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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1996)
EDITOR. DougKouma OPINION EDITOR Anne Hjersman EDITORIAL BOARD Doug Peters Matt Waite Paula Lavigne Mitch Sherman Anthony Nguyen Congeniality Election best served by issues, not insults From The San Diego Union-Tribune It is encouraging that at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions the candi dates made commitments to political civility. These heartening pledges were all the more note worthy for being uttered in wildly partisan envi ronments. Bob Dole noted, pointedly, that President Clinton was “my opponent, not my enemy.” Jack Kemp generously described Bill Clinton and A1 Gore as “good men” with whom Republicans disagree. Further, Kemp made clear he didn’t intend to be anyone’s hatchet man — a role of ten designated to vice presidential candidates. The Democratic ticket responded in kind. Clinton had gracious words in his acceptance speech for Dole, praising him as an admirable, courageous man who by dint of sheer will and character had recovered from crippling wounds in World War II and devoted his life to honor able public service. Clinton then said he wanted the campaign to be a contest of ideas, not in sults. Vice President A1 Gore offered similar sen timents in his acceptance address. Tp ajl of this, we are certain that voters are saying:Yes;yes',yw.; : ' v - Public opinion polls and the results of focus group surveys show unmistakably that Ameri cans dislike negative campaigning. Indeed, the dreary negativity of so much in American poli tics is an important explanation for the public’s mounting cynicism about this country’s politi cal life. That this cynicism is corrosively unhealthy for the world’s oldest continuous democracy -should beobvious. Among its manifestations are falling percentages of voter participation. " If is iiow customary f0r40percettf0fthe elec torate to stay home in presidential elections, with even larger percentages abstaining in lesser con tests. That cannot be good for a system of self government built cm the assumption that a free citizenry should choose its political leaders and then respect those it selects. Clearly, a code of civility wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, muzzle candidates or fuzz over the clash of ideas and personalities we expect from presidential elections. Much is at stake this year -in the Dole-Qmtoii face. And, yes, the charac ter of a presidential candidate can be a legiti mate issue. So should be the truth, or demon strable untruth, of statements made by one side or the other. But these vital differences can be debated honestly and vigorously without the campaign descending into a mud bath. Nor, we hope, will the necessarily confronta tional debate of a presidential campaign fall to levels that insult the electorate's intelligence. Much of what will be debated this fell is inher ently complex, replete with nuanced shadings and not fairly reducible to simplistic sloganeering. Let both sides, and the voters, re member that on such issues as Medicare, tax exits and balancing the budget. - The great debates in American presidential politics were distinguished by their erudition and intelligence, not their vitriol. let Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, Bill Clinton and Ai Gore live up to the best in our political traditions. They’ll be well served if they do. More im portant, so will the American people. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials ire the opinions of die Fall 1996 Deily Nebraskan. They do not nec essarily reflect the views of die University of Nebraska-Lincoln,,its employees, its stu dent body or die University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is sole^the opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as pnbBsher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Bdito * rial Board The UNL Pubttcatkns Board, e$ jjy the re^eotSy supervises the * (faction of the aewspaper. According to ' policy set by the regents, irsponaihility for the editorial content of the newspaper Bee solely in the hands of its student employees. Letter Policy Tbe Daily Nebraskan wekxmies brief let ters to the editor and guest columns, but does nx guarantee tiieir publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submit ted material becomes the property of tbe Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters mnst identify themselves byname, year in achool, mqor and/or group affilia tion, if any. Submit material *): Daily Ne braskan. 34 Nebraska Umon, 140f)RSt Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. E-mail: ' ^ -a. A i * —- * - .a.. idlers v unumo.inii.eau. •-:>, ■ ■ ---- '* Sonia HOLLIMON Get it straight ‘TOR WHITES ONLY” If you saw this sign in a store front window it would definitely get your attention. Scenes from “Do The Right Thing” may flash through your mind. You might not want to stand too close to the window. Well, as Spike Lee would say: “Wake up!” There are signs like this all ova* Lincoln, indeed, permeating the Midwest in general. You say you haven’t seen them? Then guess what? You’re white. Oh Lord, here they (minorities) go — always complaining.... Well, think what you want. This time however, I’m talking about hair. Yes, hair. My hair. Anyone who has that black Hispanic-mixed-can ’t-control-those curls-where-the-hell-is-my-hot-comb kind of hair will understand. If there were a sign outside of Walgreens or any of the local Lincoln hair salons that said, FOR WHITES ONLY, I could really save myse^JWHfchme. How many times ' hive I been in a dire hair situation only to b&tdftied away at the local Cut-N-Curl? < “We’re not framed to do that (here they pause and turn to look at the other bewildered stylists) kind of hair. Sorry” “Oh, no. This is MY fault,” I say. “I thought your sign said ‘Hair Salon.’” Well then, m just march myself on over to the local drugstore or beauty supply to fix things myself.... What ho! I see ony tteee shelves of black supplies—and yet, L’Oieai seems to be taking over the universe. Hmmm. Could fins be-— due I say it — institutional racism? U— What ho! I see only three shelves of black supplies — and yet, L’Oreal seems to be taking over the universe. Hmmm. Could this be — dare I say it? institutional rac ism?” I may sound like I’m being sarcastic, but think of it this way. Say you’re a young black woman and you get a scholarship to a Midwestern university. Great But, there aren’t a lot of other minorities there, not a lot of support networks to encourage your success. There aren’t even going to be more than two people who look like you in your class. Now here’s the bonus: The •closest place where you can get your hair done is 50 miles away from your school. Suddenly, you’re not feeling very wanted. There are about four or five places for a blade woman to get her hair done in Lincoln, and most of us don’t go there because we’re scared. I mean, you don’t go out and eat Chinese if you can’t find any people from China—that could be bad. So, we drive to Omaha, gas money to the wind. Oh, and let me clear this up right now—we don’t wash our hair every day because it takes our hair longer to build up a lot of dirt and oil, plus we don’t use a lot of mousse and stuff everyday. Got it? Now don’t ask me again. In my family there are several different races, which means the type of hair you get depends on how nice your DNA was feeling that day. Consequently, we own everything from Bobbi Brown Essentials to a product called Bone Straight “when you just need to knock it out.” I’m not just writing this for black people. Most minorities know that if you want to be able to continue your cultural traditions, dine the way you want, wear the clothes of your people—you’d better make it yourself or open your own store, because as long as you are a MI NORITY (which I will define here as someone who is small in status and not in number) who the hell cares that you want hand-carved chopsticks? This is America. We eat with our hands. Holliiioi is a senior broadcast ing major ud a Daily Nebraskan