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University Daily Kansan/Tuesday, November 5, 1991
OPINION
NEW EQUINOX Tribute
Suicide machine
Kervorkian's ideas show disregard for life
Suicide is a booming business nowadays. Overnight, a veritable morgasm bord of ideas, experts, and handy-dandy, how-to-kill-yourself books have appeared, neatly packaged for mass consumption. It is obvious that suicide is a growing trend in the 1990s.
One of the strongest proponents of the right-to-die movement is Dr. Jack Kervorkian. He repeatedly has stated that suicide is a civil right for patients who are in severe, chronic pain and for people who are terminally ill.
To this end, Kervorkian has devised a machine that provides a supposedly humane way to commit suicide. He says
that he does not advise patients to kill themselves; he merely provides the means.
Kervorkian represents a frightening trend in the thinking of some people today. Purporting to show compassion for the suffering and the dying, what Kervorkian actually demonstrates is a callous disregard for human life. Is suicide an option? And where and when? More importantly, who is to decide? Thorny questions of life and death are not easily resolved by Kervorkian's smooth and pat assurances that he only intends the best for his so-called patients.
The suicide machine is a gross perversion of the doctor-patient relationship and an outlet for some very dubious reasoning. Why not, extending Kervorkian's reasoning, hand out the machine to mentally-ill patients who wish to kill themselves?
Doctors who create suicide machines should double as morticians. Indeed, why not a one-stop-shop for all your suicidal needs? Kervorkian could charge a single lump fee for his services and double his earnings.
Kevin Bartels for the editorial board
South Africa
Anti-apartheid groups must achieve unity
The South African government has announced that it is ready to begin talks on a new constitution that would end apartheid and give voting rights to Blacks. Blacks in South Africa constitute a 30 million-member majority.
At the same time, however, the government has refused to relinquish power to an interim multracial government, as has been demanded by the African National Congress and a new alliance of 90 anti-apartheid groups.
The significance of this alliance lies in one of its key members, the Pan Africanist Congress. Before the alliance, the Pan Africanist Congress had refused to
recognize the government's legitimacy or to enter into negotiations with it.
The alliance of the Pan Africanist Congress with the ANC is a breakthrough in Black groups' attempts to form a unified front against the government.
Widespread disagreement between Black groups in South Africa has in part enabled the white-rules government to maintain control of the country despite the fact that whites are a distinct minority in South Africa.
Editorials reflect the opinion of the University Daily Kansan editorial board. Editorials reflect the majority opinion of the board.
There is still division between Black groups in South Africa, most significantly between the ANC and the Inkatha
Freedom Party, which is the second largest opposition group in the country
But an alliance such as the one between the hard-line Pan Africanist Congress and the ANC is a much needed step in ending the oppressive white government.
Opinions expressed in guest and staff columns and cartoons are soley those of the author or artist. Views expressed in columns and cartoons are not necessarily shared by the Kansan.
Although it will be difficult, in some cases perhaps impossible, completely achieving unity of the Black groups of South Africa is vital in achieving and maintaining equality for Blacks.
Editorial board members are: Benjamin Allen, Kevin Bartels, James Baucom, Michael Dick, Amy Francis, Clarissa Jackson, Ellen Kuwana, Holly Lawton, Holly Neuman, John Noltensmeyer, Karen Park, Jennifer Reynolds, Jennifer Tanous, Jose Vasquez, Julie Wasson and Frank Williams.
Julie Wasson for the editorial board
LETTERS to the EDITOR Don't overlook merits of film
Boo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo! That is all I have to say regarding Lorraine Jessepe's sob article, "Dances With Wolves doesn't deserve praise." It is the most pathetic, whiny, tear-jerking article I have read in a long time. The sad part is that any valid criticism that it may have had was lost by her holier-than-thou attitude.
Hollywood's lack of true authenticity, yet I should remind everyone that this movie was not a National Geographic Frontier Special. If Academy Awards were given for historical truth, then there would never be a recipient. Lorraine Jessepe failed to mention any of the merits of this film. Validating American Indians' human values was not this film's goal; bringing to life the hardships of this conflict to the viewer was. So maybe it wasn't suited to everyone's tastes, but if everything was, we wouldn't be watching anything.
True, the movie itself was tainted by
Andrew Lee New York junior
Dorothy and her friends could teach nation a lot
When I left the East Coast (New Jersey, by way of Maryland) to come to Kansas for law school, I, like many who had made the trek before me, received some good-natured kidding from friends and family about the "Wizard of Oz," Dorothy and the great Kansas prairie. In fact, my going-away presents included, in addition to a Black's Law Dictionary and other practical items, a small toy figureur of Dorothy carrying Toto in her basket. At times when the academic pressures have been heavy, the sight of that little figure on my bookshelf has provided a helpful reminder of whimsy and a source of perspective. At the risk of offending those who have loved L. Frank Baum's story, I would suggest that the characters from the "Wizard of Oz" may also be helpful in a larger sense (much as Baum apparently intended in his own time). Those characters provide a way of describing and addressing our nation's current political difficulties.
The past year has given us many examples of partisanship and national political gridlock: last fall's budget stalemate, the Persian Gulf war debate, the abortion "gag rule" for family planning clinics, the Thomas nomination to the Supreme Court and the disagreement about extending unemployment benefits. Some of this is inherent to a two-party system, when party identities and loyalty are in fair measure established along a "have-have not" axis. In part, it is a result of the divided government (Republican president and Democratic Congress) we have had in recent years. It appears, however, that our present dementia also results from a painful use of our two major political parties. At the national level, at least, the Democrats have often shown more compassion than common sense — the Scarcrecrow, all heart and no brain. The Republicans have frequently chosen common sense over compassion — the Tin Man, all brain and no heart.
As a voter, I have tended to favor common sense, theorizing that a lack of prudence will destroy us even more quickly than will a lack of compassion. In the long run, of course, we need both qualities.
But just as the "Wizard of Oz" suggests a way of describing our situation, it also may suggest a solution. Dorothy and her friends, forcing themselves to move ahead one step at a time and meeting and overcoming one practical challenge after another, discovered within themselves abilities and knowledge they always had but were unaware of. They developed and applied those abilities ultimately solved their problems. Dorothy was able to return home, the Scarecrow realized that he was indeed clever, the Tin Man discovered his heart, and the Cowardly Lion found his courage.
This also may be possible on the national political level. Some of our major cultural disagreements (about
Mike
Castro
Guest
columnist
abortion, family, values, diversity and national identity) may take decades to resolve. With regard to these issues, our politics may have to remain partisan. It should be possible, however, to agree to disagree and to partially separate these long-term conflicts from the more immediate practical problems that we must solve. A disagreement about whether a child should be raised as a Tan Man or as a Cowardly Lion should not keep us from cooperating to put out the fire that is burning up the Scarecrow.
Many issues, like increasing national economic productivity, improving education, reducing crime or devising a national health-care system, fall within the category of practical concerns that we can address methodically and in a spirit of compromise. The ongoing debate over re-establishing a federal capital gains tax, in contrast, illustrates what happens when pragmatic approach is followed, pragmatic approach is followed, and Congress know that increasing our savings and investments is crucial to our future prosperity and that the good things we would like to accomplish in other areas depend on that prosperity. They know that our major competitors already provide tax incentives that encourage savings and investment. They also know that a capital gains tax is not the only way of promoting investment and that even a capital gains tax may take various forms. Yet, (as can be told from facts and areas) apparently continues to advocate one narrow form of capital gains tax while the Democrats in Congress simply reject this tax as "favoring the rich" and have only recently begun to propose alternative schemes.
If in our political parties and in the nation in general we address concrete problems with the intent of actually solving them and not of gaining partisan advantage, we may well discover within ourselves the qualities that seem to have been missing in recent years. We will realize the need for a balance between heart and mind. The film Man eventually found and the courage that the Cowardly Lion discovered. It is certain, however, that like Dorothy and her friends we must begin the task even without knowing whether we have the ability to succeed simply because we know we have to try. Like Dorothy, we know that time is pressing.
Mike Castro is a third year law student from North Plainfield, N.J.
KANSAN STAFF
HOLLY LAWTON
Editor
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Last Hurrahs
by Mike Romane