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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1997)
3 TI h E ClAckAMAS P r ÍNT Speed now-pay later where speeding fines are high com pared to the rest of the region. A problem with photo-radar is that it doesn't really prevent speeding. Law-breakers beware: was your On the other hand, if a cop pulls you over for 15 minutes, all upset with photo taken last week? Last week Clackamas’ campus po his lights flashing, and he is asking lice obtained a photo-radar machine you to come up with a decent or be and had it on campus for the entire lievable reason for speeding, well, it's an embarrassment. You probably week. "We just want to remind students won't speed for at least an hour after that there is a speed limit," said Public getting pulled over. A photo-radar, however, basically Safety Sergeant Larry Dexheimer. Anyone who is found speeding will just says you are doing 65 in a 55 be issued a ticket, which makes me and lets you continue speeding. If a photo radar tells me that I'm doing wonder: what's the point? The problem with photo-radar, in my 65 in a 55, I know I'm going to be opinion, goes to the heart of the mat fined, so I might as well just continue ter with how America handles the en on my illegal way. I certainly won't slow down at that point. forcement of its laws.. There's another problem: how I thought that the purpose of law enforcement was to enforce our •soon before the law enforcement nation's laws, not just fine people starts charging citizens for a wider variety of crimes? Possession of an when they break a law. But just fining people for breaking a illegal substance could garner a hefty law is a lot more profitable than hav-:. fine (I suggest $10,000). Breaking and entering could be ing a bunch of cops on patrol. The cost of a photo-radar machine may be $50,000. No more jail time--the jus initially expensive but probably pays tice system doesn't make any money itself off quickly with tickets. This off of jail time unless prisoners are must be especially tfue in Oregon, used as some sort of slave labor. BRAD ZIMMERMAN Co-Editor-in-Chief The bad news is, this sort of sys tem is already in place, to a degree. When two citizens are involved in a conflict and the resolution is that one citizen has to pay the other citizen a certain amount of money, a payment plan is implemented. Of course, the justice system doesn't care if citizen X pays citizen Y his or her money, because the justice system isn't mak ing any money off of that process. In the case of a speeding ticket (or something greater, in the future), however, you can be sure that if you don't pay the ticket will go to war rant and eventually a SWAT team will bust you for not paying that $75 ticket. Hey, they've got to make a living. Basically, the problem with photo radar is that it doesn’t prevent speed ing. In fact, the only thing it does is charge people for going fast. It's no surprise, however, that the law en forcement community is. moving to wards that sort of model. It's kind of like a toll charge. At the very least, though, the cops that used to just sit around waiting for a speeder to fly by can get around to preventing ijeal crimes from occurring. Club Advisor Ext. Cheerleading and dance club Amy Lundy 2250 Snowboarding and ski club Bob Misley 2376 Racquetball club Kathie Woods 2418 Baptist student ministries Amy Lundy 2250 FCA (Fellowship of Christian Ath letes) Kathie Woods 2418 Writers' Club Allen Widerburg 2359 Phi Theta Kappa Dave Arter 2210 Coyote Circle (Native American Club) Laney Fouse 2813 Horticulture Club Elizabeth Howley 2389 Circle K Club Amy Lundy 2250 Spanish Club Cariota Holley 2381 Speech Club Kelly Brennan 2726 Campus Crusade for Christ Amy Lundy 2250 Get educated on the issues or don't vote MIKE GARCIA Staff Writer On November 4, the people of Oregon exercised their American right and retained the assisted suicide law. Is it just me, or is that whole concept just a little creepy? I’m speaking of the “American right” phrase, not the newly-affirmed law. I have no right to malign the law. Nor do I wish to endorse it. The pros and cons will probably be rehashed for decades. If I took a side, no doubt a reader or two would remind me that my opinion isn’t important. It’s not my place to judge, the I don’t reader would say, and he or she would think laws be absolutely right. I shouldn’t legislate in the gray morality. But wait a minute: isn’t that areas of what we just did? morality Democracy can be quite an ego should be boosting concept. We’re allowed to play put to a God, in a sense. The majority has spo ken, and now our statutes allow the con vote. troversial procedure of assisted suicide Mike Garcia to be performed with no legal conse Staff Writer quences. Think about the reasoning be hind this. If one person traveled around the state advocating assisted suicide and all of us disagreed with him, we’d probably label him a crackpot, or more point edly, a moral degenerate. “He’s wrong,” we’d say without reservation. “Assisted suicide is wrong. Only one guy be lieves in it. It must be wrong.” But for some reason all we have to do is add a bunch of people to him, and suddenly it’s right. Hmm. It’s right be cause we agree? What if we’re all a bunch of crackpots and moral degenerates? At what percentage of voters do we cross over from wrong to right? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 50% consensus clause in the Ten Commandments. ■For the Thanksgiving Holi day the college will be closed. w Thursday- Nov. 27-30. No evening (after 4 p.m.) on » Wed. Nov 26. Simply put, I don’t think laws in the gray areas of morality should be put to a vote. With all due respect to public intel ligence, we’re not really in a position to decide these kinds of things. Naturally, anyone who works in politics would challenge me with the idea of constitutional right. Our forefathers fought long and hard to make us a republic. July fourth is Independence Day. The Star Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. It’s a cozy, hoary old chestnut, that idea of freedom of choice. It’s a part of the American dream and the Ameri can spirit. But, unfortunately, it still doesn’t have much to do with morality. Anyone who works in politics would probably also admit that his or her workplace is not a haven for the most principled men in the world. It’s been proven, I think, that those who have been well educated in certain areas are best equipped to take them to the next level. Scientists advance the theories of science. Architects perfect architecture. Our system of electing representatives insures that those who have spent years studying law are the ones who make new ones. When it comes to issues like measure 51, though, who is the expert? One could argue that ministers, who spe cialize in morality, should guide us. Or maybe we should let our conscience be our guide. Then again, maybe you’d rather put your trust in the American flag and democracy than in the words of Jiminy Cricket. Maybe there’s no such thing as a conscience. In fact, the closest thing to a conscience I can think of is the queasiness I feel when someone says the following words to me: “I don’t know anything about candidate so-and-so, but he looks like a good guy, so I’m voting for him.” He looks like a good guy. I have heard those exact words before, and they made me ask, “So, if everyone voted like you, would Washing ton be overrun with ignorant yet photogenic politicians? Would you choose David Schwimmer over Norman ■For the Christmas holiday the college will be closed. Thursday-Sunday Dec. 25-< I New Year's Day-Thursday Jan. 1. Schwarzkopf?” Here are a few more scary comments I’ve picked up: “This measure is about schools and I’m in favor of schools, so I’m voting for it”; “This guy’s the Democratic school board candidate and I’m a registered Democrat, so I’m voting for him”; and my favorite, “I like what I saw on TV supporting this ad, so I’m voting for it.” What if that school measure is cutting down on classes to benefit schools monetarily, and you never got around to read ing that little detail? What if your Democratic school board candidate moonlights as the owner of a strip club, and you never took the time to read that paragraph of his bio? And— gulp—what if not everything you see on TV is true? If I sound belittling to anyone, please accept my apology and take some time to consider why campaign financing is such a big issue nowadays. Often the money spent on a campaign influences the pub lic as much the candidate’s personal views. Why? Because enough of the American public is too lazy to do its homework before voting. Enough of the public, perhaps, to throw the vote. I am not casting the first stone here. I’ll admit I’m lazy, too. Sometimes all the details of a property-tax law escape me or go over my head or bore me. Sometimes I don’t know the difference between Candidate A and Candidate B. Maybe I can’t really conjure up a strong opinion about a certain envi ronmental law. But my civil-rights vote has as much weight as Jesse Jackson’s. That’s why I’ve made the decision not to vote. I don’t see the need to compound my irresponsibility. Despite our patriotic fervor, the importance of the vote is taken for granted. We who haven’t taken the time to learn about the issues should either make the time to learn or keep our ignorant ballots out of the box. Voting is not a game. The results drastically affect our lives. If you’re not going to take it seriously, you might be shortchanging all of us. Lazy Americans, do us all a favor: join me in exercising my right not to vote. Let those who know what’s at stake make the decisions. It could only change things for the better. ■For Martin Luther King Jr. Day the college will be closed Monday Jan. 19. Wednesday, November 19, 1997
