4A
Wednesday, July 12, 1995
OPINION
U'N I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE; THE SUSAN SMITH TRIAL
Insanity defense is justified
As Susan Smith's trial begins this week, many are still asking the same question as when she was arrested: "How could she do it?"
Last fall, Smith was arrested for murdering her two children, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex.
In light of what her lawyer David Bruck may claim for Smith's defense — a plea of innocence by reason of insanity — the public may never know the truth.
But Smith, who could face the death penalty if she is declared guilty whether she is sane or mentally ill, still has every right to prove to her jury that past abuses drove her to insanity which ultimately caused her to drown her two sons.
Monday, a psychiatrist for the prosecution said that Smith was legally competent to stand trial despite her feelings of depression, nausea and worthlessness and her fantasies of being reunited with her children.
The 23-year-old Smith has a past of problems which
In this murder trial, a mother's insanity plea is legitimate after a life of abuse, depression
began when her father committed suicide when she was 6 years old. She tried to kill herself twice in the next 10 years and was hospitalized for depression. Smith's stepfather also has admitted to sexually assaulting her.
In her confession, Smith said, "I didn't want to live anymore. I felt I had to end our lives to protect us all from grief or harm."
And although she has not offered an explanation of why she saved herself from drowning, this question probably will be answered during the trial.
Although the outrage of a public that felt betrayed has calmed, Smith now faces a public that isn't sympathetic to her insanity defense. But this may be the only answer to the question of how a mother could kill her own children, and it should be used in this case.
JAMIE MUNN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE ISSUE: HATE RADIO
Award mocks free speech
G. Gordon Liddy recently won the Freedom of Speech Award at a ceremony for the National Association of Radio Talk ShowHosts.
Liddy, a former President Nixon aide who went to prison for his role in the Watergate burglary, hosts a syndicated, talk-format program which is heard on 262 radio stations nationwide.
Liddy was honored for his use of free speech, but the award now legitimizes, even dignifies, one of the most base means of mass communication: hate radio.
His program repeatedly has been critical of the botched 1993 federal raid on the Branch Davidian cult compound near Waco, Texas.
He once advised listeners to use "head shots" to defend themselves from attacking agents because "they've got a vest underneath."
This kind of broadcast attracts listeners by being controversial but is within the rights of those radio stations to broadcast.
G. Gordon Liddy's honor praises the shoddy side of journalism and ignores the First Amendment's true purpose and intent.
However, to honor Liddy as a model of free speech is disappointing because his comments are only extreme statements made to raise tempers not the common consciousness.
With this precedent, the award could eventually honor any broadcaster who can create the most attention rather than uplift the First Amendment's intent.
The First Amendment's beauty shines from its high regard for responsible expression.
Telling radio listeners the most lethal place to shoot government officers is not responsible.
Liddy is entitled to the popularity he may have among his listeners. But honoring him with a national free speech award cheapens the ideals that most media members strive to protect and enhance through responsible communication.
JAMIE MUNN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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Matt Hood / KANSAN
Pro-sports millionaires force this fan to strike against major leagues
That's it. Forget all professional sports.
From now on, all sports fans should forget that there were ever such entities as major professional leagues in football, baseball and basketball.
Here's a brief and simplistic history lesson. The NFL has a salary cap set for every team, but players don't agree with it and want it changed to get more money.
Major League Baseball players were on strike last season and into this strike-shortened year because owners said they couldn't survive escalating player payrolls and were ready to implement a salary cap.
Recently, NBA players have been locked out by the owners because a group of agent-guided superstars want the current players' union disbanded — for money, of course.
Now you're up to speed, and it's too bad, isn't it?
Don't watch professional sports. Understand the gravity of this request, coming from the computer of a Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Broncos fanatic.
Hometown sports fans, forget the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals.
KANSAN
EDITOR
While this may be a ludicrous idea, professional players have eclipsed the ridiculousness scale. Basketball phenomenon Michael Jordan has said that he could never be paid what he was worth. What the... Elementa
will never be paid what they are worth. Social workers and firefighters, not athletes, are underpaid. Jordan seems to think that playing basketball will end world hunger.
Elementary school teachers
The only real way of measuring a job's worth is to examine its social significance. Professional athletics don't amount to anything in the big picture, but these bloated ego hounds seem to think that they are at the top of the social ladder, when indeed they are not.
Therefore, if you rooted for the Chiefs in the past, start following Kansas State Wildcats or Kansas Jayhawks football. If you cheered for home-run hitting Bob Hamelin
and the Royals, attend Wichita State Shockers baseball games.
If you liked the Chicago Bulls, turn toward Roy Williams and Kansas basketball. Ignore all the money-grubbing players and owners.
Why? College and high school sports display the essence of what these sports should stand for: achievement, striving for a goal and teamwork—not greed.
I'm convinced that money is the root of all evil, at least in professional sports. When the Oakland A's won the World Series in 1974, Reggie Jackson was their highest paid player at $70,000 a year. While players like Jackson, a Hall of Famer, may have been underpaid, the game in those days was baseball. With the average salary at more than $1 million this season, the game has changed to laborrelations.
While money is starting to dampen NCAA basketball, that condition still is better than the NBA.
Maybe the quality of play at this lower level is not what we would see in the professional arena, but at least when we are watching a college game, the players' motives are clear.
Conference basketball trophy, we knew he was striving for that championship and not for a better contract for next season. While there are players in college eyeing sevenfigure contracts, it's the NBA waving the money in their faces, not the schools.
When we watched Kansas guard Jacque Vaughn hoist the Big Eight
When we see Kansas football coach Glen Mason yelling at quarterback Mark Williams this fall, we will know that they are not arguing about how much Williams is worth in dollars.
No professional athlete should be paid more than $1 million. I don't care how unbelievable that athlete is on the field or court, he or she is only playing a game.
Our perspective has been so screwed up that we are meant to believe these athletes should get exorbitant amounts of money.
And for what? To bounce, hit or throw a ball. We need a reality check.
If we are real fans of these sports, we should search the amateur ranks to find the true games.
Money has not spoiled these sports or athletes — vet.
Berry Fey is an Omaha, Neb., senior in journalism.
Importance is in the eye of the beholder
I want to respond to the occasional comment passed my way by our readership.
I'm told that I don't discuss important events or ideas that matter in my columns. Basically, I rarely write about anything significant, readers sav.
I know I commit drive-by references and create sound-bite commentary.
But I try to avoid the kind of significance defined by popular culture and media. There is such a thing as current topics being too important, people being too in touch, news events being too significant.
I admit I am a CNN junkie, and I love my computer's modern because it keeps me even more up-to-date. I see the news stories, the reports and the in-depth interviews.
This is a large world, and there are many events to track. There is a lot of news to think about. But of the thousands of reactions people can have to any single event, we hear maybe half of those responses discussed at best. Among ourselves, we
STAFF COLUMNIST
end up talking about few.
Ultimately, the very essence of saying something significant — to have an opinion about the balanced budget, trade pacts, illegal immigration or "the trial," — doesn't really matter in day-to-day life. People have
already formed their opinions about news events. Thousands of hours of television are devoted to these subjects, and miles of newsprint cover these topics.
People generally have more opinions about media events than what goes on in our individual lives. We spend so much time trying discuss "significant" events that our perspectives of our day-to-day lives are totally distorted.
More was written about Princess
Diana's marital status than all of the little discoveries that were made by students in the world's schools. A glove in the O. J. Simpson case should not matter more to me than what my day was like.
I'd rather spend time learning about how someone I know decided to devote her life to helping children or how a friend is doing after a few months in a new career.
Stare at a bright object for long enough, and you will go blind. And by looking at camera lights, T.V. screens and movie screens, we forget the simple pleasure of watching your neighbor dancing all alone in the parking lot.
Unfortunately some of our desire for significance comes from the belief that our lives are not important. "I wish I were famous" could mean "I'm not worth while." I am not more important than anybody else. But that does not mean I am less important.
Moths are attracted to bright lights by nature. We don't need to act as they do.
Emmie Hsu / KANSAN
There is nothing wrong with being aware of news events. It's depressing when someone doesn't know that the Bosnian war is as bad, if not worse, than before.
But I can't stand people who quote Beavis and Butt-Head but yawn while listening to Shakespeare or Lao-tzu.
There is nothing wrong with being introspective, keeping the world at our fingertips and in the range of our vision.
No matter how great the special effects in "Batman Forever" are, a huge, white thunderhead at the edge of a sapphire, Kansas sky always beats them. The best CD sound system still isn't as enjoyable as three friends screwing up the lyrics to "Unchained Melody" while driving home from Kansas City.
Lights need not be media-bright to let us see significance.
Look for importance in every day life.
isaac Bell is a Lawrence senior in Engl. lish.
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