THE UNIVERSITY DAILY & SANST
PAGE 5
opinion
FREE FOR ALL
Send your FFA submissions to freeforall@kansan.com
Abe & Jake's: where being sketchy is the only tradition.
Why does it feel like it should be time for fall break when it's only the first week...
That awkward moment when the first thing your roommate asks you when they meet you is. "Can I borrow some of your clothes?"
Just found out I don't have to pay for a $55 parking ticket, and can now buy more alcohol. WINNING.
It's the beginning of the year:
queue all the repeat posts to make
yourself look clever to the freshmen.
Making your girlfriend wash the sheets after you peed in her bed is just wrong.
Watching freshmen run after the bus never gets old!
With the number of attractive females walking around campus, sometimes I wish I were a straight guy...but then I remember how awesoome it is being gay!
Is it weird that I get on a bus simply because Dan is the driver and he makes my day?
Just saw a guy on a motorcycle get hit by a car...right in front of a cop.
Pharmacy school is giving me flashbacks of Mizzou @ KU in 2009. As Sherronn would say, "Ain't no seats!"
Dear students.
We agree, plenty of people drive way under the speed limit. But none of them will read UDK.
Love, townies
What were Scooby Snacks anyways?
Personally, I love that they've taken off the FFA facebook app. Maybe now we'll get some interesting comments instead of having to read inane bickering every day. Editor's Note: True that.
The adventures of A-bomb and Ambien Part Two!
To the guy who urinates on toilet seats: I believe you will think of this the next time you are adversely affected by urine.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2011
I just got back from studying in Australia and they hate Mizzou too!
WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO FREE FOR ALL?
Email us your comments at freeforail@kansan.com or call us at (785) 864-0852. And don't worry, your comments will always stay anonymous.
Freeing Libya, et al., is not our job
LIFESTYLE
It's common for many Americans to demand that the U.S. intervene in conflicts around the world, and at the same time, deplore the U.S. for doing just that in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
'The latest flasco people are cheering for is the U.S. involvement in overthrowing Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Everyone deserves to live free of government oppression, and there is no doubt that Gadhafi, like many heads of state, is a monster, a tyrant, a murderer.
But should the U.S. be involved?
I say no.
Often, the United States itself is involved in propping up dictators and crushing democracy around the globe.
President Obama, an alleged constitutional scholar, has not gone
to Congress to seek approval for the United States intervention in Libya as mandated by the War Powers Act of 1973. Instead, he has bypassed the U.S. Constitution and cites as his authority a United Nations Security Council resolution.
In a 2007 interview with the Boston Globe, however, President Obama said, "The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation
that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."
In a statement regarding why he didn't feel he had to abide by the Constitution and the War Powers Act, Obama has made the laughable claim that the United States is not engaged in hostilities in Libya, because its military is too weak to fight
back. That's basically the equi lent of a schoolyard bully arguing, "I didn't get into a fight with that nerd. He didn't land a single punch."
Despite the tragedies in Libya, there is no way to argue there is an actual or imminent threat to the United States requiring military intervention. Yes, Libya may be in a humanitarian crisis. But so are many other countries in the world: North Korea, Syria, Democratic
Republic of the Congo — the list goes on and on. The United States has no more authority to enter into these countries and topple governments than it does in Libya.
What's more, America cannot afford to be the world's policeman. There are Americans who are hungry, homeless and hurting. It does not make sense to use our limited resources to drop bombs in foreign countries that pose zero risk to the United States, often killing many innocent people.
The United States still has no definite exit strategy for the conflict in Afghanistan, the longest running war in American history. The war in Iraq is past its eight year, with no end in sight. These conflicts require hundreds of billions of dollars each year — much of it in money that must be borrowed and financed. We still don't know the outcome of
those wars — and we can't know the outcome of what will happen in Libya. This could very well be yet another decade-long quagmire that turns into a breeding ground for terrorists and fanatics.
Applauding the people of Libya for ridding themselves of a terrible regime is fantastic. But I cannot applaud the United States for its involvement, for it seems simply yet another example of corporate and military interests powering neocolonialism in an oil-rich African state. Everyone — not just liberals — wants to help with human rights issues, but it's neither practical nor possible, especially considering the current mess we have in our own country.
Jason Bennett is a senior in journalism from Bendena.
HEALTH AND RECREATION FEST (1 VOTE)
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
Vicpitch @UK, Opinion shirts longer than your shorts
BrettStevens11
@ouk_uphon guys
wearing sleeveless
shirts. keep those guns
covered up bro
OPINIONS
Challenge your own values, beliefs by listening to other's ideologies
The University is the best setting to find diverse sets of opinions. Walking through campus we are bombarded with different ideologies, politics, and beliefs; and we are forced to go to class, live, and work with people who may be far on the other side of the ideological spectrum than ourselves.
But I find this to be the most valuable part of the "college experience" we hear so much about. These four (or five or six for some) years here are a great time to listen to others and question our own beliefs and ideas.
Some people make the mistake of swinging too far one way or another once they enter a new situation like college that they don't acknowledge that there are people who have every right to disagree with them. People do not gain their value from their agreement or disagreement with your ideology but from their individuality.
able and civil debate to personal attacks and name calling, we do nothing but make ourselves seem more arrogant and close-minded. Even
though we think we are right to ourselves, but to others we're not and may never be.
When we turn from reason
So instead of alienating someone because they don't agree with us, let's try to understand why they don't agree with us. And instead of suffocating them with our beliefs, let's step back and share our beliefs without sounding like a fire and brimstone preacher. Our beliefs may change in the process.
I find the most engaging people to talk to are those who I can disagree with with out either one of us turning into a three-headed monster and feeling like ripping each other's throats out.
Disagreement makes life colorful as long as it's respectful with a little hint of passion on both sides. While we're here at the University in the big scary world they called academia, we have every opportunity to disagree or agree. So take the opportunity to do so as much as possible. Learn about different religions, lifestyles, and choices.
People are fascinating and at the same time confusing and wonderful once you really get to know them. Please, get in
heated debates in your philosophy class but don't do it with a tone of arrogance. Question people and make them back up what they have to say.
Don't leave here without having put yourself through an ideological ringer. We never signed up to come to college to hear a monotony of similar opinions.
—Knutsen is a sophomore in classics from Overland Park.
WHAT ISSUES SHOULD WE TAKE A STAND ON THIS SEMESTER?
Send your thoughts to vshanker@ kansan.com to let the Editorial Board know.
Dear UDK staff.
For the most part, I feel like the new format is great. However, one of my favorite parts of the paper, the Free For All, has certainly taken a turn for the worse, in the opinion of myself, and some of today's FFA posters, friends, etc. as well. The Facebook application, while sometimes irritating with people trying to hook up, were often much more entertaining. It was still anonymous, plus, you could laugh at all the random stuff that DIDN'T make the paper, which, for me, was half the fun. I hope you'll consider bringing this back.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
Brett Steinback
—Brett Steinbrink is a sophomore from in film and media studies and history from Emporia.
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CONTACT US
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
members of the Kanaan Editorial Board are Kelly Strode,
petitioner, Joachim Seahman, Vikaa Shanker, Mandy
and Stephen Stenman.