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Wednesday, December 6, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Bill allowing bar ID checks would waste legislative time
If the idea that is going to be bumped around the next legislative session passes, that person who used to lurk in the corner of the local bar looking just a bit out of place may be returning.
That person, of course, is the police officer who has been absent from bars since September, when a Douglas County judge decided that a person did not have to show identification to an officer who had requested it.
Officers to ask for life in the state.
That, however, is a waste of legislative time.
But now, State Sen. Wint Winter Jr., R-Lawrence, is considering introducing a bill that would make it legal for officers to ask for IDs in bars.
That, however, is a waste or legislative time. First of all, one would hope that the police have far better things to do than comb the bars searching for the minors in the crowd. Sure, enforcing the drinking age is a good thing, but scouring a bar picking out people who look like minors is too time-consuming.
What should happen instead is that the people who run the bars should be held accountable for who they let in. All bars should card at the door. If that happened, there would be no problem. The officers could do their jobs, and the bouncers would be able to handle theirs.
would be able to lambaste him.
If the police insist on having some kind of bar check to enforce the drinking age, they should have periodic checks of everyone's ID in a bar, much like conducting a speed trap. If that were the setup, no one would be able to argue that he had been singled out for "looking too young" or "acting nervous."
Finally, but perhaps most unrealistically, underage people could stay away from the bars. Because they don't, bar patrons must expect that sooner or later, an officer will be checking their IDs again.
But the Legislature needs to think long and hard about the method they will let those officers use.
David Stewart for the editorial board
Elections commission may add, not subtract red tape
Student Senate is finally taking action to correct the problems they had in last year's elections. They're handing the problem to a commission, especially designed to be unaccountable.
Senate will vote tonight on whether to create an Elections Commission, a body that would operate separately from Senate and would be responsible for running future elections. In last year's election, confusion about the interpretation of spending limit rules resulted in controversy. Common Cause coalition, which won the election in a landslide, spent more money than allowed and was lucky not to be removed from office. In order to retain their seats, Student Body President B, Jake White and Vice President Jeff Morris were told they had to submit a proposal to solve the controversial problem. The proposal was to be on the desk of David Ambler, vice chancellor for student affairs, by Dec. 11.
afairs, by Dec. 11.
White and Morris are still being hounded by the national lobbying organization Common Cause for the use of that organization's name and still haven't submitted the proposal.
White said that the Senate process of developing a plan to deal with the problem was a semester-long endeavor and that the proposal that Ambler must receive for White and Morris to avoid repercussions is forthcoming.
percussions is for convincing. But the creation of an Elections Commission creates more questions than it answers. White said the confusion about the interpretation of spending limit rules, which is what caused the problem in the first place, would be dealt with by the new commission. Senate appears to be passing the buck.
commission. Senate appears to be lacking the commission idea is not without merit. It would remove any undue influence student senators might have over who will replace them. But if the old elections committee had done its job and reviewed coalition spending during the election, this question would have been cleared up the way it should have been, through existing channels.
been, through existing channels. The problem is not the fault of White or Morris, it is the result of lackadaisical management and misinterpretation of rules by the previous student government. Creating a new commission might solve the problem, but it is an unnecessary addition to an already growing bureaucracy. Solve the problem through existing channels.
Stan Diel for the editorial board
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Language is sacred, invaluable ally
I am the kind of person who will make fun of almost anything. My sense of humor, which is usually quite sardonic, once prompted an acquaintance to ask me, "Is anything sacred to you?" I remember thinking, "Good question." I also remember my response, because the first answer to come to mind was also the best, the most honest and the most revealing. I replied, "Language."
Now, at this early and crucial point in my column I know that you, gentle reader, may be wondering: Have I stumbled upon the musings of some sort of God-for-sakens William-Safire-wannabe? If that is in fact your concern, please let me assure you that you have not. I am not to do any nipicking here, although that kind of vigilance may be a logical extension of what I have to say.
Speaking of which, what I have to say is in reaction to the following statement: Words can mean whatever you want them to mean. This view is related to the opinion, perhaps less obvious, that can be paraphrased: Well, it's the nature of language to change, so there's nothing wrong with my going ahead and changing it. Wrong. I have a friend who, years ago, liked to say these things in all seriousness. He has matured considerably since then, but just thinking about such propositions still rankles me. They go against the grain of what effective communication is all about. I would probably dismiss them as laughable if I did not perceive how potentially disastrous they are.
ine definition of words and language in general are mutable, of course; they do change. But such linguistic evolution is properly slight, gradual, and never wholly arbitrary. The simple (and fortunate) fact here is that one person's usage does
Ford Hoffman
Staff columnist
not do the trick. An educated consensus and the passing of time are properly responsible for the unconventional — frequently a euphemism for "eroneous" — becoming the newly acceptable in language, if and when that happens. Otherwise, if taken to the extreme, people would have a control over language that could render dictionaries useless. (The horror, the horror.) A formerly friendly combination of words could mean practically anything and, therefore, essentially nothing.
It has been my experience that words are often more dependable than people. (Hell, some of my best friends are words.) People are frequently not around to help you deal with what you are thinking and feeling, but there are almost always sufficient words to express what you are thinking and feeling without having to destroy definitions or otherwise wreak havoc with the language. All you have to do is get to know Your Mother Tongue a little better. Undoubtedly, much "unconventional" usage is fueled by ignorance — i.e., by simply not knowing the right word(s) to use in the first place. Notice that it is not the masters of the game who are so insistent on changing the rules of play, especially when they already work so well. (I certainly would not claim to be a master of the English language;
out I respect those who are, and I recognize the greatness of such an achievement.
Simply put, to accept the arbitrary nature of language is to forget its function as the main vehicle for communicating ideas and emotions as accurately and efficiently as possible. That accuracy and efficiency are both severely impeded by an expressively liberal view of diction and usage — one in which the correct, established definitions of words suddenly fall prey to personal opinion and caprice.
To illustrate this point, allow me to invoke a truism: If you don't mean what you say, then you will never say what you mean. People cannot read your mind, but they can read (or listen to) your words. And they will, too, if those words are accurately and interestingly written (or spoken). You need not abandon accuracy in order to be interesting, though. In fact, to believe and do otherwise is to demand too much from your (probably dwindling) audience. Again, by insisting on too much you can easily end with nothing, or no one.
I would hope that most of what I have written here is as obvious as it is dry. I have been told, however, that I have an alarming tendency to overestimate my fellow man and my fellow woman. At any rate, one of the greatest lessons to be learned from higher education is how powerful and precise words can be. Language can be an invaluable ally. But like allies, language doesn't respond well to being disrespectfully dominated. Jerk it around long enough and its strength and wealth will no longer be at your disposal.
▶ Ford Hoffman is a Lincoln, Neb., senior majoring in philosophy.
Memories of a well-known woman
the old woman was looking a little tired but definitely alive. "Call me Clio," she said, straightening her gingham dress as she settled into the oak chair in the office.
"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," she began. "I know that doesn't sound original. A similar retort has been attributed to an American writer by the name of Samuel Clemens. But you see, everything that's ever been said belongs to me, I believe you will agree. Unlike some people, I don't need a copyright."
"I am surprised to see you," I admitted, "having read in 'Foreign Affairs' that you were, uh, over and that, with the fading of communism, it was all going to be liberal democracy and blue skies from now on. What an unexpected pleasure to see you, and looking so well, too."
"don't give me that, you insolent pup," came the old lady's vigorous response. "I know very well how I must look to you. Well, I wager it it's a damned sight better than you would look if you'd had the century I've just had. There were decades when I hated to out of bed.
"Why, seems all I've had this last century is war, revolution and chaos. How's a body supposed to survive on a diet like that? Haven't had a halfway decent rest since the first decade of the 1900s. That was the life; and now, just when all that peace and nationalism and liberal democracy is supposed to return, they tell me I'm dead! As if I were incapable of leading a peaceful life. All these whippernappers can think of when they hear my name is change and uproar, that's the trouble.
They never think of me as a lady " 'Xu, no, I am.'
Yes, that is right.
"You're not the first to think I was over, you know. Some of your kind never even realized I'd started . . ."
"My kind?"
"Don't play innocent with me. Yes, your kind Editorial writers, columnists, wiseacres, philosophers, court jesters, whatever you call yourselfs these days. Imagine. As if they could know me, when of course it is my business to know them: front, back and sideways.
"The Greeks and the Romans were great talkers but, you know, they never took me anywhere, not anywhere definite, anyway. Wasn't till the Jews and their popular offshoot, the Christians, came along 'til folks started saying I was going somewhere.
"Augustine drew me a road map, then Machiavelli showed me the way around it. Voltaire tore the whole thing up and used it for confetti. Gibbon used the same old map but sent me in the opposite direction: away from The City of God and back to Rome. Hegel always spoke to me as if I were a reasonable person; I was flattered but,
really, there are times when a girl has to pick up her heels. Meinecke worshipped me. Historicism, they called this philosophy. Frankly, my dear, it was the only ideology that ever appealed to me.
"merrier liked me, too; he understood what a moody creature I could be. Marx was one of those who thought he had me figured; he had our trip together all mapped out, with all the hotels and motels marked. Like a tourist planning a trip nobody would ever make if they didn't have to. Poor Leopold von Ranke wanted to take me exactly as I was, not realizing how different I am to different suitors. Dilhye doted on me, and Ortega y Gasset may even have understood me. I can't be sure, not understanding myself."
"Well, I really must go. I don't know where, but it'll be historic. My time hasn't come yet, though there were centuries when I wondered how I was going to get through the next decade. Other things may end — ideology is having a tough time of it just now, poor extravagant dear — but there's the rest of my sewing circle: economics, nationalism, science, religion. No telling where they'll lead me. I'm thinking of reviving Imperial Russia, though without the Emperor, of course. What a bore he was. And maybe the Austro-Hungarian Empire, too, though without dear Franz Josef. He lasted so long, people tended to confuse him with me. A little turn-of-the-century peace and progress might be nice. So much to do, so much time to do it. Don't you go printing my obituary."
- Paul Greenberg is the editorial page editor for the Blue Bluff (Ark) Commercial.
CAMP UHNEELX
I'VE BEEN HERE, IT'S
DONATING A $5 BOOK-OF
BLOOD CERTIFICIES
TWICE A DAY AND TWO "THE
FOR A MONTH" LITTLE MOMMY
SO WANT YOU CHRISTMAS
GET ME ORNAMENTS.
WAIT A MINUTE!
YOU MEAN I
RIKED GETING
ANEMIA
To GET YOU A
Diamond, AND
You GIVE ME
CRASS!
BY SCOTT PATTY
1. 2017-10-31 14:19:05