4 4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 3, 2004 OP/ED G be Atzhgt lg 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com opinion. michigandaily. com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 JORDAN SCHRADER Editor in Chief JASON Z. PESICK Editorial Page Editor 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 (The tearing of Janet Jackson's costume was unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance." - Statement issued by MTV following Sunday's Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. COLIN DALY TEM~iCHiGAN DALY (W)REUK LESS APENI G*ci ' i zi n fl 4 ,#4LfY ,boq6 CUC W N .0 4 77fo w " n so fiitio~N m America is about to learn the lesson of the elm tree JESS PISKOR JOIN 'THE PISKOR icture the elm trees, alive on every street corner and planted on every block. A monoculture spread thickly across the nation everywhere you looked. Picture them again, five years later, withered and dead, those still alive rotting and decrepit. If George Bush was not president we would not have invaded Iraq. If Bush was not president our nation would not verge on bankruptcy. If Bush was not president, instead of Patriot Acts we would have Kyoto Protocols. But Bush isn't the problem. Gore was not the solution. Iraq isn't the problem, nor are terrorists or taxes. How much real- ly would things differ under Gore or any of the politicians currently in the running? They do not offer real different choices, but just slight variations on the same themes. The real problem is systemic. The real problem is not who is temporarily in power, but that we are rapidly approaching a cliff. Does anyone possibly think this is sustainable? Do you really see this nation going on acting like this forever? What happens when we run out of oil or when a real SARS-like epidemic quarantines this nation? Remember SARS? A minor flu, it shut down China, closed Toronto and cost the world billions in lost tourism and trade dollars. A minor epidemic in this nation would bankrupt our system and send it crashing down to depths unknown. People would lock their doors and load their shot- guns. A single mad cow and millions of pounds of food go up in flames. What hap- pens when a real food scare hits this coun- try? Another D.C. sniper and a city of millions will cower at home. Do any of you realize how close to the cliff we already are? A little push and we fall into barbarism. Students sitting at home with their per- sonal computers reached out for access to entertainment and away from the hegemo- ny of the record industry and brought the Recording Industry Association of Ameri- ca to its knees. A few stockbrokers and corrupt accountants took down a series of the largest corporations in the world. A single computer virus just flooded every mailbox in the world - our interconnec- tivity spreads destruction far faster than it spreads healing. Our economy depends on constant and growing consumer spending. After Sept. 11, we had to buy buy buy, because even one week without increasing consumerism would send our nation down. With society moving so fast, even the slightest slip will send us reeling. Yes, the United States is the world's greatest superpower, the only hyper-power, but by God what a fragile trophy this empire is. But just as a fragile empire is suscepti- ble to a violent fall, a fragile empire is also prime ground for a revolution toward an entirely new way of thinking - a new imaging after we all thought that neoliber- al free-trade capitalist democracy was the only choice left. The rapidity of our changing world makes a complete revolu- tion of our current system not just a possi- bility - it makes it nigh on inevitable. We are the leaders of that revolution, whether we want it or not. They talk about planned obsolescence, trying to convince us to buy new toasters, new washing machines, new and more stylish cars. Well guess what? This whole system is about to become obsolescent. We are an incurable virus, set to infect the corporate behemoths that sell to us and the politicians who rule us. As we con- sume their products, as we buy their brands and their images, they in turn con- sume us, even consuming our rebellion. As they market back our protest, they cannot know they are making their own fall inevitable. Corporations cannot think in the long term. They rape forests for a quick profit. They don't use sustainable practices that would insure a steady return forever, instead preferring the slash-and- burn practices that will maximize short- term profit and boost their stock rating. In this hyper-speed world, corporations with long-term thinking die, as faster, short- term-thinking companies out-maneuver them and steal their profit. And that is key to the coming revolution. Unable to look past their next quarterly earnings reports, they will market whatev- er we will buy. Soon, frustrated with it all, frustrated with the utter vapidity of this corporate world, we will begin to demand rebellion. And they, in their short-sighted- ness and quest for a quick profit will give it to us. And one day it will hit them like Dutch elm disease, and they will wither away. But instead of barren streets, our streets will fill with a real culture - a vibrant quilt far more beautiful than their gray-suited world. Piskor can be reached atjpiskor@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Edwards backs policies with booklets containing comprehensive details TO THE DAILY: I realize that The Michigan Daily is a student-run newspaper, but that does not excuse the absence of the most basic of journalistic research practices in preparing editorials (Evaluating John Edwards, 02/02/04). To claim that Edwards has not provided many details about how he would accomplish his economic plan is totally unfair at best and a blatant disregard for the facts at worst. His plan is laid out in substantive detail in his 60-page policy booklet "Real solutions for America" which can be downloaded from his cam- paign website at www.johnedwards2004.com. I recommend that the editorial staff at The Daily read the proposals before they claim they do not exist or are not substantive. This is espe- cially so since they seem to agree with the premises of his proposals for extending economic equality to all. LARRY ROWLEY The letter writer is an assistant professor in the School of Education and the Center for Afro- American and African Studies in LSA. Edwards's plans are clearly outlined, accessible to voters TO THE DAILY: This article (Evaluating John Edwards, 02/02/04) was poorly researched. John Edwards more than any candidate outlines the ways in which he plans to achieve the issues he speaks of. All you have to do is go on his website and look through his 60- page plan for America. You have done a disservice to Edwards and the country, for he is the most likely to beat President Bush. You are either of Republican persua- sion or an incompetent reporter. IRISH CAIN Reader against President Bush's abstinence plan without criticizing Christianity's belief system. Is it just me, or does the principle of "no sex before marriage" apply to other religions besides Christianity? Bush's poli- cy is not only "eerily similar to the tenets of Christianity," but also exactly equiva- lent to the beliefs of major religions such as Orthodox Judaism and Islam. The presi- dent's "not-so-hidden Christian agenda" as Hoard ignorantly labels it, is an agenda that is supported by many Jews, Muslims and Christians alike. It's sad to see that Christianity-bashing is alive and well at The Michigan Daily in this enlightened age of political correctness. Drop the anti- Christian propaganda, and I'll consider your argument. ANYA KONIUCH LSA Senior Columnist needs to learn how to separate his prob. lems from society's TO THE DAILY: In Joel Hoard's article (You want them to do what?, 02/02/04), he made it quite obvious to me that he is not actually irritated about Bush's abstinence policy. Instead, Hoard is angry about or at Christianity. Hoard's problems with Chris- tianity are not societal problems (therefore, have no grounds for being printed), but rather person- al problems. BRIAN CHURCH LSA senior Bush correct in saying that society glorifies sex TO THE DAILY: I am not a Bush fan, but looking at the Super Bowl, what has our society come to? We live in a society that glorifies sex - sex has become a casual act. Society does not look at sex. As a mutual bond that you share between your female wife and male financial security, mental stability and var- ious consequences. I credit Bush for the increase in federal funds allocated to teaching abstinence. I am a Christian; however, pre-marital sex concerns the whole nation, not just the Chris- tian community. DOMINIQUE LEE LSA freshman Daily's spoof issue lacks humor, full of profanity TO THE DAILY: After reading your annual spoof issue (01/30/04), I am ashamed to be a former news editor of the Daily. I do not know when this once-fine publication sunk to the level of pathetic and juvenile ranting and self-gratification that was published on your website this week. With articles filled with profane and vulgar themes, you have cast a large cloud over the 113 years of tradition you inherit- ed. I understand freedom of expression and I understand humor. But I cannot understand how you could devote such extensive energy in this vile endeavor, which is unworthy of the great responsibility you were entrusted with as editors. The Daily bylaws still pledge "We will strive in all cases to uphold a sense of journalistic integrity." You fail in that mis- sion. ANDREW TAYLOR Alum Former Daily mews editor, 1996 LETTERS POLICY The Michigan Daily welcomes letters from all of its readers. Letters from Universi- ty students, faculty, staff and administrators will be given priority over others. Letters should include the writer's name, college and school year or other University affiliation. The Daily will not print any letter contain- ing statements that cannot be verified. 4 I .4U4, v pI Au" 4A..JL (I 4A : iii u u I k w. uuV ALA AAm)AA ?'