5
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21. 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
SOUKING UP
Love conquers all
Our forefathers understood that all men have a right to pursue happiness. But, what is happiness?
PAGE 5A
Certainly, that is not such a bad thing. Material prosperity, however, cannot be the entire sum total of our lives.
The traditional understanding of happiness has been the stereotypical American dream: that, through our hard work, determination and resourcefulness, we are able to achieve material success.
There simply must be something more to it. If there were not, the lives' countless celebrities we hear about would not end in ruin as they do.
Too many people search for happiness outside of themselves. Our society (like most others before it) has reduced the pursuit of happiness to the pursuit of pleasure.
Unfortunately, for those who look outside of themselves for happiness, it cannot be found in the embrace of a practical stranger, the end of a pipe or the bottom of a bottle.
These will only temporarily quench our desires. Instead of filling us with happiness, they empty us of all feeling.
Nor can happiness be found in the new car or house, the next degree or promotion, or the young trophy husband/wife.
Instead of freeing us from our despair, they enslave us through their addiction. They do not lead us to happiness but only back to themselves.
The only true path to hap
ANDREW SOUKUP opinion@kansan.com
More than anything else, love (and happiness in turn) is a choice made with the will. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, "to love is to will the good of another."
piness is through love. Regrettably, love is undoubtedly the most misunderstood of all notions today.
Too many people believe that love is an emotion, an affection to someone or something. And, on the one hand, that is somewhat true. Love is a passion for good.
If we had no desire to do good, then it would never get done. But, at the same time, we as men and women are called to use our will and reason to temper our desires.
More than anything else, love (and happiness in turn) is a choice made with the will. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, "to love is to will the good of another."
Love is not self-seeking. Rather, true love is a total self gift. It is a sacrifice. Yet, because of his concupiscence, man's concept of love rarely has anything to do with something so selfless.
Our society has perverted the meaning of love to mean only sex.
Moreover, it has reduced sexual intimacy to a pursuit of pleasure. Unfortunately for those who pursue pleasure through sex, it will never satisfy them.
If it did, we would have no need for a sex columnist enlightening us on how to get our next sexual fix.
But, sex, just like almost all other material pleasures, never mollifies our carnal desires. Rather, it numbs our senses so that we must search for greater sensations each time.
Love brings us happiness because, when we love others, they naturally reciprocate that love.
And, if they do not, we still build on our character, allowing us to better love those who will love us back.
Moreover, we never numb ourselves to the effects of love because is requires our constant effort.
Whereas sex, drugs and alcohol assume a second nature for us, love is difficult for humans. It is a constant struggle. In the end, however, love does increase our happiness, regardless of whatever difficulties we may face in its pursuit.
♦ Soukup is a Lakin junior in linguistics.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Right wing is anything but right
Republican talking points, but, after thinking about it, I realized that letting such dishonesty go unchallenged is unacceptable.
After reading Brian Depperschmidt's letter to the editor, I was tempted to chuckle and write it off as another chapter in the long and ignominious history of right-wingers mindlessly parroting
Consider this: Mr. Deperschmidt infers that WMDs were in fact found in Iraq.
He bases this claim on the US Department of Energy "removed 1.77 tons of enriched uranium" from Iraq in June 2004.
What he fails to mention is that this uranium was not in the process of being transformed into nuclear weapons and was not capable of being used in a dirty bomb, according to BBC News, and that much of the uranium was in fact medical grade, which can be found even on our campus, in Watkins.
Before this, he makes another ludicrous claim that the indictment of I Lewis Libby has "no ties to the information the White House gave the American people about... Iraq." Huh?
The actions of slandering an administration critic, loe
Wilson, and the outing of his wife, a covert CIA agent, were most definitely part of the blatantly obvious "selling" of the Iraq War.
We now know that everything the media stenographed from the administration in early 2003 was wrong.
And even a cursory check of the facts reveals as much
such as the fact that the intelligence the administration was hyping, and continues to hype was more than five years old by that fateful year.
That there were significant disagreements in the intelligence community about the threat posed by Iraq which we, the public, were not exposed to.
Realizing that their lies, machinations and incompetence are finally being recognized by the public at large (see recent polls), they turn to the hail mary play of politics, Saddam equals Hitler, and "we had to do something about his evil and genocide."
This is readily apparent in the increasingly desperate tone of Republican politicos and their fanatical base.
To a person, however, who has been "blinded by the right," facts and reality are always secondary to spin and ideology.
while also suggesting that those who do not support the war or this self-described "war president" are somehow unpatriotic and against the troops.
While there is no denying that Hussein was evil, I always laugh when people such as Mr. Depperschmidt invoke "humanitarian concern" as justification for the war, considering that those on his side of the political divide, in all of their compassion for the oppressed peoples of Iraq, still mostly support the administration's use of secret prisons and torture for prisoners of war.
But then again, I guess cognitive dissonance and sheer hypocrisy are just part of everyday life as a Republican.
And finally, to the charge that critics of Bush and the war are unpatriotic and "appeasers," I will just say this: if exercising my First Amendment right to speak out against an immoral war, an immoral and incompetent President and an immoral and corrupt political party makes myself and 60 percent of the nation unpatriotic, then this country truly is in deep shit.
♦ Andrew Duncan is a Wichita senior in history.
Austin Caster, editor 864-4854 or acaster@kansan.com
TALK TO US
Matthew Sevcik, opinion editor
864-4924 or msevcik@kansan.com
Jonathan Kealing, managing editor 864-4854 or jkealing@kansan.com
SUBMISSIONS
Joshua Bickel, managing editor 864-4854 or jbickel@kansan.com
Sarah Connelly, business manager 864-404 or addirector@kansan.com
John Morgan, sales director
864-4462 or addirector@kanan.su
Malcolm Gibson, general manager, new adviser
884-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing
adviser
864-7866 weaver@hneuwer.com
864-7666 or jweaver@kansan.com
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions.
For any questions, call Austin Caster at 864-4810 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com.
I also know people who are so intent on being in love that they can force themselves to have feelings for someone. People in this kind of relationship often fail to spend time on the little things and work to make their relationship stronger.
General questions should be directed to the editor at editor@kansan.com.
LETTER GUIDELINES
And that seems to be the kind of love that rarely makes it. While the person who is always around can be hard to live without, the person who takes you to dinner twice a week is quite replaceable.
But, regardless of whether the love survives, the feelings felt are completely valid, and don't change simply because things weren't perfect.
You can care about someone but know that it won't work.
what love is. It's taking every opportunity you have to be with someone and relishing it.
Maximum Length: 650 word limit
Include: Author's name; class, home-town (student); position (faculty member); phone number (will not be published)
Maximum Length: 200 word limit
Include: Author's name and telephone number; class, hometown (student); position (faculty member); phone number (will not be published)
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
Elisi Ford, Yanting Wang, Joel Simone, Dan Hoyt, Anny Weltmier, Jalila Parian, Natha McGinnis, Josh Goeting, Sara Garlick, Travien Brown, Julian Portillo, David Archer
EDITORIAL BOARD
Love is strongest when you appreciate a person in things large and small, but conditions don't always allow for two people to be together.
SUBMIT TO
Kansas newerow
111 Stauffer-Flint Hall
1438 Jawhack Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045
(785) 864-4810 opinion@kansan.com
Permanence in a relationship is determined by luck as much as love.
Don't stop looking for love
RYAN HAS SPOKEN
"There is no such thing as love."
Mostly because I've always considered myself a romantic person who believed that love conquered all, all you needed is love, and so on; but partly because, as I continued to think about it, the more I could understand his view.
A friend of mine said that last week, and I must admit, it took me by surprise.
My friend's point was this: Two people can be together for a while and decide they are in love. They can have their honeymoon stage and decide they are meant to be together forever.
But, inevitably, they break up. Maybe one of them is moving away, or the other has "changed," but the fact is that it's over. Kaput.
And it raises a question as to whether they really did love each other. Shouldn't love be able to keep them together through anything? And if it doesn't, does that mean they never really were in love?
I had no idea. My friend's theory did seem to make some sense, but there's no way that love, in its entirety, doesn't exist. I was totally clueless and decided to call
And the fact that they couldn't work it out doesn't render the good times invalid. And I would have to say I agree with her.
RYAN MULVENON
opinion@kansan.com
As soon as I asked her, she had an answer. She told me that despite being divorced, she still cared about my father. She had good memories to thank him for, but knew that they weren't good for each other.
my own personal Buddha, my mother.
It's just that sometimes love isn't enough.
It's easy for me to sit here and imagine a relationship like the ones idealized in the movies, filled with rose petals and a love that lasts for all time, but the truth is that relationships aren't always pure romance and can take work. If you truly care about someone, you're there for both the highest and lowest points.
I watch my mom and stepfather as they garden together or go grocery shopping and know that's
♦ Mulvenon is an Oathe freshman in art history and English.
THE PLAY CALL
Help the team beat Iowa State
Dear students.
Thank you for your enormous support of the 2005 football team.
Your enthusiasm sets the tempo for the great game day atmosphere at Memorial Stadium. We are undefeated in our house because of your efforts.
This Saturday, we play an important game against Iowa State to finish Big 12 Conference play. This is also Thanksgiving weekend.
COACH MARK MANGINO opinion@kansan.com
We hope to see you back on campus Saturday, however, for the big game. Hey, better yet, bring your family back with you to cheer on the fawhaws!
all of us in the Jayhawk football program.
I encourage you to spend Thanksgiving with your family. Family time is treasured by
Have a happy and safe holiday. We'll see you at Memorial Stadium!
Family time is treasured by
Free All for
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded. Instant message the Free for All at "uktfreeforall."
Editor's note: the biggest Free for All ever, www.kansan.com.
it's practically Thanksgiving, and I'm still eating these blasted Halloween Oreos!
To be or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; no more; and by a sleep to say we end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to,
'tis a consummation devoutly to be wish'd.
Free for All, I'm drunk and lonely, please come over, baby. I promise it will be the best 3 minutes of your life!
Hanson! Live! In the flesh! Tuesday night! Wooooo!
Your coach,
Mark Mangino
Chuck Norris lost his virginity before his dad did.
*
In "The Mighty Ducks," the coach for the Hawks has his collar popped. That tells me all I need to know about what kind of tools pop their collars.
Julian: Next time, take the warm-up off.
To whomever puts the basketball players names on the scoreboards, I believe that it is Sasha Kaun not Sahsa Kaun.
Natalie, I swear I only popped my collar for warmth.
For warmth!
If we don't have the rights to date puppets, then what rights do we have?
Four cops were eating together at Chipotle.
Burritos are the new donuts.
Vin Diesel < Chuck Norris < MacGuyver. = Truth
Vin Diesel taught the Kool-Aid man how to burst through walls.
Vin Diesel < Chuck Norris < MacGuyver. = Truth
"WTF, mate!" is Australian for WTF.
Joel Simone, thanks for such a thoughtful and fantastic article. Let's get married.
+
I am so gellin' right now, and by gellin', I mean stoned.
Chuck Norris has never had a case of the "Mondays" in his entire life.
Our R.A. asked us what we thought diversity meant. I'm pretty sure it's the subject of the video that wasted an hour of my life at freshmen orientation!
Would it help my chances of getting in here if I flashed you, Free for All?
I just said Chuck Norris, which probably means I'll get in the paper now.
As soon as Dennis Chanay grows a uterus and vagina, he can judge abortion. Until then, he needs to shut up.
Joy Lawson: I am not against women's rights, but I am for the rights of unborn children, and they shouldn't have to die because both their parents were too stupid to use birth control. These women also made a conscious decision to have sex and they should take responsibility
for their actions, along with men.
At the rate we're going, we're not going to have anymore fraternities on campus.
Ladies and gentlemen, a didgeridoo (Didgeridoo playing.)
+
OK, liberals, here's a chance to demonstrate your consistency. A math teacher is offering extra credit for participating in a Muslim holiday. Show us that you believe separation is for all religions, not just Christianity.
all religions, not just Christianity.
Chuck Norris was Vin Diesel's pledge dad in Rhombus House
---