EDITOR
Paula Lavigne
OPINION
EDITOR
Jessica Kennedy
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Erin Gibson
Joshua Gillin
Jeff Randall
Julie Sobczyk
Ryan Soderlin
Our
VIEW
Mixed
signals
Church needs to
rethink gay marriage
On Sunday afternoon, the Rev. Jimmy
Creech of Omaha did just what he wasn’t
supposed to do.
Creech, a United Methodist pastor,
defied direct orders from his bishop and
broke a rule clearly stated by his religion’s
nationwide organization.
Creech performed a same-sex marriage.
As one of the hottest political issues of
the last couple of years, same-sex marriage
has received more than its share of atten
tion. And in 1996, the Methodist Church
made public its intentions regarding the
controversial issue.
The Methodist Church’s official posi
tion is - at first glance - fully supportive of
the homosexual lifestyle. It allows gays and
lesbians to join its congregations and is an
advocate of their civil rights. But at the
same time, the Methodist Church also states
that homosexual lifestyles are in conflict
with the teachings of Christianity, and
therefore the church does not allow homo
sexuals to be ordained, or be married by any
of the church’s ministers.
And on Sunday afternoon, the Rev.
Jimmy Creech defied this order by perform
ing a commitment ceremony for two les
bians.
As a result, Creech could face anything
from verbal reprimand to suspension to sur
render of ministerial credentials.
But before the Methodist Church doles
out its punishment to Creech, perhaps its
leaders should examine the hypocrisy of
their own teachings.
The question here is not whether or not
homosexuality is wrong. That question has
been argued to a standstill by religious fun
damentalists, coffee-shop philosophers and
grandstanding politicians who - even
though they stand on opposite sides of the
fence - quote the same Bible passages to
support their arguments.
And in the end, that question is one that
should be answered by individuals, not
organizations.
Where the Methodist Church is at fault
here is in its half-and-half approach to the
issues surrounding homosexuality and reli
gion.
By welcoming gays and lesbians into
their fold, and at the same time declaring
such lifestyles to be in conflict with
Christianity, they are sending a mixed mes
sage to their followers and - especially in
the case of the Rev. Jimmy Creech - even
their ministers.
So perhaps the Methodist Church should
view Creech’s action last Sunday not as an
act worthy of punishment, but one worthy of
contemplation.
And perhaps the feeble attempt at politi
cal correctness displayed by the Methodist
Church should be re-evaluated so that in the
future ministers like Creech will know
where they and their church truly stand.
Editorial Palicy
Unsigned editorials are the opinions of
the Fall 1997 Daily Nebraskan. They do
not necessarily reflect the views of the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its
employees, its student body or the
University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
A column is solely the opinion of its author.
The Board of Regents serve as publisher
of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by
the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The
UNL Publications Board, established by
the regents, supervises the production
of the paper. According to policy set by
the regents, responsibility for the editorial
content of the newspaper lies solely in
the hands of its student employees.
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but does not guarantee their publication.
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Submitted material becomes property of
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Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34
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Haney’s
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Dumb scum
“Men are scum.” Such an open- •
ing statement, inflammatory and
divisive as it is, made me hesitate to
respond to Barb Churchill’s column.
But I have a few things to say.
First of all, I believe that in rela
tionships, people get what they
deserve. That is, if a man is only
interested in gratification, I do not
have much pity for him when he
complains that his girlfriend (“hole”)
has no opinions of her own. The kind
of men you describe, Barb, do
indeed sound like scum. But you
don’t have to date them! Why are
you, an older and more experienced
woman, hanging out with what
sounds like adolescent boys?
As for the complaint that men
want only sex, I say look at the larger
society of which they are products.
This kind of behavior is so strongly
encouraged and reinforced that some
men (usually younger, less experi
enced) do not question it at all. My
point is this: Just as nobody con
demns a woman for dumbing down
and being frivolous, so we should
not condemn men for acting out their
assigned “roles.” That does not mean
that I will share my personal space
with such men as you describe, Barb,
and I won’t become intimate with
them, but I don’t condemn them.
By the way, next time you’re with
a man who only wants instant grati
fication, tell him to do it himself.
‘Bout the same.
Kim Milligan
junior
English
The good, the bad,
the political
This is in regards to the letter
Monday by Jamie Peterson, presi
dent of the UNL Young Democrats.
Perhaps Jamie has been over-indoc
trinated by the party apparatus, but
even so, her statements are hardly
justified.
It strikes me as incredibly naive
to subscribe to such overgeneraliza
tions. Such value statements can be
likened to saying that all fraternity
students drink beer and rape, that all
honors students are geeks on schol
arship, or that all athletes have a 1.0
G.P. A. and beat up their basketball
playing girlfriends. Such generaliza
I-—
DN
LETTERS
tions are simply not true. In the same
way, one cannot describe the
Republican party as the embodiment
of all evil and the Democratic party
as the very essence of good. Such
generalizations have never led to
much good. Take, for example,
McCarthy’s “Red Scare” of the
1940s and ’50s, religious wars, and,
of course, the segregation in the
South, all the result of similar gener
alizations and stereotypes. And his
tory and political science have
proven again and again that straight
party-line voting can lead to the
trampling of minorities’ rights; bal
ancing the parties serves as a major
part of the checks and balances sys
tem that makes government more
responsive to the ideas of all,
Democrat and Republican.
Every political party, much like
any other organization of human
beings, has its good and bad mem
bers. But to make one party wear
'white hats and the other black, as in
an old, B-rated western movie, is
completely ludicrous. I challenge
everyone to think for himself and
look beyond petty partisan general
izations for a better tomorrow.
Paul T. Macklin
senior
mathematics, German and
economics
Go Frost!
Scott Frost is no Tommie Frazier,
but there never will be another
Frazier. Frost, however, gets the job
done. The student body and the state
of Nebraska need to open their eyes
and close their booing mouths. I
have not always been a Frost fan. In
fact, there are probably very few
people out there that wish he would
fail more than I. Frost and the Wood
River Eagles demoralized my high
school team two years in a row.
When Mr. I’m-too-good-for
Nebraska went to Stanford, I thought
it just showed his arrogance and lack
of loyalty to the state that had raised
him. I was glad to see Stanford lose,
and infuriated by his return to
Nebraska.
When all was said and done at
the end of the season, Frost had
racked up numbers that could rank
him right up there with some of the
best QBs ever to play at Nebraska.
Coming into the new season,
Tom Osborne evaluated his quarter
back situation, and, as he always
does, cleared the slate. After spring
practice and the preseason, Osborne
still chose Frost. So far Frost has
performed very well, even while
being booed by his own “fans.” A
Frost-led Husker team will continue
to well this season, especially with a
little fan support. Keep up the good
work. GO HUSKERS!!
BUI Udell
* senior
biology
Respect the rest
I cannot believe that your article
“Dating Hell” was the best subject
that you could think of to write
about. Where do you come up with
your misconceptions of men? I do
not know one person who has ever
broken any of your “dating rules.” In
(unfortunately) reading of your dat
ing experiences, it is clear to me that
you are hanging around at the skim
mers of the dating pool. It is not right
to shift the blame to the man asking
you out because of your inability to
say “No.”
It is truly ignorant to state that
“dating is definitely an exercise in
masochism.” Everyone (except you)
knows that dating is a chance to get
to know and spend time with a per
son that one is interested in, and not
a ticket to hop into bed with that per
son. Dating is necessary for anyone
who is interested in committing
themselves to a single mate. Dating
should not be a factor of self-esteem,
as you mention. Self-esteem comes
from yourself, obviously, so if your
self-esteem is dependent upon oth
ers, then you have problems and
should stay away from weapons and
tall buildings.
Your only relevant statement in
any of your articles is in the second
to-last paragraph. You state that we
all have emotional and physical
needs, and we all want respect (men
too). I know that everyone agrees
with that paragraph, so why can’t
you focus your energy on positive
aspects instead of demeaning men?
Chris Queen
sophomore
mechanical engineering
^JS. Write T5ac
Jnion, 1400 "R" St., Lincoln,
' itters@unlinfo.unl.edU..>
iber for verification