Spread the caring
People caught up in blindly loving or hating religion are wasting time
Organized religion is a big joke.
I never cease to hear this. Everyone will con
firm it. No one wants to get involved in it.
I can tell you right now. Having been raised in
an era where nothing makes sense, we are
screwed up. Plain and simple:
Our God-fearing president is a poster child
for tainted morals.
Our churches fight and split factions over the
color of a sanctuary’s carpet.
And religious artifacts are sold like candy,
making more money than Husker memorabilia.
Something is wrong.
The church is supposed to be, by definition, a
body of believers, who have been called out from
the world, set apart to profess faith in and give
allegiance, in the case of Christianity, to Jesus
Christ.
Christians are human. They are fallible. They
come together because there is support in num
bers.
They are supposed to “be in the world, but
not of it.”
IN the world: (
Even today, we “forget” to converse with
those not sharing our beliefs.
We’re afraid of being tainted. But why? I
don’t understand the enigma of the “heathen,” as
we so insolently call them.
Not OF the world:
Don’t forget that even in these safe havens
called churches, we often become corrupted.
When pettiness and back-stabbing makes its
way into our sanctuaries, we’re falling behind.
When the churches of the Middle Ages
defiled themselves and sold salvation, it was def
initely setting us on the road to perversion. But it
did not start there.
When the churches in Christ’s time split over
Jews and Gentiles, it definitely sent the wrong
message concerning brotherly love. But it did not
start there.
It all came down to the fall of man, baby. Oh
yeah, we’ve been screwed up since day one.
Let me explain. You, non-believers. You don’t
care that churches scream damnation. It scares
you, sure. But not enough to make you run.
You don’t care that Christians are hypocrites.
It disgusts you, sure. But not enough to make you
spit.
The problem lies with you. Ha! I’ve always
wanted to say that.
All of you out there who think you’re so polit
ically correct, so empathetic toward the plight of
women, reaching out in love to that other culture
in need; you’re still a bigot.
When you scream about the virtues of equali
ty, and join in the marches, your motives are no
better than the Klan member down the street.
Why? How do I have the right to say this?
I’ve seen it happen.
Atheists. Agnostics. Those holding a belief
system based on not believing.
I’ve seen you immediately clam up the sec
ond you find out someone is a Christian, giving
them the cold shoulder.
If everyone deserves equality, why are we,
Christians, suddenly treated as no-minds,
weirdos, losers?
And Christians. Catholics. Protestants.
Believing often only what’s easy for us.
If everyone should be loved as yourself (the
second most important commandment, let us be
reminded), why are the “lost” treated as evil,
yucky creatures?
Let me remind you, we were once that way
and still are without Christ.
So quit it!
Love your brother!
I fail often enough. Every day. Choosing not
to love. Choosing not to erase the critical nature
from my spirit. Choosing not to expunge my
pride.
Now that we’re coming to the dawning of a
new era, people are actually divided over when
the Rapture of the church will occur!
(For those of you who don’t know, that’s
when Jesus Christ comes back for the second
time to take his church - all those who have taken
Him as Lord and Savior - with him into heaven.
Those left will go through the Great Tribulation.)
As if the date of this were the most crucial
detail ofbur lives, it has spawned mass chaos.
Well, let’s get one thing straight right now. It
does not matter.
And those of us who are actually concerned
66
It all came down to the fall
of Man, baby. Oh yeah,
we ve been screwed up
since day one.
with it so much that we would feel sorry for those
not believing the same should seriously rethink
our views.
Our pity will get us nowhere, will not reach
anyone effectively and we’ve been wasting that
time.
We could have been out sharing the love of
Christ.
But no, we’ve been looking after ourselves.
And how prepared we will be at the end of the
world.
And how much everyone else will suffer.
And we gloat in it. Because we know that if
they would have just listened to us, they’d have
been safe.
We’re pathetic, sad. And I’m saddened for us.
I’m sad because we don’t have our priorities
straight.
I’m sad because we need to start caring about
other people.
I’m sad because our arrogant lifestyles are
polluting the very basis of Christianity.
And I’m sad because we’ve forgotten the
most important message of all:
“Tell the kids I love them.” - God
Jessica Eckstein is a junior communications studies major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.
Ticket trauma „
Stadium should be for students, not the highest bidders
Dear Mr. Byrne:
Sorry to bother you at a time like this. I know
it’s a little hectic, with Evans cryin’ his way off
the team and Bobby finally getting moved to
wingback. But I’m writing of more pleasant
things - like last week’s big win.
What did you think of the game? I’m won
dering because I know you enjoyed the view
from your plush new skybox recliner, while I was
fooling with a remote control and rabbit ears.
That’s right. You got a cute young waitress
bringing Fairbury Franks right to your lap while I
was eating stale Tostitos.
You see, I didn’t have the 110 bones to send
you so I could be immersed in the Sea of Red this
season. Maybe I can exchange one of my kidneys
for a ticket to a game sometime. But I’m gonna
get a cheap ticket about the time you fit into a 32
inch pair of pants.
What I’m trying to tell you is that the tickets
are way too overpriced. I know you don’t think
about us students while your sipping your official
Pepsi product upstairs, but Billy - it’s about time
you did.
Let’s just begin with the price of the ticket.
Eighteen bucks? Really, do you know how much
that amount of money means to a college stu
dent? It’s three pizzas, buddy.
You are totally bending us over. It’s a full
enema! Do you know how much it costs to see a
game if you’re a student at any other big 12
school? The average is $8.07, with $9 for a
Sooner game and $4 in Boulder!
And as for other championship programs,
well, this next part might make you madder than
Jay Runty when he saw the depth chart:
At Florida State, Tennessee and Miami, stu
dents see the games for free.
That’s right, Billy Bob - for FREE! At those
universities, students are truly valued. They are
appreciated. They are not given the shaft.
And the shaft is exactly what we’re getting. In
fact, we’re getting that shaft Byme-style all the
way to the comer of the end zone. Can you even
see us through that tinted window? Don’t strain
your eyes, Willie, call the waitress for a pair of
binoculars.
Look for that thin slice of coeds in the
Southeast comer of the end zone. Yeah, right by
your precious HuskerVision screen. See us, Bill?
Can you even tell if we’re standing on our seats?
While our student section is a pathetic glob
divided into two quadrants of the stadium, other
colleges have huge student contingencies right on
the field.
Take, for example, California. Their student
section begins at the 40 yard line with row 1. Not
row 1 section GG or row 1 of the upper deck. I’m
talking about the 20-feet-from-the
players kind of row 1. That,
my money-grubbing
friend, is a student sec
tion.
And as for the Big
12, you may not want
to hear this either,
• f
partner. Every single school in the conference
has better student seating than we do.
Some just extend to the 20-yard line, others
the 35. Missouri and Oklahoma have the students
on the 50. No, not 15, Bymie. The 5-0.
I remember a game at K-State a few years
ago where I saw how valuable the student section
was. I was there a full hour before the game, and
the student section was completely full. There
they were, purple clad collegians on the 25,
yelling with the spirit squad to pump up for the
game.
Being bom a Kansan, it was awesome to see.
And, B-dogg, we can’t have that kind of a pres
ence at Memorial. All of our chest-painted row
dies and flask-hiding ffat
boys are making their
noise in the comer of
j the end zone. It’s
* pathetic. It really is.
And then
there’s the
\ whole skybox
4
thing. You’re charging these Nebraska corpora
tions millions a year to sit in air conditioning, —
watch TV and enjoy a nice selection of refreshing
beverages. It’s basically a big sports bar without
the smoke. Oh, and I guess it’s close to the field.
I can’t blame these fans -1 wouldn’t com
plain if my boss gave me free tix to a game. But
the difference between Berkshire Hathaway and
J.J. Harder, Bill, is that it is a company and I am a
University of Nebraska student. This institution is
not here for Nebraska businesses, Nebraska fam
ilies and especially not for an Idahoan like you,
Bill-o.
And that means Memorial Stadium, too.
That stadium is for the thousands of alumni
who continue to give back to the university
decades after they graduate.
That stadium is for the kids that are going to
graduate in May and will want to remember the
great times they had at games throughout their
four years here.
And that stadium is here most importantly for
those freshmen that haven’t experienced the awe
of Husker gameday - the tunnel walk, the start
ing lineup, the fight song and the feel of being a
winner. Even though we don’t play, we still feel
like we helped get that mark in the “W” column.
We still feel like we were part of something spe
cial each Saturday.
But we can’t afford tickets, Bill. And we don’t
have good seats, Bill.
Don’t get me wrong. I think you’ve done a
great job here. Without you, we wouldn’t have
HuskerVision at Memorial or Devaney. We
wouldn’t have John Walker and Paul Sanderford
as head coaches. And without you, the ’Skers
wouldn t be running for touchdowns on the
soon-to-sweep-across-the-country FieldTurf.
Why? Because you care about nothing but
the bottom line, like you’re supposed to. You’re a
businessman - plain and simple.
Unfortunately, Bill, this is one of those times
you’re supposed to suck it up and give in to the
students.
We’re not asking for skybox seats. We’re not
even necessarily asking for free tickets. Just do
like Coach Solich did. When he saw that
Crouch was the best QB, he moved him to No.
1. So put the students in first and make the
money second-string.
Sincerely,
JJ. Harder
J.J. Harder is a senior political science and broadcasting major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist