Opinion
Net>raskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Chris Hopfensperger. .. Editor, 472-1766
Dionne Searcey. . . .;... Opinion Page Editor
Kris Karnopp.Managing Editor
Alan Phelps.. . ...Wire Editor
Wendy Navratil..yrWriling Coach
Stacey McKenzie .. Senior Reporter
, Jeremy Fitzpatrick . . ..Columnist
About-face
Military forced to reinstate homosexual
Maybe the U.S. military is finally ready to do an about-face
on its ban on homosexuals.
Some time this morning the U.S. Navy will reinstate a
sailor who was honorably discharged in August after he an
nounced that he was gay on national television.
The reinstatement comes after a court battle. Friday, U.S. *
District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. issued a temporary order that
Keith Meinhold be reinstated. But when Meinhold showed up for
work Monday, he was turned away.
Halier fired back, and the Pentagon changed its stance Tues
day.
“This is not a military dictatorship. It is not the former Soviet
socialist republic. Here, the rule of law applies to the military ...
even to the commander-in-chief,” Hatter said.
“The real implication is that by 8 a.m. Thursday . . . Keith
Meinhold will be the first admittedly homosexual in the armed
forces,” attofney Christopher L. Rudd said.
The real crime now is that anyone has been fighting to keep
Meinhold out of the military.
Court papers filed by the Justice Department on Tuesday said
Meinhold was no longer in the Navy and the judge lacked the
authority to reinstate him.
The reinstatement order, lawyers said, “flies in the face of
present military policy, rules and regulations designed to promote
military order and discipline, morale and combat effectiveness.”
But if it requires a court order to change the archaic policies,
rules and regulations banning homosexuals from the military, so
be it.
Tradition reigns
Women still judged by homemaking skills
The election of Bill Clinton and the subsequent acceptance of
his wife as first lady would seemingly point to a growing
trend in American feminism, a reassessment of women in
the workplace.
If, as political analysts say, the country has taken a Rorschach
test of sorts on its attitudes toward women, then it could be
argued that we deserve an “A” for effort. Yet to what degree was
Clinton elected with support of, and not in spite of, Hillary
Ginton’s accomplishment?
Hillary Clinton was viewed by many conservatives and liberals
alike as the sort of career-obsessed feminist of Pat Robertson’s
nightmares. While throughout the election Barbara Bush remained
noncommittal about the issues, even seeming at times to be non
partisan, Hillary Clinton was criticized for the stand she took on
such issues as legalized abortion and children’s legal rights.
Hillary Clinton was denied a voice in the Democratic conven
tion, and was instead encouraged to project the image at the
opposite end of the polarized ideologies: that of the “good
mother.’’ It is only after she then softened her image that she
acquired increased public acceptance.
Even though 1992 was labeled the Year of the Woman with an
increase of 50 percent in the women nominees in the House alone,
the main focus remained on the same tired issue of family raising
capabilities. Undoubtedly, an improvement in the altitude of
women in politics is apparent. However, the old attitudes arc still
prevalent, as women arc still assessed by their performance at
home. __ ,, .
-The Daily Iowan
Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Fall 1992 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by
the Daily Nebraskan (Editorial Board, liditorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the
university, its employees, the students or the NU (Foard of Regents. Editorial columns represent
' ' the opinion of the author. The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish the UNL
Publications Board to supervise the daily production of the paper. According to policy set by
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Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
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Liberals should listen and learn
I’ne iact mat we nave two ears
and one mouth suggests that we
should listen twice as much as
we speak.
Listening is the key to learning and
understanding.
Of all the advice I have received in
my short lifetime, the best has always
a come from my parents.
One thing my father
has always told me is
that you rarely leam any
thing by speaking. Keep
your mouth shut and lis
ten to what others have
to say. It is especially
important to listen, read
and leam from those you
disagree with.
I disagree with liberals. But 1 don’t
dislike diem, and I am more than
willing to listen to their point of view.
In turn, I hope that those who dis
agree with me will at least sit down
and read my columns. I also hope that
people don’t hate me simply because
of my beliefs.
Judging from some of the letters I
get, it seems that I may be expecting
too much.
Thai’s OK.
The purpose of my columns is not
to convert people into card-carrying
Republ icans. I am not try ing to change
anyone’s mind.
I realize that liberals who disagree
with me will not be swayed by any
column I write. They are firmly en
trenched in their own beliefs. There
fore, 1 have never aimed to convert
their opinions.
My only purpose is to help satisfy
the demand for conservative view
points. The University of Nebraska
Lincoln is a liberal campus, but there
are many conservatives here who arc
fed up with the liberal slant in the
Daily Nebraskan.
You conservatives are the owners
of my columns. I am your servant. I
only write these columns to give you
something to do when Rush Limbaugh
is not on the air.
Liberals are more than welcome to
ICUU alull^;. uui uivjr ^iiwuivj unuu
stand that I couldn’t care less about
changing their minds.
When I began writing for the DN,
I expected piles of hate mail and a
great deal of criticism. I knew that I
would step on some toes.
To my surprise, there has been an
unbelievable amount of support. But
the criticism I have received demands
some attention.
I believe very strongly about con
servative Republican ideology and
am opposed to liberalism.
But my columns never consist of
personal attacks. While I take on lib
eral policies, I never resort to name
calling and personal insults. I don’t
dislike people simply because their
opinions differ from my own.
Many of the critical letters I get are
nothing more than shallow criticism
followed by ridiculous insults. I have
been called many things. The list of
insults includes words like ignorant,
ugly, selfish, racist, liar and commu
nist, to name a few.
I love it when peoplecallme names.
It simply proves their inability to en
gage in a substantive debate.
Liberals can say that my columns
arc unconvincing and condescend
ing. They can choose to hate me if it
makes them foil good. Frankly, 1
don’tcarc if liberals evcrchange their
views. They can sitaround wailing for
the government to solve all their prob
lems as long as they want to.
Conservatives know that hard work
and self-reliance are the keys to suc
cess. While liberals arc waiting for
someone else to make life fair, con
servatives arc doing everything pos
sible to make things happen on their
own.
If you liberals arc unswayed by my
columns, that’s OK. I’m not trying to
change your way of life. The more
liberals there arc, the better my chances
for success.
The negative response that my
opinions attract points out the hypoc
risy of liberalism. Liberals proless to
be open-minded, tolerant, kind and
UiiVlViotuuum^ vi vuivi .1. vui IIIVOV
standards only apply to those who
agree with liberalism.
Most politically correct liberals
are completely intolerant of conser
vative viewpoints. They are not open
minded toward their political oppo
nents. Liberals live by a double stan
dard when it comes to freedom of
speech and thought.
Along with the letters of criticism
that I receive, there are a couple of
UNL instructors who address my col- |
umns in class. These teachers arc
quick to oppose my views, but are
often intolerant of any conservative
rebuttal. Are they afraid of a substan
tive debate? It seems that they would
rather force their opinions on others
rather than promote an environment
for understanding and learning.
Americans are conditioned from
an early age to frown upon conserva
tism. This is accomplished through |
indoctrination and social intimida
tion. |
It is no surprise that the DN is
primarily liberal. Very few conserva
tives are confident enough in their
beliefs to even bother applying at the
paper. Not many people arc willing to
go through the hell associated with
exposing their conservative bclicls.
Most of the views coming out ol
the DN are liberal because writers
holding these beliefs arc not con
demned by society. But the DN should
be commended for allowing those
conservatives who do come forward
to contribute.
The United States would be better
offifwe were all willing to take adeep
breath and listen to each other. Read
ers who attack me personally can t
possibly be concerned with learning
from what I have to say.
Disagreement will always exist.
But listening, understanding and open
ing our minds will at least damper the
hatefulncss spreading through Ameri
can society.
Hankins is a senior business student ma
joring in finance, management and econom
. ...4 .. IV.il..
wasie
The people of Boyd County arc
about to vote on whether they want a
nuclear waste facility in their back
yard. If they vote against it, Gov.
Nelson said he would try to slop the
process because community consent
was one of the stipulations.
Community consent should be
looked at as a tool to help protect
small com muni ties and encourage big
business to work with the people.
Allowing the people a voice in the
process for multi-million dollar waste
projects would be beneficial for both
parties.
Dallas Miller
# Stanton
Admission
The proposed new adm ission stan
dards imply that the powers that be at
this university consider NU to be
worthy of expecting a higher caliber
of students.
Here is my list of inconsistencies
that surest this is not Ihc case. Offi
cials plan to lake away parking and
build a park. Desks are crammed in
classrooms exceeding maximum ca
pacity. Temperatures in Burnett Hall I
are hotenough to induce fainting. T he
appearance of additional behemoth
sculptures on campus while Richards
Hall continues to deteriorate.
I would challenge those who arc
running this university by remote con
trol to re-examine their priorities and
make this place truly worthy, not only
of students eligible to enter in the
future under increasingly stringent
admission standards, but also those of
us who are already here.
Ann AlbcricO
senior
university studies
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