4a
Opinion
Friday, November 10,2000
Perspective
for comments, contact Ben Voosen Embry or Emily Hughey at 864-4924 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com
Issues get lost as candidates race for votes
Amid all the voting chaos, America has a new leader deep in its pockets. In any case, I cannot say I am satisfied, nor can I say that I was impressed with each politician's savvy for spewing out plans, numbers and promises. I felt deceived and threatened as a citizen of this country, and I can honestly say that I wasn't fooled by the "smile and wave technique" that was used by every candidate.
From state to state, candidates campaigned vigorously, disguising fixations of an oligarchy with empty promises of a democracy. The majority of these campaigns had a tendency to "lure" citizens into the ideology of democracy. However, these citizens will be let down when they come to the realization their voice is only a soft echo in a Grand Canyon of desperate political cries.
The supposed government of this country is simply this: Power emanates from the people A government where the people choose, correct?
Well, my "choice" to watch regular program-
These misleading campaigns tend to replace allegiance and moral ethics with blind faith in a blindfolded search to find the perfect man to fix material problems rather than focus on social dilemmas.
Eric
Tullis
guest columnist
opinion@kansan.com
mng on my television is snatched away when my television set is bombarded by some presidential debate between two conformist, so-called leaders who irresistibly tag a budget onto every social problem in America.
I'm sorry, but my destiny as a citizen in this country is far more important than a debate about putting a cap on campaign financing or funding for some space station on a planet I'll never see.
This is one of the main reasons why so many people neglected to treat the vote with importance. People did not want to vote. They wanted to believe. In triumph or defeat, votes represented by a legitimate believer are far more sincere and effective than votes of those that have invested no heart into their decisions
If you believe in yourself, you expect yourself to do the best at whatever it is you do, correct? On the other hand, don't you expect this government to lead this country to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness?" Sure you do. So naturally, you shouldn't believe in it until it does. There is no reason why your self-efficacy shouldn't reflect the efficiency of your government. With that in mind, I urge you to take a strong look at the people who pleaded for your vote. Did you believe in them?
Historically, were these politicians any different than any other past politicians who have had the power to simply stroke their pen across a designated line in order to sign a law or bill? The campaign trail can seem dreadfully inviting at times, but out of any of today's presidential candidates, who wanted to make amends now? With that said, I challenge the notion that society cannot change overnight.
No thanks to every president before Woodrow Wilson, it took 145 years for women to gain their right to vote. During the 175 years before Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency, the American school system was racially segregated. Above all, during the 187 years before Lyndon Johnson's presidency, not one president other than John F. Kennedy might have given thought to asking for passage of a civil rights law. There is no reason why these issues should have taken so long to be given a fair look.
This substantial evidence proves that any issue can be resolved overnight. Because of ignorance, major laws in American history took hundreds of years to be given a just look at. Even today, society hasn't soaked up the principles. An overnight change is what this country needs. Spontaneity is a cunning eye-opener.
The facts are frightening and certainly do not reflect that of a democracy. This is why I had a hard time "believing" in any of the candidates. They hadn't shown themselves to be any different from any past candidates and winners, whom have never led the nation according to the wants and needs of its citizens. So, assuming that there is a next time ... believe before you vote, or don't vote at all!
Tullis is a Wichita junior in communications.
STAFF TIBUNE
Steve Sack / KANSAN
Heard on the Hill
Did you vote in the presidential election?
"I did. Gore." Ebony Armstrong St. Louis senior
"Yes. Bush." Chris Macarthur Olathe senior
"No. Too lazy to go and register."
Zach Stevens
Olathe senior
"No. Politics are so screwed up, I don't want anything to do with it."
Anne Whitly Lawrence junior
Perspective
Alternative Break opens student's eyes to problems
Pay to do community service? What a rip off.
Behold one of my friend's reactions when I told him I was going on Alternative Spring Break in Detroit a couple of years ago.
Though I was excited about my trip, I had to admit my itinerary looked like the worst deal ever: Paying to do volunteer work sounds fishy, trading in the prospect of frosty brews for Kool-Aid is a throw-back to
pre-21 days and frozen Detroit is hardly the hot spot for college kids on spring break.
Despite my buddy's disgust, I went through with it; I paid the money, I did the service and I loved it enough to go on a second trip. In Detroit, I taught conflict resolution to grade school kids; last spring, I went to Houston and helped teach eighth-grade English in an underfunded middle school.
Before I went on these breaks, I would have characterized myself as a socially concerned individual, yet issues of education, the environment, health care, poverty and multiculturalism seemed somewhat distant and abstract.
Eric
Snider
guest columnist
opinion@kansan.com
break experiences changed my perspective about education and my idea of personal responsibility.
After working with the kids in schools I visited, I saw first-hand not only how all
These alternative
these social issues affected these children but also how these problems affect me. I learned many life lessons during these trips, lessons more valuable than any check I can ever write — let alone the few bucks my friend scoffed at when I first told him my plans.
My new understanding began with the help of Alternative Breaks on the KU campus.
Students have the opportunity to learn about these important social and environmental issues in a meaningful way by participating in the trips Alternative Breaks offers during winter and spring breaks, and on six weekends throughout each semester. The program is rooted in the philosophy of service-learning; therefore, I applied my classroom knowledge and skills at the service agencies I visited.
In some ways, Alternative Breaks is a lot like MTV's Road Rules or Real World. It is the true story of eight to 10 KU students picked to ride in a van to see what happens when they give of their time and start doing service.
Did I go on an Alternative Break and save the world while my friends were drinking beer on the couch or running sand through their toes in Cancun? Clearly not.
I've become friends with KU students whom I may never have met had I not gone on the trips. The van ride might not have the zany Road Rules challenges, and the accommodations might not compare to a New Orleans mansion or a New York loft, but the primary idea of bringing different people together holds true.
Did I internalize the lessons from my text books, better understand the news, touch a few lives and reevaluate my priorities? Definitely yes.
Snider is a Wichita senior in English.
Editorial
Vote trading is a legal compromise
Kansas Secretary of State said he'd prosecute those who trade votes in elections.
No. If vote trading is bribery, then campaigning is bribery. The statute vote traders would be prosecuted under defines bribery as offering or agreeing to accept any benefits as consideration to or from any person to vote for a candidate.
Secretary of State Ron Thornberg claimed he would vigorously prosecute anyone who traded their vote online. The crime they would be charged with is election bribery. Is vote trading really bribery? Does it violate our sacred democratic institutions?
Under this definition of bribery, "any person" could be George W. Bush. "Any benefit" could be his promise to citizens to invest part of their tax money into the market. Several Kansas voters accepted this benefit in consideration for voting for Bush.
If the Secretary of State urges the Attorney General to prosecute a single Nader Trader, it's only fair he also urge the state to drag Bush down here to stand trial for election bribery. Gore should come, too, since he promised to put Social Security in a lock box.
The notion of charging vote traders with bribery is as ridiculous as charging legislators with bribery. The national and state legislatures trade votes all the time as part of the democratic process of compromise. In an ideal world, we'd send representatives to the legislature, and they'd vote Kansas' conscience on every issue, and we'd vote for the candidate we want, not against the one we fear most.
But politics is a realistic business so compromises have to be made. Legislators have to make deals and vote to establish coalitions, and the people must do the same. So long as an outmoded structure such as the Electoral College makes some votes worthless, to preserve the will of the people, trading is a fair scheme.
Brett Watson for the editorial board
Free for all Callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. To read more, go to www.kansan.com.
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I'd like to know the UDK's definition of slanderous statements, I find the comment suggesting minority students should go to a different school to be offensive.
Did the editors of the UDK go to bed early Tuesday night? Bush hasn't won.
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The glass-enclosed treadmill room is a waste. You don't need air-conditioning and giant TV's to workout. They should expand the freeweights area for those serious about fitness.
I bet people living in Florida who didn't vote are feeling pretty stupid right now.
Seth Jones may have the support of the Crimson Girls but none of the cheerleaders.
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Great headline in Wednesday's paper!
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I laugh at the people who think we live in a democracy.
Democrats get your tissues out, this election is over.
Nader was our last best chance to have a good president.
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Bush's daughters are twice as hot as Chelsea Clinton.
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I think the saying goes:
Stop the presses. You guys
make me laugh at the UDK.
I just put Free for All on my speed-dial.
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I bid farewell to all those leaving the country because of George W. Bush.
If I said I was gay would I be allowed to stay at GSP or Corbin?
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It's sad the Democrats can't handle losing.
I like to smile.
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I'll be at Madison Square Gardens this weekend to cheer on the Javahawks.
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If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
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