
nate much of what we find in the mass
media, whatever the source. But there is
irony in the two visitors nitpicking about
this one isolated look we got of a Palestin
ian view, when the U S. public has been
flooded with Israeli propaganda in all me
dia for the past 40 years. Israeli propagan
dists have made a monopoly of mislead
ing our country about the Middle East.
The conflict is not new to me. I have
spent much time pointing out how Chris
tianity must expurgate from its scriptures
references that demonize Jews, because
they made possible horrors of the Holo
caust, and perpetuate them. Ihat does not
mean we must shut our eyes to how Zion
ists — extremists amongst otherwise inno
cent Jews — orchestrate our government's
Middle East policies.
Another of their techniques is to instruct
their dupes around the nation to publicly
label as anti-Semitic anyone who criticizes
policies of Israel. Card of our faculty was a
target. His innocence earned him support
ive statements from University President
Dave Frohnmayer and in editorials in The
Register-Guard and The Oregonian. Last
September, an article by former news editor
Brook Reinhard ("Professor battles racism
charge," ODE, Sept. 30) did the same.
But Pipes continues undeterred in libel
ing Americans who know there are two
sides to the tragic issue of Palestine.
Efforts to keep Palestine's voice silent
come from those who — like all aggressors
— fear a fair dialogue. Until U.S. citizens
get a balanced account of what is happen
ing in the Middle East, they will continue
to accept faulty policies that result in our
country fully funding and supporting ille
gal actions of Israel in Palestine.
In behalf of peace-loving Jews, as well
as tyrannized Palestinians, we must
make our society more aware of this in
formation disparity.
George Beres, a former University sports
information director, lives in Eugene,