THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 5A
FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2011
opinion
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BY MANDY MATNEY
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Matney is associate opinion editor. She is a junior from Shawnee majoring in journalism.
NATIONAL NEWS
Tragedy reminds us of the basics of civility
As the shock wears off and the tragedy in Tucson becomes old news, the conversations triggered by the shooting rampage must continue.
But before we can address the complex issues brought to the surface by the tragedy—politics, gun control and mental illness—we must start with the basics: we must talk about how we talk to one another.
In a world that measures progress in nanoseconds and gigabytes, where we limit conversations to 140 characters or less, the art of civil, meaningful discourse has been lost.
To learn from this tragedy, we must push back against popular culture, slow down and think. When we rush, we miss the important underlying issues as the media demonstrated in the past two weeks.
Many quickly blamed the tragedy on the acidic rhetoric that has engulfed our politics. Although the shooter, Jared Loughner, was influenced more by mental illness than politics, our politicians and pundits are by no means innocent bystanders.
As the facts of the tragedy became known, our politicians and pundits acted in bad faith, breaking the good Samaritan law of civility as both liberals and conservatives stood on the sidelines, disavowed themselves from Loughner and attacked the other party.
The tragedy sheds light on how out of control our rhetoric has become. A sad comment, indeed, when it takes a massacre to realize the madness of our political dialogue.
Slowly—too slowly—many realized that mental illness was the prime suspect.
Mental illness too, often gets glossed over and passed over to somebody else, anybody else, nobody else.
BY D.M. SCOTT
scott@kansan.com
Loughner's instructors, administrators and fellow students at Prima Community College saw signs of his mental illness. A math teacher said he was "somewhat paranoid" every time he turned his back to write on the board, fearing Loughner might pull a gun.
That's America's solution to mental illness.
And we are too busy bickering to notice
The signs were ignored.
the problem, a problem that is all around us.
The U.S. homeless population stands at more than 670,000, nearly half of which suffer some form of mental illness, according to The National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Answers such as "get a job" and "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" contribute to a discourse that goes nowhere and only highlights how far we are from real solutions.
We witnessed this dismissive, uncivilized rhetoric once the political vitriol subsided and epithets such as "crazy" and "nut job" were used to describe the mentally ill shooter. Our toxic words just spill over from politics to social issues.
If we can't civilly talk about what's really at stake, solutions will remain elusive.
The Rev. Al Sharpton made this point on "Meet the Press" last Sunday.
"The leadership of the country is so acrimonious and so busy with a poisonous debate themselves, we will never be able to get to dealing with those that are mentally ill or those that are isolated," he said. "The problem is that the leadership is so busy taking shots at each other."
Many obstacles stand in the way of meaningful discourse, including the example set by our representatives in Washington. We must also remember what we have going for us: we're human and have the ability to recognize when we've gone wayward and recalculate.
Editor's note: As the opinion editor this semester, my number one goal is to publish a page that showcases a wide variety of opinions that are worthwhile to read. My column reflects my own opinions and does not represent The University Daily Kansan, nor will it hinder my editorial priorities. Producing a diverse page trumps my personal opinions.
weet of the week
Tweet us your opinions to @kansanopinion
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marygracefelton I Mary Grape Fetton
@kansanopinion I hate the words "preggers" & "seenester." don't
"pregnant" & "insecure" really say it all?
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What do you think about starting the semester on a Friday? Vote now at KANSAN.COM/POLLS
CARTOON
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT US TO COME TOGETHER AND MEET IN THE MIDDLE ... SO YOU COME HERE!
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Competition with China overshadows meaningful growth
This week's screening of Mr. Hu Goes to Washington offered commentators an opportunity to highlight areas where the world's top two economic powers can cooperate.
Although agreement remains elusive, progress demands U.S.-Chinese collaboration on challenges such as the global economic recovery, trade, climate change, proliferation in Iran and North Korea, and the instability in Pakistan (a major trading partner of China).
But for all the talk of fostering enhanced bilateral relations, rhetoric about a rivalry persists. Many Americans believe the great power competition weighs heavily in China's favor.
After all, when China holds nearly $1 trillion in U.S. Treasury debt, an inferiority complex can develop.
A recent survey by the Pew Research
BY LUKE BRINKER
1brinker@kansan.com
Center found that 47 percent of Americans saw China as the world's top economic power. Only 31 percent correctly responded that the U.S. remains atop the global economic food chain.
To be sure, the People's Republic performance is impressive. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecasts that China's gross domestic product—the value of the goods
Why the misperception?
and services produced in a year—will increase by a robust 10 percent in 2011. Meanwhile, the bank reckons U.S. GDP will also increase, but by a more modest 2.7 percent.
Anyone who stayed awake in an introductory economics class knows those numbers paint an incomplete picture. Simply put, China started from a much lower economic base.
Coming to par with the U.S. means logging years of high GDP growth. China looks on track to do so, but storm clouds could be on the horizon. Analysts question China's potentially overheated property market. Restive regions like Tibet and Xinjiang Province could be flash points, as well.
When one looks at per-capita GDP, China has to do a lot more to lift its population out of poverty. The International
Most important, an obsessive focus on economic issues clouds more essential concerns as the U.S. ponders its future. A vibrant economy is a necessary—not sufficient—condition to national happiness.
In her recent book, "Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities," Martha Nussbaum asks whether we seek economic growth as an end in itself or as a means to more important ends.
Much has been made about the supposed need to emulate the test-driven Chinese model.
Monetary Fund ranks the U.S. sixth at $47,123 per person, China, sandwiched between Bosnia and Herzegovina and El Salvador, is ranked 93rd at $7,518.
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Even as the U.S. seeks to maintain its position as the world's top economic power, it's worth remembering why we seek economic growth in the first place. Setting aside the U.S.'s continued predominance, isn't it okay to focus on the pursuit of more than just life, liberty, and GDP?
Send letters to kansanopdesk@gmail.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line.
LETTER GUIDELINES
— Brinker is a sophomore from Topeka majoring in history.
A recent story in the Los Angeles Times brought attention to the dark side of China's drive to perform. Students feel
Length: 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown.
Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
Length: 300 words
It would be a shame if we discarded our system of liberal arts education in a race to the top and neglected the art, literature, creativity and social capabilities that make life worth living.
they've become automatons, skilled at taking tests but not at more fundamental tasks like critical thinking and self-reflection.
Nick Gerik, editor
864-4810 or ngerik@kansan.com
ALEX Garrison, managing editor
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Kelly Stroda, managing editor
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D.M. Scott, opinion editor
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Mandy Matney, associate opinion editor
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Menten of The Raman Editorial Board are Nick Alessio, Gary Alexis, Kirsty Stella, D.M. Scott and Daniel Langer.