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Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Brad Schmidt
Managing Editor:
Jan Tobias Montry
Editorial Editor:
Travis Willse
Monday, November 3, 2003
EDITORIAL
Anti-pom week
forces Bush's
moral opinions
on Americans
While soldiers continued to die in Iraq last week, President
Bush exercised his power and took bold steps to ensure that
people of this great nation, the United States of America, are
protected from the evils of the world.
I le didn't end American involvement in Iraq; instead, Bush
declared it "Protection from Pornography Week," via presi
dential proclamation. Bravo.
In continuing attempts to use his office as a pedestal for
preaching the high ground of his personal moral defini
tions, Bush committed in his proclamation for the anti
porn week " ... to take steps to confront the dangers of
pornography," which he said "can have debilitating effects
on communities, marriages, families and children."
Much of the proclamation focused on child pornography
and steps the Bush administration has taken to combat it, in
cluding Department of Homeland Security efforts in "Opera
tion Predator" to "identify child predators, rescue children
depicted in child pornography and persecute those responsi
ble for making and distributing child pornography."
We agree with this, and we commend those efforts. But
while child pornography is obviously harmful to and ex
ploitive of children and, as a result, very illegal — and
rightfully so — we find it hard to believe that the '70s clas
sic "Debbie Does Dallas" is going to break up any mar
riages or terrorize any communities.
Unfortunately, Bush didn't narrow his focus solely to
child pornography in his proclamation, choosing instead
to condemn legitimate forms of sexual expression pro
tected under the First Amendment. Only after declaring
that all pornography has "debilitating effects" did Bush
explain that "the effects of pornography are particularly
pernicious with respect to children."
Sure, we acknowledge that children can be harmed by pom
exploitation and that curbing child pornography is a noble
and legitimate goal for the federal government. Declaring a
day to protest all pornography and creating a misleading link
between exploiting children and catching the newest "Girls
Gone Wild On Campus" on widescreen, however, is not.
Moreover, we challenge Bush to find one shred of reli
able scientific evidence that directly links pornography to
"debilitating effects" on marriages, families or communi
ties. Say, for instance, a higher propensity for broken mar
riages. Or that pornography directly leads to worse com
munities, a higher crime rate or more unemployment.
We're guessing he won't find it. But then again, evidence
isn't something much needed when morality is the driving
policy.
Bush's rhetoric toward all pornography hurts the admin
istration's successful efforts to rid the United States of child
pornography. The subtle comparison Bush draws between
child pornography and other pornography is, truthfully, in
sulting to those who lawfully use pom in the inviolate pri
vate of their own homes.
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.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Brad Schmidt
Editor in Chief
Jan Tobias Montry
Managing Editor
Aimee Rudin
Freelance Editor
Ayisha Yahya
News Editor
Travis Willse
Editorial Editor
Steve Baggs Illustrator
Life’s simple pleasures
1 here s a lot in this world you may take for
granted. Indeed, it would be a difficult chore
to be continually grateful for each and every
good thing in your life. After all, in a single
given day there is not only a lovely sunrise
but also a rather fine sunset. There are the
people who love us and those whom we
love Then there are the bazillion little kind
nesses and advantages that come to us —
not because we deserve them — simply as a
matter of happenstance. I'm talking about
thenice-but-too-little-to-take-consdous-no
tice-of things like a green light when you're
mnning late finding your favorite ice cream
on sale at the grocery store or making it back
to your car before the meter attendant can
pull out the trusty ticket book.
It would be great if we had the time ener
gy and presence of mind to notice all the
good stuff in the world around us, but that
would significantly reduce the time we have
for the more important things in life — like
watching "Bufiy the Vampire Slayer."
So, how about this: Once in a while
(perhaps during a commercial break), take
stock of your situation and find something
to be grateful for that you might not have
paid much attention to before. For starters,
I'd like to propose that those of you read
ing this column be grateful for your literacy.
Since most of you reading this are or
have been in college, I'm going to assume
that your literacy is a fairly well-established
fact by now. But, have you ever imagined
what it would be like to be illiterate?
Personally, I don't have to imagine it be
cause I've experienced it first-hand. Several
years ago, I moved to Japan, and I can vivid
ly recall the trip from the airport to the hotel
Jessica Cole-Hodgkinson
Huh? What? Really.
— I looked at this place that was to be my
home, and I realized that I couldn't read
any of the signs. 1 saw the occasional trade
mark or logo that I recognized, but all the
media around me were indecipherable.
It was scary.
For the next few weeks, I dealt with im
mense insecurity. I was terrified of getting
lost because I couldn't read the street signs.
I had to leave some restaurants because I
couldn't read their menus. I even had trou
ble at the grocery store; unless the package
had pictures, I couldn't tell what was inside.
Eventually, I began to cope. I became fa
miliar with enough kanji to know the differ
ence between a bookstore and a bar. I learned
to navigate by landmarks instead of street
signs; to this day I get a kick out of recalling
that to get to the veterinarian you turned left
at the large purple gorilla and right at the
building with the green cross painted on it
Nevertheless, 1 was always aware of how
vulnerable I was because of my illiteracy.
When I received a bill from the electric com
pany, it showed numerous columns of fig
ures. I knew I was supposed to pay the one
on the bottom, but if they were overcharg
ing me I had no way of disputing it. The con
tract for my apartment was in Japanese. I
signed it based on the information the rental
agent gave me. For all I know, I may have
signed away my firstborn child when 1
thought I was promising to clean the floors.
After years of coping with illiteracy, I re
turned home to Eugene. Life became
much simpler. Once again, I was inde
pendent. Need I say I was grateful?
That was four years ago. I don't remem
ber to be grateful for my literacy everyday. In
fact when faced with the reading my profes
sors think appropriate for one evening, I am
sometimes extremely UNgrateful.
Then I met Wanda. Wanda is a middle
aged woman who has spent most of her
life doing and selling drugs. It was all she
thought she could do to support herself
and her children. You see, while anything
but stupid, Wanda couldn't read. Eventu
ally, Wanda went to prison.
It turns out that going to prison was some
thing Wanda would be grateful for. You see,
while in prison, this middle-aged drug user
and dealer finally learned how to read.
Now, out of prison, Wanda proudly tells
people that she has a job — she's the assis
tant manager at a fast-food restaurant —
and is reading at the third grade level.
Wanda has changed her life. Knowing
Wanda has changed mine. I am grateful.
Editor's note: To protea her identity,
Wanda's real name is not used.
Contact the columnist at
jessicacolehodgkinson@daityemerald.com.
Her opinions do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald.
ONLINE POLL
Each week, the Emerald publishes the
results of the previous week’s poll and
the coming week’s poll question.
Visit www.dailyemerald.com to vote.
Last question: Do you support the
distribution of free condoms in the
residence halls?
Results: 82 votes
• Yes, it will prevent disease and
overpopulation: 57.9 percent or 48 votes.
• No, if you can’t handle asking for
condoms at the University Health Center,
you shouldn’t be having sex: 20.5
percent or 17 votes.
• Maybe, will this increase my chances
of getting laid? 9.6 percent or eight votes.
• No, students will abuse the privilege:
8.4 percent or seven votes.
• Yes, it will increase my chances of
getting laid: 3.6 percent or two votes.
This week: Should CIA Director George
Tenet's presence at the AAU meeting have
been announced to the student body?
Choices: Yes, students should be made
aware of what is taking place on their
campus; Yes, it would have given students
a chance to voice their opinions; No,
students would have protested, thereby
threatening security; No, students couldn't
attend the AAU meeting anyway, so there
was no point in announcing anything;
George who was where?