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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1997)
Praise‘The Man* t . - ' - • ; . Christianity drives role models to excellence ■ *■ iJL jt.-* ••• -- -5 ' i J J. HARDER is a sophomore broadcasting major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist. If you happened to catch the Mike Tyson fight awhile ago, then you probably noticed Evander Holyfield talked nonstop about God after his pounding of Iron Mike. During the College Football Awards night, almost all of the speeches entailed some sort of thanks to Jesus Christ. Green Bay Packer Don Beebe was even seen on national television wearing a “John 3:16” hat. Honestly, what is the deal with all of this God stuff in sports today? For these and other professional athletes, God is No. 1 in their lives, and because he has blessed, them with certain talents they Jiave chosen to give him the glory. Many of you who might not know God probably do not understand why they continually go on about their “heavenly father” or “savior,” but you just haven’t had the chance to experience God in your lives. God means truly everything to Christians, and if I was the Heisman trophy winner, I would choose to acknowledge the guy who gave me the chance to win the award — Jesus Christ. He is top priority in my life, too, and I am not-afraid to share the greatest news in my life with others, just like the sports figures. Jesus died for my sins and my whole life revolves around his plans, so basically everything I write about has no meaning Without him. But why can’t these sports guys just talk about their playing and forget about their religion, you may ask. If you aren’t convinced enough that God is what makes them tick, then take into consideration what they could be talking about. Most of the time, post-game comments are pointless sentence fragments about how well the team played together or how they didn’t. Those interviews just are not usually full of unknown knowledge, so don’t get upset when someone praises his or her Lord. Or I suppose you might prefer an episode like Gregg Lloyd’s—after last year’s AFC Championship — in which he cussed before a live television audience. I myself would choose the athlete giving the glory to God rather than having little kids hear obscenities, but my opinions are tainted by conservative, Chris tian thinking. It’s not just athletes who are into Christianity, either. Nebraska Congressman Bill Barrett has v recently announced that he will be helping to lead a prayer breakfast for our nation’s leaders in Washington. Millions of Americans are Chris tians and aren’t scared to let everyone know about their God. TTie worst that people in the spotlight can do is attract others to Christianity, which really is not a bad thing. God is truly at the center of everything, .and I encourage you to follow those potential heroes like Holy field and Danny Wuerffel, living their lives for Christ and being role models in the process. Matt Haney/DN Unleash the Military culture requires MICHAEL DONLEY is a sophomore philosophy major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist • Did we all see the video of the Marines pounding “jump wings” into each others’ chests? The video was directly followed by a television commentator screaming about “sadistic brutality.” Since the Army’s sex scandal, any impropriety by the military is big news — and now everyone is jumping on the Marine Corps. “How could they torture young men like that?” The American public needs to back off the military a little. I spent four years in die military. I was sent to 21 different countries and 1 have been paid mare money in hazardous duty pay than student loans — though the loans are catching up quickly! The first thing that we have to realize is that the military is quite a bit different from what we might think. Before my service, I thought the military was just like “Top Gun” or “Navy Seals.” To me, it was just like my life except there were a couple more rules and they wore camouflage. WRONG! Let me tell you a very short story. My first day on base I went to a “commander’s call.” The commander came out and he asked a question: “What is our job in the military?” He went around the room getting vague, useless answers about patriotism and defending your country. Then he turned to the whole room and said loudly, “We blow up shit and kill people.” I looked around me and realized that he was 100 percent correct. Everything around me was designed to kill people. Regardless whether we think war is ri Jit or wrong — that is the nature of the beast. One country can kill more people and blow up more resources than any other. During the Persian Gulf War, we got to see perfectly aimed bombs blow up buildings that looked like they were a mile away. Few of us stopped to think that there were people killed in those buildings. War is very ugly business. We should not be surprised when people—whom we are paying to put their very lives on the line — come up with some strange rituals to show brotherhood. Being in the military affects how a person acts. In the case of the Marines, I haven’t heard any complaints from those who were involved. Consider that these people may, (Hie day, have to go to some strange land, jump out of an airplane, carry around 200 pounds worth of equipment, pull out an M-16 rifle and start; killing people. This sounds horrible, but they will be going where we tell them to go and killing whom we tell them to kill. When you factor in what Marines do for a living, it is kind of hard to make the “sadistic brutality” comment. The only way to take violence out of a Marine paratrooper's life is to disband the Marine Corps. . Most of us agree that the armed forces are necessary (so we won’t institute it for college graduations). I agree that punching pins into someone’s chest is a little excessive. But as a society, if we want to keep our military, we need to give them a Kittle leeway on the conduct of their private rituals. We can’t judge what a group of Special Forces combat troops do on the same basis that we do college students. If you don’t like what you see, then don’t be a Marine paratrooper. None of those Marines went into airborne school ignorant. r That particular ritual is infamous in the Marine Corps. Not oily did they volunteer to go to that school, they also worked unbelievably hard to get there and get through it. Don’t feel sorry for them—they are proud of their accomplishment and if they want to puncture each others’ chests, then leave them alone — don’t judge them. Matt Haney/DN