Human Beings Have an Inviolable Dignity
To the Editor:
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To the Editor:
To the Editor:
To the Editor:
This Saturday, Feb. 15, marks the birthday of Susan B. Anthony. Many know that Anthony fought for social reform and women's suffrage, but few know that she was radically opposed to abortion and the social structures that led women to seek abortions. In fact, the vast majority of early feminists were vehemently outspoken against abortion. Today, feminist organizations claiming to represent all women have lost sight of the violence and injustice to women involved in abortion and have fought vigorously to expand the abortion license rather than focus on and attack the root injustices that lead women to choose abortion.
A classic case of conflicting principles exists in the case of sex-selective abortions. One horn of the dilemma has the "women's movement" enshrining the right to abortion as fundamental. The other horn is the indisputable fact that this "right" is consistently used against women. Women are victimized in many ways because of our societal, cultural and legal treatment of abortion, but most notably in the case of sex-selective abortion. These are abortions in which the fetus is destroyed solely because it is a little boy or a little girl. Females are affected disproportionately worldwide because of sex-selective abortions.
The friendships which we form at Dartmouth will remain some of our fondest memories of our years here. It is often said that the friends that you make in college are friends that you will keep for the rest of your life. Apart from friends and family, adrift in the loneliness of arriving at a place where you don't know a single soul, you reach out to others.
Even more lamentable than President Clinton's apparent inability to pick a policy and stick with it is his allegiance to certain extreme elements within the Democratic party. Clinton's enthrallment to some of the more fanatical members of his own party is so complete that even he, the great policy-switching escape-artist, is coerced on some occasions into sacrificing political expediency and common decency so that he can appease the elements which hold him captive. While the vast majority of Americans are opposed to keeping partial-birth abortions legal and are repulsed when they understand what takes place during a partial-birth abortion, President Clinton must kowtow to the demands of abortion advocates and abortion providers who view any legislation on abortion as an erosion of the right to choose.
Yale Law Professor Stephen Carter writes, "Too many commentators in the media, in politics, and in the academy, make a casual habit of insulting their religious opponents instead of debating with them," in the paperback foreword to "The Culture of Disbelief." What is most unfortunate about Carter's statement is its accuracy.
I don't get the chance to watch much television while at Dartmouth, but this past break gave me the opportunity to catch up on what I have been missing for the past 12 weeks or so. Even when given the opportunity to watch television, I do not watch that much. In other words, I am pretty naive about what's on TV, which, I am beginning to learn, ranges quite widely from the good to the bad to the ugly.
We are all political animals by nature. That is Aristotle's assessment, as valid today as it ever was. Though we are all political animals, you wouldn't really notice it by looking at your peers here at Dartmouth. Considering that we are now in a community of informed and educated individuals, one would think that there would be more political activism on campus than there is.
Caddyshack is a great movie. It is not great because it is merely funny, for there are many movies that are simply funny. Caddyshack is great because it is applicable to everyday life.
Today's vote is the most devastating and appalling attack on a woman's freedom to choose in the history of the House," Kate Michelman, the president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, said in a statement. "This bill is so extreme that it provides no exceptions to save a woman's life or health, thus presenting a direct constitutional challenge to Roe v. Wade." This statement was reported in last Friday's edition of the New York Times.
So, here's what you do: Put on a costume or scary mask; get a bag, pillowcase, or plastic pumpkin; join up with some friends and knock on people's doors; when they come to the door, hold out your carrying apparatus and wait as they deposit small pieces of candy in them. Afterwards, you hang out with friends and eat lots and lots of candy until your stomach is full, throw down one more fun-size Milky Way for good measure and then convince your parents that you just aren't hungry; and no, it wasn't the candy that filled you up.
Dartmouth College has been quite a busy place during this past week. We witnessed the 100th Dartmouth night, a rain-drenched drubbing of Colgate and the familiar spectacle of freshman prancing and cavorting around a very large, very hot bonfire. We also watched the "Hell Night" video controversy unfold and experienced the expected rise in campus crime and alcohol-related problems. What is the common factor?
That the issue of abortion is a hopelessly tangled and complicated issue, impossible to discuss due to the intensity with which both "sides" hold their beliefs, is a tragically prevalent notion. Many seek to cast abortion, and opposition to it, as a "religious" issue, effectively marginalizing the many non-religious pro-lifers and shifting discussion from reason, morality and objective discrimination to the subjective realm of religion and faith.
Pope John Paul II is known by many Americans in many different ways. To faithful Catholics, he is the visible leader of the Church instituted by Jesus Christ. To others, he may be a good guy with high standards who should not force them on others. To even others, he may be a confused conservative, reactionary misogynist, or sexually repressive (and repressed) ignoramus. While these may be some of the more popular (mis)conceptions of the current Bishop of Rome, there is one important facet of Pope John Paul II that is often ignored by a great number of Americans -- his incredible philosophical interest and wisdom.
In talking with students over the years, I have been struck by how many desire to identify with role models by whom they might be guided and inspired -- men and women whose conduct of their lives is commensurate, morally and intellectually, with their own most selfless aspirations."
Lookingat the glass-encased area near the front entrance of the Hopkins Center from a distance, one can see a crowded ensemble of pure white garments hanging as if on a line to dry. As one gets closer to the exhibit, the appearance of spotlessness is violently disturbed by blood-red spatters. To signify marriage, words from a marriage ceremony are placed on the exhibit's glass circumference, ". . . in sickness and in health, to have and to hold . . ." The juxtaposition of this sacred compact and vivid evidence of its rupture, domestic violence, is nothing short of jarring.
Deathand taxes. The two certainties in life, unless of course you are a right-wing immortal extremist who denies the validity of the United States government. The rest of us, mere mortals, can be assured that death and taxes will always be there.
Useyour talents, be honest, utilize your intellect, be a nice guy, seek knowledge, read books, learn in-depth and believe in and trust God. This is the core of the message that world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson delivered to an audience in Webster Hall this past Saturday evening. If you weren't there to hear this motivating and inspiring speaker, you missed an incredible opportunity to listen to a very sincere and wise gentleman. You also missed out on some good advice.