EDITOR
Paula Lavigne
OPINION
EDITOR
Kasey Kerber
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Brad Davis
Erin Gibson
Shannon Heffelfinger
Chad Lorenz
Jeff Randall
Our
VIEW
Avoidance
advertising
Campaigns make art
of skirting issues
Jon Breslow doesn’t like gay people.
And if voters were to rely solely on
TV advertising, namely Breslow’s latest
campaign ad, that’s all they would know
of the gubernatorial candidate.
In this advertisement, Breslow’s only
message is that, if elected, he will not
allow same-sex marriages to become a
legally recognized union.
Wow.
Breslow s ad is another example ot
one of the latest and most-disturbing
trends in American politics.
A politician’s ability to skirt issues
and avoid difficult questions used to be
a talent that was reserved for public
debates and testy reporters.
Nowadays, however, more and more
politicos are avoiding addressing soci
ety’s most pertinent questions by focus
ing on hot-button issues that really don’t
matter in the grand scheme of things.
Politicians on both sides of the ideo
logical fence have used flag-burning
amendments, attacks on Hollywood and
sex scandals to overshadow the discus
sion of issues they either don’t under
stand or don’t feel comfortable dis
cussing. Issues such as health care and
welfare reform have been surreptitious
ly removed from campaigns in favdr of
so-called family values.
And even worse, many politicians
(Breslow included) have spent their
campaign dollars and air time waving
flags for issues that they will never have
the opportunity to touch while in office.
Same-sex marriage is a perfect
example in Nebraska.
Breslow can have commercial after
commercial saying he wouldn’t allow
men to marry men or women to marry
women, but the truth is that he really has
nothing to do with it.
Ana ne woman t nave anyming to ao
with it if he were elected governor.
Governors don’t make law's, state
senators make laws. And in the bastion
of conservatism that is Nebraska, the
chances of a bill supporting same-sex
marriage are virtually nonexistent.
Unfortunately, many voters have fallen
into the traps set by these candidates,
lining up for rallies and wearing badges
proclaiming their allegiance based on
the same minute issues.
So we really can’t fault the cam
paigners for their behavior. The public
has endorsed it with'its voices and votes.
And until the American people
demand true substance in their political
campaigns, the politicians will continue
giving us more of the same, which isn’t
very much.
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Haney’s
VIEW
t
DN
LETTERS
Try it... you might like it
Klaus Marre, I was impressed
with your logic and reasoning in your
latest editorial (“To believe, or not to
believe” Daily Nebrakan Monday).
You bring up some very popular
beliefs - and misconceptions. A big
problem for theists and atheists alike
is pain and suffering. Why would
God let this happen?
The answer is simple: because He
loves us more than we could ever
imagine and has a plan incomprehen
sible for any of us to understand.
To appreciate suffering we must
first understand God’s gift to us, free
will. Without this we would be no
more than pieces on His giant chess
board. How could we truly have love
in a relationship like that?
He gives us free will and allows
us to make mistakes, even big mis
takes. But God is not just sitting back
somewhere up and heaven and sim
ply admiring His creation - he wants
us to thank Him and ask for supplica
tions through prayer so he can bestow
His abundant graces. The help is
there for the asking.
Blaise Pascal once said, “Infinite
reward is worth a finite wager.”
Try his wager out for a year; hon
estly try to believe in God, pray, fol
low the Ten Commandments and if
you feel no different than you do
today maybe God doesn’t really exist
You may just have eternity to gain.
God bless.
John Rutledge
junior
biology
Pick a theory... any theory
I am glad to see that questions
concerning religion and the lack of it
are being brought forward.
I find it sad, however, that
Malcolm Kass, given the opportunity
to defend his faith, could not come up
with better support for his position.
He begins by stating, in effect,
that since the universe underwent the
big bang, and will never contract
again, that this proves their must have
been a trigger which began the
process.
To begin with, Kass ignores many
scientific theories in his assump
tions, including the idea of dark mat
ter, which would imply the exact
opposite of what he claims. He arbi
trarily picks a theory that supports his
hypothesis and accepts it. This is not
good science and it is not sound rea
soning.
Ignoring this, let us look at his
argument. He claims that a god
would be necessary to cause the cre
ation of the universe. This seems log
ical, if something is created than it
must have a creator.
The problem is then: Who created
God? If all things need creators, God
must also.
If you answer that God has no cre
ator, than it is just as plausible to say
that the universe doesn’t either.
If you say God did have a creator
you create an infinite pantheon of
creators and, in essence, a mess.
Kass’ assumption that a creator is
necessary for the universe to exist is
sloppy and inconsistent at best.
Next, Kass tries to prove God
through evolution. He claims that
humans have evolved at a rate far
exceeding other animals, such as
dinosaurs and insects. Once again
Kass ignores those scientific theories
and facts that he does not like.
First of all, dinosaurs did contin
ue to evolve throughout their reign.
Basic archeology will show you this.
If anything, their evolution was
slowed only because of their domi
nance. They didn’t need to change.
Secondly, it is thought by many
scientists today that evolution hap
pens in large leaps as well as in small
changes. Such theories easily under
mine Kass’ argument.
Lastly, Kass attempts to show that
humans are far superior to all other
life, and therefore are gifted by God.
Such a statement doesn’t prove God,
it proves that anthropocentrism and
egotism are alive and kicking in the
nineties.
Whales sing beautifully crafted
songs with “stanzas” that last for
hours upon end. Some anthropolo
gists now believe that gorillas and
other primates may indeed have lan
guage, culture and that they pass
knowledge down from generation to
generation.
We may be the smartest species
we know of, but we are not the only
species with intelligence or with
beauty.
If God does exist, it is an insult to
his creation to assume that we are
somehow gifted and more special
than any other animal that exists. We
are different, not necessarily better.
As is often the case in papers such
as these, Kass doesn’t analyze the
evidence and than decide which
hypothesis works best.
Instead, he picks and chooses the
evidence that will best support his
claim, while ignoring the other side
of the issue.
Jason Nord
sophomore
philosophy/ English
president of Campus Atheists
and Agnostics
PS.WriteHack
.
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