4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 19, 2003 OP/ED : So~vei R& dm 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 LOUIE MEIZLISH Editor in Chief AUBREY HENRETTY ZAC PESKOWITZ Editorial Page Editors Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. NOTABLE QUOTABLE I actually think that Bush is the greatest threat to life on this planet that we've most probably ever seen" - London Mayor Ken Livingstone, as quoted yesterday in The Independent. Look, °_ S~o +00 I p\ I ve for' v~o I 4 ,.. 1 f t L .V 0 SAM BUTLER 'THE SOAPBOX - 0 To have and have not HUSSAIN RAHIM NARCOLEPTIC INSOMNIA I ith differing lev- els of candor, schmaltz and frivolity there is currently a fixation on the analysis and deconstruction of the wealthy. Dispersed mainly between three shows, with more surely to follow, the public eye is on the wealthy like never before. What is being eschewed here is the princi- ple of the old money traditionally remaining anonymous. How many people from the Forbes 400 list can be named by picture? This all comes at an interesting time when the Ameri- can median salary continues to decrease as does the number of Americans living below an anti- quated poverty line. The first is MTV's superbly vapid show "Rich Girls" which is an empty dance through two young trust fund babies lives as they espouse such philosophies as "I think clothes should be free, because they are like a basic necessity, like water." Water is not free, sweetie. While showing the undeniable privi- lege of such a life, the stupidity that seems to come with it cannot be ignored. The upcoming Fox show "The Simple Life" focuses on the eternally understated Paris Hilton of Hilton Hotel fame and Nicole Richie, daugh- ter of Lionel Richie, who are lessened to the point of living in Westbubblefuck, Ark., a far cry from Chelsea's chic Lot 61. The lesson here is how all that naughty money disconnected them from basic intelligence and the knowledge of the simple life. Then there is "Born Rich," an HBO doc- umentary by fellow rich boy Jamie Johnson, heir to the Johnson and Johnson fortune, who decided to break tradition and examine what he calls the "voodoo of inherited wealth." This phenomena is what he describes as the inability of those with money to openly complain of the problems their status causes. His show is the most candid of all, as he and his fellow jet-set crew share their fears of family severance and marital pressures in social scenes that don't look all that removed from many here at this school. While his purpose could be opening the door for upper-class catharsis, it sure is pretty sexy to say you are a docu- mentarian. It gives you that artsy spin. The most important question to be asked is why. Why is the status and invulnerability of this lifestyle being challenged? A lot of these kids want to combine entertainment fame with their wealth - Ally Hilfiger and Jaime Gleicher are each listed as producers of their show "Rich Girls." Paris Hilton's ini- tial forays into acting have only resulted with her portrayal as a burgeoning porn star. Nicole Richie's description as an "aspiring actress, singer and dancer," is marred by her accomplished heroin addiction. This marks an ostensible change in the American perception of true wealth and celebri- ty where pandering for publicity and appear- ances on "Fear Factor" or "Leno" are generally frowned upon because their wealth is prided on its self-generating nature. These shows seem to be a combination of teasing taunting and condemnation, but when closely examined the "cwho" becomes murkier. There is a degree of moralizing involved to mitigate the hatred the peons have for the haves. The parable of "The rich are bad and stupid," is followed by the "Gee, oh boy I'm glad I don't have money." The growing class disparity and disappearance of social mobiliza- tion are good enough reasons to phase out the glory of money. In no way is this a socialist diatribe because I sure as hell don't want to work much past the age of 25 and have no desire to share farm plots with my fellow comrades. Rather it is an observation of the fortuitous timing between the increase of the poor and the demystification of the rich. "This contempt of money is just another trick by the rich to keep the poor without," said Michael Corleone, and it never rings more true than today. Maybe the doctrine of old money is no longer valid as our genera- tion can no longer be content with the silent affluence of the previous centuries. With the glamour and lure of the red carpet from MTV award shows and repeats of "Cribs" the baby bluebloods are taking a page from the nouveau riche and the poor and combin- ing shameless self-promotion with the cool- ness of being oppressed. Pity them, it's hard to be rich. Rahim can be reached at hrahim@umich. edu. Atheists have feelings, too JOEL HOARD COLD LAMPIN fter watching Pat Robertson inter- view ousted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore on "The 700 d Club" last week, I was all r set to write a scathing piece on the presence of religion in government that encompassed my pro- found hatred of people like Robertson, Moore and the moral watchdogs of the reli- gious right and the threats they posed to our civil liberties. It was going to be bitter and sarcastic and no doubt would have contained several unnecessary jabs at Christianity itself. I tried to make it work, but I just couldn't do it. I've honestly grown tired of attacking the beliefs of others like that. It's a sad thing to do. I don't really hate Christians (my parents are both Christian, and they're my favorite people in the world). Christianity brings people happi- ness and peace of mind, and even if it does give people crazy and annoying ideas such as placing 5,000-pound slabs with the Ten Com- mandments etched into them in public court- houses, it's not such a bad thing. Long story short, my lingering issues with Christianity have been settled. Therefore, I decided to use this space more constructively for once. I thought, why not discuss my own beliefs and hopefully clear up some common misconceptions about them instead of criti- cizing the beliefs of others? I'll bare my soul for all to judge. With all the criticizing I've done in the past, it's only fair. So here goes: In truth, I have no religious beliefs. I was raised in a nondenominational Christian megachurch, and I clung to those beliefs until two years ago. I had an epiphany, a wonder- ful moment of clarity when the mysteries of the universe instantly unfolded right before my eyes. Well, maybe not, but it created those wonderful feelings that only hyperbole can properly capture. I questioned the foun- dation of everything I believed in - God, Jesus and the rest. To be brief, the religion no longer made sense in the context of the real world. It all sounded so great in theory, but in reality I couldn't accept it. And so I gave up religion cold turkey. If I need a label, I guess you could call me an atheist. It's not a term I usually like to use - not because it's an untrue label, but because the word has such a negative connotation in our culture. When the aver- age person hears the word "atheist" he or she usually thinks of one of two types of people: the hedonistic heathen who indulges in all types of debauchery, or the pretentious asshole who jumps at each opportunity to mock religion in its every form. But I've never been one to indulge in excess, and while I may take on the preten- tious asshole role from time to time, I try to be respectful of others' beliefs. Some of the most common questions an atheist faces go something like this: "If you don't believe in a supreme being or an after- life, then why do you bother living? Why don't you go on a week-long bender of armed robbery, murder, promiscuous sex and drug use and then commit suicide?" For me, it's quite simple: I bother living because I enjoy life. That, and I have nothing better to do than live. Part of the blame for the misconcep- tions surrounding atheism lies with groups such as the American atheists. It's one thing for people with a common belief to band together, but when that common belief is actually a lack of belief, it becomes kind of ridiculous. For atheists to take on an agenda (literally promoting nothing) is quite unnecessary and counter- productive. These militant atheists are every bit as annoying as the religious right and twice as crazy. They're the ones who make the public think all atheists hate reli- gion and the religious. The only reason they don't pose a legitimate threat to the nation is that there are so few of them. But the majority of us aren't crazy. In fact, we're very sane and rational people. We think, act and feel just like you. Don't be afraid of us. We like you, and you might just like us. Go in peace. Hoard can be reached at j.ho@umich.edu. 4 VIEWPOINT BY RACHEL ROTH By now I am sure that you have heard or seen the phrase "wherever we stand, we stand with Israel," on T-shirts and posters, and in arti- cles and campaigns internationally. It seems to have existed always, but I was at the meeting where it was coined - not by a large institution or professional pundit - but by a few of your fellow students. Today, thousands of students on campus wear this message, so allow me to elucidate first-hand the intent behind the slogan; an acknowledgement of diversity and complexi- ty, a tool towards dialogue, and a show of sup- port for certain ideals. Flashing back to that influential meeting: There were about eight of us, as politically improve, for its unique character and flavor. We nodded in a rare moment of agreement, and so the slogan was born. One would be hard-pressed to find a stu- dent wearing a shirt that says "I stand by Israel no matter what it does," or "I support 100 percent of the actions that the govern- ment takes;" few Americans would say that about America, why should Israel be any different? If you find such a person, won- derful, they contribute to the color wheel of opinions which the shirt brings together. Just last night I heard an Israeli friend pas- sionately oppose many aspects of the gov- ernment; he is proud to wear his shirt, he said, because his vote and progressive rally- ing against certain policies is his way of standing with Israel. The mtnv ; iguinnc wxhichh hben fortable with the display. They did not do an about-face and buy a shirt to wear today, nor did I lose my perspective, but we gained an understanding of each other, a paradigm of real dialogue. Our hope with the shirts and slogan is that those students united by the greater message feel free to duke out the details. Those in opposition to the sentiment come out and say so, paving the court for a give and take. A nod to the diversity of the pro-Israel community, an awl for opening discussion, an expression of the complexity involved in supporting any ideal, person, or country, these are what the shirts are meant to show. We encourage you to engage the slogan, ask your friends, what is it about Israel that they are supporting and where do they differ? It could he a nua~nced answer 2about ayove- i I- 14-~ ~' ~ - -- -~ I i~~!L3~i---~vr<'vY'7-7> r