4A - The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 9, 2001 hie Jirbigtuu &ilg 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 daily. letters@umich.edu Doom, American style PETER CUNNIFFE LOST IN THE GAME vd ; a EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 GEOFFREY GAGNON Editor in Chief MICHAEL GRASS NICHOLAS WOOMER Editorial Page Editors Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion offthe majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. funny thing hap- pened in the in the wake our last elec- tion. Even as the chaos unfolded in Florida, scarcely a day went by where one couldn't read yet another commentator marveling, yet again, at what a great place the United States is. "The election dispute just shows how strong we are," everyone said. "Most other countries would have seen vio- lence if confronted with the kind of election debacle that took place here." And besides, "we've got the money, the power, the respect," as so many opined. "Sure everyone snipes at us, but it's all just jealousy." While it was particularly loud then, this isn't just a messy election phenomenon. You still hear the self-congratulating allthe time. And why not? There's no denying that America really is unique in the world today. As the preeminent economic, political and cultural power, more influential in the world than any nation in human history, why should we ever tire of the endless compliments we are so fond of paying ourselves? Maybe because that's the trap everyone who ends up on top eventually falls into. Suc- cessful nations usually become quite enamored of the way things are. Why change when you're doing well? But this means throwing off the dynamism that makes for successful societies in the first place and rabidly guarding the status quo even as it becomes progressively less bene- ficial to do so. Thorstein Veblen called it "the penalty of taking the lead." You become depen- dent on obsolete practices because that's what's always worked before. Think Chrysler, the Soviet Union and hair bands in the '80s. Megalithic entities that stood tall in their respective fields, looked invulnera- ble and fell from glory with startling swiftness. Chrysler didn't respond to changing con- sumer preferences, ran an outdated manufac- turing operation and still exists only because of a government bailout. The Soviet Union's moribund governmental structures and unworkable command economy were so hopelessly stagnant, a superpower vanished before anyone knew what was happening. And Motley Crue and Poison were rocking along without a care in the world when those Seattle upstarts with their flannel shirts and songs with plots stole away America's heart. Capitalist, communist or vapid musical hacks, institutions that don't change, that get too attached to their usual way of doing things, don't last. Which brings us back to the United States, currently the center of the world, unchallengeable, our commercial, cultural and military might inexorably reshaping humanity in our image. But despite what some say, there is no end to history. The United States is not eternal and cracks in the Pax Americana are already beginning to show. Most notable is the aforementioned "elec- tion." When it didn't turn out clean and sim- ple like we're used to, we panicked. Well, not everyone. In fact, almost no one. But the political class of this country, the politicians, special interest groups and media that run our nation compensated for everyone else's calm with an apoplectic six-week orgy of hysteria and fear. "How could there not be a win- ner!?" they exclaimed. "By God, that's not how this works!" Incredulous at the horrify- ing irregularity of the whole situation, a sick- ening drumbeat arose from politicians and the media, self-proclaimed protectors of the public, that this had to end. We needed to move on, to get back to normal. And move on we did. We accepted finality over counting votes. We turned our democracy over to an unelected president. And we may have started paying that penalty. It's not this particular event that's the real problem, it's the precedent we've set. That hav- ing elections is secondary to having leaders. That we respond to disenfranchisement with a shrug. That it's not the will of the people th matters, but the will of James Baker and Chr Matthews. (It's unlikely the Supreme Court would have had the balls to stop votes from being counted if Jim and Chris and their ilk hadn't hectored the public into believing it was inevitable and right): A strength of the United States has always been an emphasis on ideals over tradition. We've made our own future, unlike European countries and most other nations that have their eyes ever fixed on the past, the centuries and millennia of wars, royal feuds and ethnic stri an omnipresent burden of inescapable traditio People in the Balkans just can't seem to stop killing each other over old grudges. Canada's head of state is appointed by the queen of England. The French have laws restricting the names of children to keep out anything "non-French." Sound absurd? Well, here's another one. In the United States, having any president- elect now is preferred to waiting to see whl2 really won. W Like other countries, we are sacrificing what is right to what has always been. Choosing not to find the best solution, only the easiest one. We came to believe, correct- ly, that this is a great country and we were talked into believing, incorrectly, that con vention is more important than justice. France used to be a great nation too. Peter Cunni e's column runs eve other Friay. He can be reach via email atpcunnif@umich.e >1004t, +PNtS 'tis ~. .......... .................. ............... University deserves appreciation for Code revisions TO THE DAILY: I want to offer my congratulations and thanks to the students and administration at the University for their hard work. I attended the University from 1997tol999 and during that time was active with the Michigan Student Assem- bly and several other campus projects. Though I came late to the process of reforming the Code, I became very heavily involved in the process changes that ulti- mately resulted in Wednesday's announce- ment. I thought then, and am sure now, that the modifications we made will continue to make the Code (now renamed) process more fair, more representative, and ulti- mately better for the University and all its students. It is by no means a perfect document. But our work to date - along with the work of hundreds of others over more than a degade - have kept this process moving in the right direction. BRIAN REICH C. \ N / -. \ / ~/ / -. .- I I, I - / ~ / / ---i - 1 / /7 1~-' / 7*~' ~fYl~. " -, ~-.. ~~-I I- .. - /.-~-~/ I - ~ u'~--- / ,.-z--- / ,. \ j~ /1/ I ~ I -- - 7 - -~ N~ Z / / 7~. - ~ State will be the lth and final to visit in 2 weeks), the Ann Arbor media were the only ones to mention alcohol in every article I read about the crowd from every online media source, including The Michigan Daily ("Omaha not too far for Michigan faithful," 2/6/01) and The Ann Arbor News and were the only opposing team radio announcers I've ever heard comment on alcohol being a major factor in the crowd. If all I knew about Omaha was from the Daily's articles and the comments of the WTKA announcers, I'd have thought the crowd was a bunch of drunks, when in reality they're far from it. Plus it'd be pretty damn tough to get drunk at the arena when beer is $4.75 a cup. I even heard reports that the 200 Uni- versity of Michigan fans at the Bullpen this past weekend were consuming the alcohol as much as or more than the Uni- versity of Nebraska at Omaha fans. Despite Daily's claims, Omaha not filled with drunk hockey fans TO THE DAILY: I have to ask, as Omaha has been my hometown for almost 15 years now, why all the beer references by Ann Arbor media? Of the 10 CCHA teams to visit Omaha (Ohio 'Racializing,' and its downfalls AMER G. ZAHR TIlE PROGRESSIVE PEN Not to mention from all indications I've read anid heard about, Yost is a much more profane arena than the Bullpen ev will be or want to be, beer or no beer. Just because there may be competition from the new guys, and just because the atmosphere isn't a traditional college one since UNO doesn't have a typical college student body, doesn't mean the Daily has to qualify our fandom by claiming that beer is the most prominent reason our crowd gets into it. I think the fact a 4-year old program has given a spanking to the Wolverines two of the last three times they've played probably h more to do with it than a single drop of Coors. I hope the Wolverines enjoyed their trip to the 'drunken' arena, and I'd like to extend a belated, "Welcome to Nebraska. You'll never lose in a friendlier place." BEN FLICKINGER The letter writer is a resident of Omaha. methods of racialization are encouraged either by 1960s civil rights throwbacks, or by groups that do not have any campus ties and whose members (and many times leaders) are full-time paid activists of socialist-leaning organizations. There's nothing wrong with being a socialist or a civil rights recollector. But to speak for stu- dents here is dishonest and destructive. I personally believe that people who oppos affirmative action are misled, misunderstanW American history, do not grasp race theory, and so on. It is quite possible to be a progressive race activist and not believe that all your ideo- logical opponents are racists. Surely, race is a paramount issue in our society, and it will remain as such, and perhaps become more cen- tral than ever. But are vouchers only about race? Are tax cuts only about race? Have Democratic admin- istrations really made race relations more ha monious? Did race relations get better in the past eight years? Ask yourself these questions. Then ask yourself if they will get better. Luckily the second question is something we can affect very sharply, and it is up to us to do so. Perhaps the biggest issue in the coming andom question: What does it mean hen you ask a girl if she would like to have dinner on Valentine's Day and she says "let me see"? It happened to "my friend." If it ever happens to you, just keep your pride and don't ask again. Now to business. When asked about faith- based programs, W. said, "well, I believe in the separation of church and state, but this is feder- al." Yes, yes. Jokes abound. I don't think any- one is going to say we have some kind of intellectual ideologue in office. That guy lost. Instead, we got W. But I am a bit disturbed by recent goings-on after the election and now. Let me tell you about it. g No doubt. This election was educational. People were into it, talking about it everywhere. The Union, Amer's, Rendezvous. Hell, I even heard people talking about it at Backroom. Back- room! Not exactly a bustling hub of political frenzy. Let's be real though. Does anyone, Rev. Jesse Jackson included, think that this is the first time since the '60s that blacks were turned away and groups like Jackson and the NAACP. This is by far the most lopsided proportion for any political party in any minority group. The result unfortunately is a lose-lose situa- tion. Jackson and the NAACP become moral bullies for the Democratic Party, and the black community as a whole is completely discounted by the GOP. Reports of police putting up road- blocks, polling places moving without notice and Haitian voters being left without translators abound in our most recent election. But does the Reverend really think that this is the first time all of this has happened since 1965? We all know it isn't. What happens is that many black leaders end up in the hip pocket of the Democrats, and they take their community along with them. Was Al Gore's campaign, as the NAACP por- trayed it, a struggle for black liberation? Does it help the cause of black-Americans, and all- minorities for that matter, to brand a presidential candidate as a racist? Many minority leaders like-Jackson make the grave mistake of "racializing" every differ- ence between them and the Republican Party. This condition also exists right here on our campus, in a very acute way. Certain groups