4a
Opinion
Monday, April 2, 2001
For comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Perspective
Moral absolutes point to presence of superior being
People are absolutely funny.
what makes people funny is some of their obvious contradictory beliefs that shine through. For instance, I know people who are proponents of Darwinian macroevolution and natural selection, but also want to save certain animals from natural extinction — usually the cute ones.
natural extinction — usually the Cube ones
I hear many of my peers assert the importance of individuality and also support the idea of more community. Furthermore, I hear them talk about having pride in their selves and their beliefs, but advocating open-mindedness. These are the same people who say there are no moral absolutes but scorn a drunk driver for killing an innocent hostager.
Alanis Morissette would call these situa-
Alanis Morissette wou tions ironic, but I will just call them prima facie paradoxes.
For now, let's focus on whether there are moral absolutes.
If you sincerely believe absolutes do not exist or basic morals are simply constructed by society, ask yourself why you shudder when some 30-year-old uncle brutally rapes and murders his 5-year-old niece. How can social construction dig that deep?
Matt Cox columnist opinion@kansan.com
"Oh, but Matt, you are just using a shocking, sensational situation to get our attention." Yes. So why is it so shocking?
If that doesn't turn the light bulb on, please confront me on campus. I'd love to talk to you about it at length. But then I will take you to the top floor of Fraser Hall and throw you out the window. But because morals are relative, you have no basis to tell me throwing you off is either good or bad. Something inherent in your human nature, however, will tell you that it isn't right.
Ah, yes, this is the part where we all get to spout our human philosophies, making up some god-fixture to suit our own desires so we can construct ourselves to ignore the other moral absolutes that we don't want to abide by.
Social construction? Probably not. Then where did this basis of a moral absolute come from?
Has it ever occurred to you that maybe a single god who is not bound by time or gravity had a hand in creating these absolutes? If it has, you probably disregard the thought because it sounds too spiritual and less human.
And that's exactly where the problem lies.
We're so caught up in the idea that humans are the most supreme form of life that any superhuman idea is disregarded as superstition. But maybe the truth is that we've conditioned ourselves not to believe in a superhuman creator or father-figure because the idea scares us and we hate the idea of admitting we are imperfect and need help.
You might say this is my own philosophy I am making up, so therefore I am contradicting myself.
Nope, I believe that following Jesus Christ is the only true and untainted "philosophy." And yes, there are many assumptions that go along with that. But I don't have enough room to address them here.
It comes as no surprise to me that Christianity is the most scrutinized faith. Maybe that's because its basis is the real absolute truth, and we refuse to accept it. We want something that glorifies us instead of someone perfect.
Somehow we've constructed ourselves to believe that human impulses and feelings are right and are our guiding light. But how logical is it to put full faith in humans, who make mistakes all
This column is a very general start to a topic that reaches deeper than any other. If you want to discuss this with me, please stop me on campus.
"It's not what you have faith in; it's just that you have faith," you might say. And to that say, "Boo." Try telling an investor that it's not what stock you invest in; it's just that you invest.
And no I won't throw you out of Fraser.
That's absolutely wrong.
Cox is a Lansing senior in journalism
Steve Sack/TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Kansan.com poll
Last week's question: How have international outbreaks of foot and mouth disease affected your eating habits?
■ I plan to stop eating animal meat.
■ It's disturbing, but I won't change my eating habits.
I'm not concerned at all.
Next week's question: Should government money allocated through Medicaid help pay for abortion drug RU-488? Log on to www.kansan.com to cast your vote.
This poll is not scientific. Numbers do not add up to 100 percent because of rounding. Total votes: 161
Perspective
VOICE coalition hides from its precarious past
arly grappling in this year's race for
Early graphing in this year's Student Senate revolves around whether the VOICE coalition is indeed a new coalition. Last year's Delta Force candidate for president, Ben Burton, has leveled accusations disputing VOICE's claim that they are not, in name or substance, the successor to United Students, last year's largely victorious coalition.
Burton's charge is important because key members of that coalition proved to be thieves and liars. Two members of United Students and an associate admitted to stealing thousands of
issues of the Kansan that endorsed their political opponents.
Of course, anyone paying attention (understandably few in number) learned the truth when incumbent senator Jonathan Ng — who ran with United Students last year and is now running with VOICE — gave away the game. Ng told the Kansan that "the reason why we change our name isn't to hide but to bring in new ideas every year and not be tied to the past."
Notice that the "we" simply changes the "name." The coalition changes very little, substantively speaking. Contrary to loud huffing, the leadership and most key, older members of the VOICE coalition are Greek and have been involved in Senate since they were freshmen. So why change names?
Let us first examine the reasons Ng gives. That they do not want to be "tied to the past" is as suspect as it sounds. Why in the name of all good sense wouldn't a coalition want to build a record of achievement and credibility? It would seem to any reasonable observer that the purpose of changing names year to year is a deceptive action. Delta Force, on the other hand, repeatedly lists past successes (fall break, city-wide bus
Andrew Marino
columnist
oginen@karsan.com
system, Hilltop Child Care Center) and a four-year record of clean campaigning.
The next and most urgent question that presents itself is, well, why run for Senate in the first place if not to do something? Jessica Bankston, who heads up this year'sVOICE slate as candidate for student body president, has hinted at the answer. Bankston recently told the Kansan she wanted to create a position in which a student would work with the Lawrence City Commission and be in contact with commissioners all year.
The notion that a coalition would change names in order to "bring in new ideas" is even more absurd — if that's possible. An established coalition can give birth to a new idea just as easily. In fact, a new name provides cover for old ideas and makes passing them off as new ones plausible. YOU, United Students and now VOICE have told us that they will "make students' voices heard" in the capital, the city and at the University. Their record is mixed at best.
Funny. That sounds a lot like the job description for the already-existing position of community affairs director of Student Legislative Awareness Board.
But it sure would be nice to have another cushy appointment; therein lies the true impetus for VOICE. Its objective is to perpetuate a clannish, clubby social group's access to plum, paying positions and perks such as expensive lobby trips and — yes — resume building.
No one really thinks anyone who utterns inane statements such as Bankston's "one thing that is very important is that Student Senate does more for students every day" brings a genuine passion and sense of purpose.
There can be no doubt that theVOICE coalition consists largely of recycled remnants of past coalitions. That they pretend otherwise does not speak well of their character or of their intention to govern.
Marino is a Prairie Village senior in political science and English.
Editorial More students need to vote in local politics
Students can express themselves in tomorrow's City Commission election.
Even though they are citizens of the Lawrence community, University of Kansas students rarely show an interest in local politics. The recent ordinance passed by the City Commission limiting the number of unrelated persons living in a house in a single-family neighborhood to three proves how detrimental this lack of interest can be.
An opportunity to reverse this poor participation presents itself in tomorrow's City Commission elections.
on the daily lives of our students.
Students often complain that the Lawrence community does not respect them but do very little to change this view. Jo Dalquest, deputy county clerk, said that even though students had every right to vote in local elections, few took advantage of it and student turnout was usually low.
The housing ordinance, integration of the Lawrence transit system and KU on Wheels, the South Lawrence Trafficway and tax abatements for businesses that come to Lawrence are all important issues in this year's election. All affect KU students and also have the potential to change the face of Lawrence.
Two KU students ran for office in this year's City Commission primary. Brett Logan, Olathe graduate student, and Jennifer Chaffee, Lawrence senior, have both cited trying to encourage students to get involved with local politics as one of the reasons they decided to run. Although neither one of them advanced past the primaries (perhaps because of low student turnout), their fellow KU students need to support their effort and commitment by voting in the election tomorrow.
Dalquest said that some people in the community would prefer that students didn't vote in city elections. She said a major fear was that students would vote on a bond or tax issue and then move away before they helped to pay for it. Students who don't vote do little to foster a better relationship with the community and change negative opinions.
"If they intend to live here while they're going to school and are interested in the local goings-on," Dalquest said of students, "then they should have a voice."
Kate Williams for the editorial board
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Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansas reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slenderous statements will not be printed. For more comments, visit www.kansan.com.
They don't use the Dewey Decimal system at Watson. Sorry if you don't feel so stoked.
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Maybe reverse psychology will work. Drew, you should leave.
This message is for my psychology professor. Professor, you really need to stop making rude comments about our president in class every day because it makes you look immature and unprofessional.
To the couple in the front row in econ class who's always making out: You make all we want to puke our brains out.
Why should I really care what the GTA makes? I made $5,600 last year, and I just got denied financial aid for next year so I can't go to school to enjoy their wonderful teaching. So thanks a lot. Bye.
I think the University of Kansas should join the other 600 universities that have banned the credit card solicitation on campus.
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I've got news for all you Christians who think you're discriminated against. You're not. Try being nonChristians for a week, and then you'll find out what religious persecution really is.
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The key to the KU basketball team's success is all in the hairst, and what they need to do is to all get mullets next year, and then they'll win every game. They tried it with the headbands a couple years ago; the headbands didn't work. But the mullets will bring the house down. No doubt about it, all night long.
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Yeah, I don't know about you, but I don't know anything about the Student Senate candidates so I'm going to go to the debates April 3.
I just had an aunt who died, and when I gave my professor the note from my mother telling what date she died, how long I was gone for the funeral, in turn, called my mom to make sure my aunt died. Is that right? Is that University policy to double check these things? Do people lie about this? It's ridiculous.
超
This message is for Alex Wilson, who appeared in the Kansan yesterday for his pro-smoke America campaign. Yes, I understand that you do have a right to smoke. But the moment you exhale smoke into the air, you take away my right to breathe.
I'm just calling to say that Drew Gooden going to the NBA is probably a good choice for him because KU basketball just isn't what it's cracked up to be.
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