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Opinion
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Monday, February 12, 2001
Perspective
Abortion issue offers no new perspective
old debates don't die. They just keep annoying us.
A glance at the Kansan's editorial pages of the past couple of weeks showed that the oldest and moldiest of the liberal-conservative debates — abortion — still has enough juice left in it to inflame students.
For comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
I skimmed the letters and noticed something interesting: None of them told me anything new.
As an active observer of the great left-right battle since grade school, I remember the heated abortion debates of the early '90s, when Operation Rescue stridently protested outside Wichita clinics. I vividly recall the heated battle of letters and editorials on the *Wichita Eagle* oin-
How interesting—and how discouraging—to see that so little has changed. Forget consensus. Forget trying to understand others' points of view. Let's just use the most charged rhetoric possible.
ion page, venom and bile spewing from all sides.
But it's not just abortion. Try evolution, a missile defense system or minority rights. Ancient divisive controversies have continued to pop up in the past couple of years, bringing out the worst in people and the country.
We like to think of our society as progressive. We like to think that the 2000s are better than the 1950s, which were better than the 1890s. The country develops and matures as the decades pass, serving its people better and better.
Clay McCusition columnist opiniononkansan.com
But debates such as these suggest that we aren't as quick to change as we like to think. Roe v. Wade is nearly three decades old, yet the bitterness and resentment it conjures is still fresh in the minds and hearts of many.
Charles Darwin postulated the theory of evolution more than a century ago, and biologists have used it as a cornerstone of their work ever since. Yet many people of faith still find Darwin's conclusions unbearable to consider.
A missile defense system was criticized worldwide when first proposed by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, yet George W. Bush and his advisers seem to believe that aggravating the majority of the world's nations is the way to best secure the count try's safety.
Minority rights now are protected by federal laws, yet large numbers of African Americans still feel unfairly persecuted by law enforcement officers and practices such as racial profiling.
These issues are old. The debates surrounding them have remained the same for years. And many reasonable people — both liberal and conservative — probably believed that they were settled. Done with.
Even if one doesn't believe in abortion rights, the Supreme Court repeatedly has supported their existence. Even if one doesn't believe in evolution, the vast majority of scientists accept it. Even if one believes the U.S. must pursue a vigorous defense policy, our lack of a missile defense during the past two decades has not resulted in huge air attacks from hostile powers. Even if one believes minorities are somehow inferior, the government has recognized everyone's equal protection under law.
But these matters aren't settled. People still feel strongly about them. Progress has not been made. It's clear, as the country prepares for four years under a new president, that true unity is impossible. We can no longer assume that because something is legal and accepted by many that it will remain free from the excess, brutal attacks of others.
These issues can't be resolved. They won't ever be resolved. We are fortunate enough — and unfortunate enough — to live in a country where ideological battles aren't suppressed. We have to put up with them.
The arguments may not change, but that doesn't mean they will go away.
McCusick is an El Dorado senior in English and journalism.
STARTRIUM
Steve Sack/TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Kansan.com poll
Last week's question: Are checkpoints where police stop every driver to check sobriety a good idea?
Yes. There's a compelling social interest in keeping drunk drivers off the road.
No. It's an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
I have mixed feelings about checkpoints.
Next week's question: Would you pay extra student fees to make Student Senate's newspaper readership program permanent? 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: 384
Perspective
Weekend road trips put students' lives in danger
For many of us at the University of Kansas, returning home for a weekend or break entails a lot of driving. For some, the distances are substantial, as is the case for me.
A couple of weekends ago, I drove almost 300 miles to visit Pratt — my hometown — 200 miles to go and from a meeting and
another 300 to return to Lawrence. These 800 miles gave me a revelation.
Although I had driven this many miles in a weekend and sometimes more, during this particular trip I was witness to several acts of road rage and stupidity.
Luckily, none of the incidents resulted in a wreck or physical injury, but I was emotionally unsettled.
The actions and reac-
The actions and reactions I witnessed made me realize how dangerous driving can be. I saw extreme speeds, sudden braking for no apparent reason and tailgating.
I actually saw one man driving alone in a pickup truck frantically looking for some object in the backseat of his extended cab. At one point, he almost completely turned around and bent over the front seat, digging around in the backseat. I found it in my best interest to slow down to a crawl to keep a safe distance from him.
Erin Riffey columnist
opinion@kansan.com
While he wasn't watching, his truck had meandered into the other lane, and the oncoming traffic barely had enough room to swerve around him on the shoulder. When he finally noticed his predicament,
he turned around and got back into the lane in front of me, pulled out the map that he had been looking for, unfolded it, and started to read it. Luckily, he turned off the main road a few miles down the road, making that two-lane highway a little safer.
As I continued on my way, I noticed a repeated pattern of tailgating, passing and sudden braking.
Although witnessing these events was no significant surprise, they concerned me. On any given weekend, hundreds of students venture home for many reasons: family gatherings, birthdays, weddings, parties, etc.
This leap-frog contest held up traffic and caused a line of vehicles to swerve to avoid a pile-up in the middle of the road. This was probably an example of road rage, with the driver of the first vehicle trying to get the second to back off to increase safety for all. However, the reaction to the initial action put more people into a risky situation than the action itself.
Frankly, drivers, including ourselves, can and most likely will do something stupid during their travels. However, this does not give anyone the right to react maniacally and irrationally.
Although I am not discouraging the act of driving (I drive all the time), I'm irritated with many others' driving habits. Distances can be long. Driving can be emotionally and mentally tiring.
These students are risking the chance that they may never get to where they are going, sometimes by no fault of there own.
Editorial
Riffey is a Pratt freshman in pre-journalism.
George W. Bush's proposal threatens to further segregate schools by class.
Voucher plan would harm U.S. schools
Whatever your political party, it is hard not to applaud President George W. Bush's efforts to improve public schools. However, the president's education reform package includes school vouchers, which would threaten equal opportunity education and would further cripple an already limping school system.
Many schools considered to be failing are underfinanced and located in impoverished areas. A $1,500 credit would do little good for a low-income student attending one of these schools because most private schools' tuition far exceeds that.
Bush refuses to use the term "school vouchers." Instead, he talks about a $1,500 "education credit," which would be awarded to the parents of children attending failing schools. Parents then could apply the credit toward tuition at a private or religious school or switch to a different public school in the district.
Austin Turney, Lawrence Board of Education president, agreed.
Whatever you call them, vouchers further segregate students. Students from more affluent families would attend private schools while others would go to public schools. There is also not enough room for every child in a failing school to transfer to a successful (most likely suburban) one.
"The proposed amount, $1,500, is merely a subsidiary for people who can already afford private school," he said. "There is only a marginal group for whom this would even make a difference."
The students unable to transfer would be in danger because every student who transfers from a failing school takes money with them.
"In most places, schools that fall behind need money to catch up," Turney said. "If you take money away, you'll have the reverse effect."
Bush is correct that children should not be forced to attend bad schools, but taking away bright students and funding is not the answer.
"The typical simple answer for what is wrong with our schools is that we need smaller classes," Turney said. "To get smaller classes, you need more teachers, and how are you going to hire more teachers if you can't afford to pay them?"
Kate Williams
Kate Williams for the editorial board
Free for all callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. For more comments, visit www.kansan.com.
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Chenowith, the other night after the Monday basketball game at the Wheel, I had a table full of girls sitting with me. You had three dudes with you. Who wins now?
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I was more impressed with Eric Chenowith than Kirk Hinrich during the Oklahoma State game.
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I am a lifelong Kansan and I was a Chenowith supporter. But after reading his quotes in the paper, I have totally lost all respect for him. And by the way, Chenowith, in Kansas we don't try to drive our car away from a tow truck when it's hooked up to it.
Can we stop talking bad about Chenowith and move on to Axtell now?
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Lawrence needs an Olive Garden.
The people saying bad things about Hashinger probably grew up in Kansas, and it's been their lifelong dream to live there. I get to live here, and they don't, so I win.
I'd just like to say to the guy I ran into with my bicycle today on Thursday; Thank you so much for picking me up and dusting the mud off me. That gesture of selflessness was greatly appreciated.
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Sweet steam whistle, how I've missed your wonderful sound that releases me from the prison that are classes.
It sucks that teachers are giving tests Wednesday night. Hello? It's Valentine's Dav.
Next time there's a sports event, everyone should go to Yellow Sub and sit there and listen to the people that work there make fun of it, because they're funny and they sure make dam good subs.
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It's not just David Holmes. KU is lucky to have all of its professors.
What is it about rain that makes people forget how to drive?
How to submit letters and guest columns
Letters: Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
Guest columns: Should be double-spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be e-mailed to opinion@kansan.com or submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Chris Bomiger or Nathan Wills at 864-4924.
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