The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 50, Ed. 1, Wednesday, March 31, 1993 Page: 2 of 6
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Jennifer Reynolds Opinion Page Editor
Dr. Charlie Marler Faculty Adviser
Editorial Board
John Carroll Xiaodong Fei Bobby Gombort Deana Hornby
Charlotte Hardison Mark Houston Bernadotto Lee Michael O'Connor
Jennifer Reynolds Sharla Stephens Rick Stevens
The Optimist is a twlce-a-week publication of the students of the Depart-
ment of Journalism and Mass Communication of Abilene Christian Uni-
versity and serves as a journalism laboratory for the department's stu-
dents. The unsigned editorials are the opinions of the students on the Optimist
Editorial Board and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of tho
university.
The signed columns cartoons and letters to the editor aro the opinions
of their creators and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Optimist
Editorial Board or tho university administration.
Killings in the name of God wrong
An anti-abortionist committed mur-
der in the name of God when he shot
Dr. David Gunn outside an abortion
clinic.
Minutes before the shooting he
shoutcd'Don't kill any more babies."
Four bureau agents were shot to
- death and many were injured in cult
leader David Koresh s compound. The
' cult members also committed the crime
n in the name of God.
To add to this list of fanatics who
commit crimes motivated by religion
are the islamic fundamentalists who
. bombed the World Trade Center.
When will these people stop commit-
ting crimes in the name of God?
Surely killing and violence is not the
way of the Lord who commanded us
with "Thou shall not kill." These indi-
viduals usurp God's role as the ultimate
. judge when they take law and justice
t into their own hands.
Insane terror murder in America
To the Editor:
More Americans are realizing that the
federal government today will stop at
nothing to further its objectives one
of which is the gradual disarming of the
citizens of this land.
As we have just witnessed the gov-
ernment won't even stop at coldly
sacrificing the lives of its loyal employ-
ees. We have been asked to believe that
the "Cultist" Branch Davidians in Waco
are the murderers and terrorist having
killed four agents of the federal Bureau
of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and
wounded more than a dozen more.
What has been overlooked though is
The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but we
reserve the right to refuse to print letters that contain personal attack obscenity
defamation erroneous information or invasion of privacy.
The Optimist refuses to print any letters that are not signed or letters that bear
requests for the writer's anonymity.
We reserve the right to limit frequent writers and edit letters for length or error.
Letters submitted to the Optimist should be limited to 250 words or less.
Please address letters to "Optimist Editor" ACU Station Box 7892 or bring the
letters to Room 308 of the Don H. Morris Center.
Political correctness runs amok on campus in conversations
Language is fluid ever changing to
meet our need to communicate with one
..another. Some words and phrases that
. -enter the language remain fulfilling their
. function for the ages.
Others are like shooting stars blazing
'brightly in our lexicons and fading away.
Slang words change with the genera-
tions although "cool" has managed
' Somehow to survive. Other words and
phrases pass because the situations that
occasioned them arc fading.
In years to come children well familiar
".with bits and bytes and keyboarding may
' have no idea that people used to type on
'.typewriters.
" Some words and phrases currently in
yogue deserve to die. For instance James
' Kilpatrick recently made a cogent case
jjpr an end to die use of the word "dys-
functional." I propose an end to the phrase "politi-
The irony of the situation is that by
taking lives and injuring people these
zealots become hypocrites not to men-
tion criminals themselves.
Although we need to stand up for our
beliefs we should advocate tiiem
through peaceful avenues.
Negotiating and helping people
understand our views are positive
actions that actually can produce effec-
tive results.
Little is accomplished when lives are
unnecessarily taken.
The Jews committed the ultimate
crime in the name of God when they
crucified our Savior.
Believing in their own correctness
they refused to see the horror of their
crime.
The Lord demands that we be on fire
for Him. However distinguishing
between doing his will and acting on
our own impulses is crucial.
the fact that if the feds really wanted to
arrest just the leader there were any
number of ways they could have done
so without causing confrontation or
endangering lives.
I Would argue that the government
deliberately planned this "campaign"
and wanted a confrontations as the one
that ensued to try to prove we need
tighter gun control measures.
The Founding Fathers though sad-
dened by the loss of life would have
been proud of Koresh and whoever else
defended themselves against a ridicu-
lous and brutal aiiack.
Cheryl Owens
Hayden Lake Idaho
cally correct."
While reading a motorcycle magazine
recently I came upon an article that twice
accused a European manufacturer of pro-
ducing a motorcycle with a politically
correct 100 horsepower engine.
Another article in the magazine had
explained that a movement was underway
in Europe to force all motorcycle manu-
facturers to produce engines that generat-
ed no more than 100 horses.
Many manufacturers sensing the likeli-
hood that such legislation would pass
already had started producing bikes with
the requisite limitations.
As I understand the term "political cor-
rectness" describes a situation in which a
particular idea or philosophy gains cur-
rency in certain circles and pressure is
brought to bear on the members of those
circles to conform to the idea or philoso-
phy. Censure or expulsion can be the
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Baseball reveals truths
It must have been some foul. The ball
would have had to travel over the back-
stop and the bleachers and the fence.
Then it must have stnick the street and
have bounced onto the sidewalk bruised.
I was walking by Crutchcr Scott Field
when I saw the baseball sitting on the
sidewalk's cement.
I picked up the baseball. Its leather was
soft from hard use. It had been hit count-
less times each collision with the bat
softening the leather to a fuzzy surface
that had begun to knot up in places. The
baseball was painted with grass stains
resulting from an untold number of high-
velocity impacts with the gntsVof the out-
field. The back of the ball was split at the
seams a tear reaching from top to bottom
of the ball. The cut was deep extending
several layers of raw-hide that made up
the once-spherical object.
No doubt this ball had seen action. It
had been the recipient of violent forces to
the point that it had been scarred and
mortally wounded and ultimately fouled
Shaving accident results
My grandfather had World War II. I
had the shaving attack of '93.
During the winter months my legs usu-
ally go into hibernation but just last week
I decided the time to break out the razor
and start the daily process of removing
the cactus-like growth from my legs was
now.
The razor to be blunt (no pun intend-
ed) cut like a ginsu knife through a firm
apple. I let out a yelp as the soapy water
invaded my open wound.
I found the Bactine I had stolen from a
kid at camp last summer and sprayed like
crazy.
I've seen too many Civil War movies
where the soldier has a leg amputated
because of infection. I was keeping my
limbs intact no matter how much the
medicine stung.
My leg is smooth up to the gash and
beyond die cut is well not so smooth.
In some countries as we all know
shaving is not common for women. I con-
fess to being one of the American women
who does get a little woozy when I see
another women with a full head of hair
The accusation Itself Is
an attempt to force
people to conform to a
popular position'
Michael
O'Connor
Life On 2 Wheels
result of refusing to conform
In some universities for example stu-
dents dare not admit they are against
homosexuality in any way or they will
face the ridicule of their peers.
Instances have been reported of faculty
members being forced from their posi-
tions because they dared speak against
prevailing thought.
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'Besides tho Inside
counts. A baseball may
bo completely shredded
but It is still a baseball.'
Mark
Houston
Freedom2
out of the ball park and onto the back-
streets where I now found it.
What's remarkable is despite all of its
physical damage it was still recognizable
as a baseball.
Through all of the knots the grass
stains arid even the gaping tear I still
could recognize the object as a baseball.
Amazing because even though we rec-
ognize a ragged baseball as a baseball we
sometimes fail to recognize ragged peo-
ple as children of God.
People are always children of God even
'My leg Is smooth up to
tho gash and beyond
tho cut Is well not so
smooth.'
Jennifer
Reynolds
Point of View
under her arm. I hear some women even
braid it.
What is worse? Being cold and the long
leg hairs stand up or slicing a piece of
flesh off all in the name of vanity.
The whole hair removal process leaves
little choice for women.
We can either experience the fear of
tearing our legs and underarms apart with
a sleek blade camouflaged in a sweet
pink feminine handle or we can use die
long-forgotten Epilady which was a
hand-held device that literally pulled the
hairs out of the leg.
Not a pleasant experience.
But a motorcycle manufacturer that
decides to beat the legislature to the
punch is not being politically correct it is
being fiscally prudent.
The problem I have with the phrase in
the contexts I encounter is that I often
hear my friends and acquaintances being
accused of political correctness when
they take a position that is considered to
be "liberal" one of those slippery terms
that tends to be defined by die user.
Accusers give little consideration to the
possibility that the accused may hold
their beliefs out of conviction and not
compulsion.
The accusation itself is an attempt to
force people to conform to a popular
position.
Why is it alright to be politically cor-
rect if you are conservative but not if you
are liberal?
Make no mistake conservatives can be
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about life
if they are lost and victim of die violent J
forces of society.
They may be worn torn and stained
but they are still children of God. They
may be AIDS-infected; they may be
physically or mentally disabled; they may
be the drugecs and prostitutes and homo-.
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Should they be recognized as some-
thing they're not?
Should the torn baseball not be consid-
ered a baseball?
Besides the inside is what counts. A
baseball may be completely shredded buf
it is still a baseball.
Regardless of what people look like on
the outside on the inside they are living
people fashioned in the wonderful image
of God.
Ttiey possess souls and should be min-
istered to accordingly. 9
The people are merely wounded and
all they need is for someone to come
along wipe off the grass stains and seam
up their lives from the fouled hits.
After all fouls can be hit pretty hard. .
in pain
Another option is waxing.
But to have a successful waxing cxperi-
ence you must first have hair long 4
enough for the wax to grasp and yank it
out. I'd rather not.
A million dollars probably could be
made by marketing an adhesive tape
women could use to pull those little ras-
cals out.
The tape could be pink and light blue
and smell of honeysuckle. You can say
you read about it here first.
As I watched the blood drain out of my
leg I considered a horrific thought. What
if I bled to death from a shaving acci-
dent? During Daily Assembly some guy
would announce "Jennifer Reynolds died
in her apartment Sunday because of a
shaving accident. She was using a new
blade."
I surely would roll over in my grave.
But for now I will keep lathering the '
Neosporin in the hole in my leg and
conquering my razorphobia will take
some time maybe when swimsuit season
is over.
politically correct too.
In parts Texas in which I have lived
being on the side of Hispanic farm work-
ers is a dangerous and very politically
uncorrect position to take.
The worst part about the rise of the
phrase's use of the phrase is that it pro-'
vides a convenient way for us to ignore"
other people's viewpoints.
it tney disagree with us we don t have
to critically examine their opinions: we
t
can accuse them of being politically cor-
rect. Pressure to conform has always existed
even before we had a convenient phrase
to call die Dressure.
But before VOU accuse someone of i
being politically correct try talking to ' i
U1CII1.
You might find out they really believe
what they say and you might find out
what they believe makes some sense.
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 50, Ed. 1, Wednesday, March 31, 1993, newspaper, March 31, 1993; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth92176/m1/2/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.