OPINION
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2005
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▼ SACK'S PERSPECTIVE
THE COLD FEET BRIDE
Steve Sack/STAR TRIBUNE
AS I SEE IT
No sense complaining; look at bright side of life
Stop whining, reader Please, for the sake of the rest of us, stop complaining for once in your life. For a day, refrain from any bitching you would normally annoy people with and enjoy your life. Did anyone catch the April 28 article on Andy Marso and his battle with
BOB JOHNSON
bjohnson@kansan.com
meningitis? This man should be your inspiration. You think your Introduction to Philosophy class is tough? Try waking up with bacterial meningitis tomorrow and struggling to stay alive for the rest of the day. Don't have the car you want? Think about not having full use of your hands and feet.
If you read the article, which I strongly suggest that everyone do (it is easily accessible on the Kansan Web site), you would know that Andy Marso, a person with every right to complain, refuses to do so. This is a man who lived
the normal life of a college student until a year ago, when he contracted meningitis and nearly died, then spent an entire summer in the hospital undergoing numerous surgeries and amputations. Astoundingly, Marso emerged from this period of physical and emotional trial filled with hope and optimism amidst his suffering.
Time and again I gave up
Astoundingly, Marso emerged from this period of physical and emotional trial filled with hope and optimism amidst his suffering.
"Time and again I gave hope for the future," Marso wrote in his April 28 Kansan column. "But the sun would rise again and I would wake with the strength to face another day."
People like Marso are true heroes because they are reminders of a side of humanity that is not always evident in most of our day-to-day lives. The strength of the human spirit to overcome true hardship is an
That is true courage in the face of adversity. You want to tell me about the trouble you're having picking out a dress for graduation? Try not being able to be present at your graduation, where you were to carry the journalism school flag for finishing first in your class. That was the situation a hospital-ridden Marso found himself in a year ago, but my guess is he didn't gripe about it.
Maroo is set to give the commencement speech at this year's journalism school recognition ceremony. I, for one, cannot wait to hear what he has to say. The tribulation he has undergone this past year far exceeds anything I can really fathom and makes my problems seem
insignificant and foolish.
incredible and awe-inspiring thing. Marso's story and those like it continually remind us that there is always something worth fighting for.
And sometimes, they remind us what a fight it is. Marso's battle with disease and its after-effects have been grueling and painstaking for both Marso and those who love him. My guess is that a number of you reading this article have experienced similar situations, either personally or with someone close to you. Yet you are still here, and for that basic fact it is clear that you are winning the battle. Most of us will go through loss or other
significant hardship in our lives, and some more than others. In many ways it is the stories of those like Marso that sustain us in our own time of need.
We all have difficulty in our lives, and I do not mean to downplay the legitimacy of anyone's troubles. Just because another person's struggles may seem heavier at face value does not mean that yours are not important. I just
ask that we all take a step back and put everything into perspective. My hunch is that if everyone exercised a healthy dose of common sense and reason in examining their own worries, they would find that some of their alliances would be at least partially alleviated.
Things could always be worse, which is very much true. Conversely, I implore you to not believe any of that Murphy's Law nonsense. If you truly buy into the notion that everything that can go wrong will go wrong, I can assure you with complete confidence that it will. Lighten up a little bit reader, and try on some optimism for size. I can show you one man who already has, and for Andy Marso, it has made all the difference in the world.
Johnson is an Edmond, Olka., senior in journalism.
A SHADENFREUDEN WORLD
Mistreatment of women exacerbates AIDS epidemic
For nearly 20 years now, the world has made a concerted effort to battle the AIDS epidemic, with much of the focus toward Africa. However, the Bush administration and even rest of the world, fail to recognize the grievous mistake of putting emphasis on treating those
MINDY OSBORNE mosborne@kansan.com
empires of the world that have already infected instead of dealing with the larger social and gender issues that are the source of the AIDS epidemic.
The hardest hit regions in Africa, such as South Africa, Kenya and Uganda, are in their current state of peril because of the condition of women in these countries. Practices, such as sexual cleansing of widows, unrestrained polygamy and "sugar daddies," create and contribute to the current state of chaos.
For example, a custom in Africa requires widows and widowers to be "sexually cleansed" of their dead spouses before they can marry. The process dictates that the widow must have sex with her husband's male sibling or the widower with his female sibling. Most often, the dead spouse died of AIDS or anyone of the relatives have HIV or AIDS, thus increasing the spread of the disease. Efforts to curb this practice include encouraging changes by substituting this practice with others like having them jump over cows or go through an herbal bath.
However, for the widows, the risks of infection do not stop there. In reality, even after performing the ritual, widows are ostracized by their community.
On top of it all, even if women are infected, they will not seek out help or treatment because HIV infection is seen as the result of their immoral sexual behavior.
Polygamy is also a prevalent problem because it was once believed effective in limiting sexually transmitted diseases as men had sex only with wives in the village but now it poses a threat to woman as mobility had encouraged men to seek spouses outside the village, thus increasing the risk.
Last year, Jennifer Schmidt reported on the problem in South Africa on NPR. "Gender inequality is deeply ingrained in black South Africa. It's common, almost expected, for men to have multiple sexual partners. Women are traditionally taught to refuse their husbands nothing. In the face of AIDS, these customs are a formula for disaster. In South Africa, young women are now infected with HIV at twice the rate of men..."
Another myth is that having sex with young virgins could cure men of AIDS and protect them from HIV infection. This practice happens normally in the context of a "sugar daddy" relationship, which entails young girls being coerced into a sexual relationship with an older man in exchange for money for textbooks, food or small luxuries.
A Population Services International survey of men and young girls in African countries found that men preferred not to use condoms and often had sex with younger women because they perceive them as unlikely to be HIV-positive. The survey defined "sugar daddies" as men at least 10
years older than their sexual partners. Many of these girls assume that the men are not HIV-positive. Curbing such encounters could cause a reduction in HIV transmission.
In this current state of affairs, other nations are quarrel over which is
more effective, promotion of abstinence or distribution of condoms. In reality, neither is going to make much impact for now.
On the abstinence side, President Bush announced the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and asked Congress to commit $15 billion during the next five years to help the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean. This pledge is the most impressive to date and already has provided $2.4 billion in relief last year. But the Emergency Plan funds stipulate that one-third of the bill's AIDS prevention funding should be used for abstinence and monogamy programs.
The key element of the program's strategy is the "ABC policy", which stands for "abstinence, being faithful and condoms." Even furthering complicating the proposal, communication is difficult in a developing world where there's not infrastructure to deliver prevention messages.
Besides, hasn't anyone told President Bush that 61 percent of graduating high school seniors have had sex, according to The Washington Post? This is even in his own country where the rate of teenage pregnancy is the highest and despite all of his spending on abstinence-only programs. In a country that encourages men to have sex outside of marriage and rampant child prostitution, his goals of abstinence and being faithful seem more like pipe dreams than legitimate endeavors.
As for condoms, Europe is the biggest proponent. England's International Development Minister Gareth Thomas said, "Fundamentally you have to recognize the reality that people are able to make their own decisions about sex lives, and we need to understand that reality and increase access to condoms." While this may seem like a more logical solution, Richard Knox pointed out on NPR, "Condoms aren't a real choice for tens of millions of women worried that their men might give them HIV. For a woman even to suggest that her partner use a condom invites suspicion of her."
In the meantime, focus should be paid on providing funding for the education and empowerment of women in Africa. A report from the United Nation AIDS found that when women stay in school longer, they understand better how to protect themselves and have a chance to fight the conditions that increase their vulnerability to AIDS.
As Kofi Annan said at the AIDS Conference, "Only when societies recognize that educating girls is not an option, but a necessity, will girls and young women be able to build the knowledge, the self-confidence and the independence they need to protect themselves from AIDS."
◆ Osborne is a Dunlap, Ill., junior in journalism and international studies.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Column twists Catholics' concerns about Pope Ratzinger
Vince Myers's opinion column, "Don't expect Catholic pope to advocate liberal ideals," on Friday, greatly distorted the viewpoints of many Catholics.
Liberal Catholics do not expect the new pope, or any pope, to advocate liberal ideas. We are afraid that the new pope will purge all moderate and liberal voices in the Church who have different opinions about issues like the ordination of women, an enlightened teaching on sexuality and birth control and an end to the shameful dehumanization of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics. And we have good reason to be afraid: Just last week the editor of the
Catholic magazine America was forced out of his job for allowing debate on issues that the Vatican feels should not be discussed.
One of the most important theologians of the 20th century put it best when he said: "In matters of faith, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; in all things love." This particular Catholic was purged from the Church by then-Cardinal Ratzinger.
Liberal Catholics are concerned about a pope who will destroy the freedoms of speech and conscience in our church. This is no reason to lampoon us.
Free for All
Tom Keating Marysville senior Political science
Call 864-0500
I love the Free For All. Can I get published now?
Free for all calls 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.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
Is this where I call to register as a sex offender?
To the person who thinks the guy in the Mitsubishi 3000GT is hot, back off, because I'm the only woman he takes for a ride.
It's 2 o'clock in the morning on a Monday night, and I'm watching "Star Wars." I love education.
I'm looking for a girl to make out with in front of my roommate to exact revenge on her for being such a terrible roommate all year long. Any takers?
I'm gonna kill the next person I hear using a three-letter acronym.
Kansan, I think it's pretty lame when you have to justify yourself to the *Free For All* comments.
Free moustache rides for any girls who come out to the baseball game.
To all the girls who sunbath outside of Olive, you're totally the reason why I go to class.
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