4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 24, 2005

OPINION


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JASON Z. PESICK
Editor in Chief

SUHAEL MOMIN
SAM SINGER
Editorial Page Editors

ALISON GO
Managing Editor

EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890
420 MAYNARD STREET
ANN ARBOR, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com

NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
44'The
fundamental
principles and
institutions of
democracy must be
adapted to the
realities of Russian
life today."
- Russian President Vladimir Putin, on
how Russia will pursue its own brand of
democracy, without help from the West, as
reported yesterday by The London Times.

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How the homosexuals stole my child's innocence
JOEL HOARD OHI YEA~i?

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ver since my sister
Janice graduated
from Harvard
Business School and
landed a job on Wall
Street last year, she's
been on my case about
bringing the family out
to New York for a visit.
Over the kids' Christmas
break, we finally got the opportunity, so we
loaded into the minivan and the Hoard Clan
was on its way to the Big City.
If only I had known what was going to
happen there, we never would have gone.
I've always considered New York a center
of licentiousness and depravity, but my hope
was that the Christmas spirit would cancel
that out. It may seem strange to be talking
about this in February, but the events I'm
about to recall have been so traumatic that
it's taken me two months to work up the
strength to write about them.
It was Dec. 29, 2004, my youngest son
Jack's sixth birthday. (He was born two
months premature, so we call him the
Christmas Miracle.) We wanted to do some-
thing special for Jack, and it just happened
that there was a Sesame Street on Ice per-
formance at Madison Square Garden.
It was unseasonably warm, so we thought
it would be fun to walk part of the way from
my sister's place in downtown Manhattan.
We walked north on Seventh Avenue, and
the kids were having the time of their life.

But then we entered the Chelsea District,
and my heart sank as I looked around. In
nearly every window of every shop and
apartment building - literally every way
I turned - there was a rainbow flag hang-
ing. My wife and I looked at each other, just
praying the kids would not ask about them.
No sooner than that, Jack was tugging
on my sleeve. "Daddy," he asked. "How
come those two men are holding hands?" I
looked up and saw what he was pointing at.
Two twenty-something males were walking
toward us, hand-in-hand. I was at a loss for
words. We hurried the kids into a taxi and
rode the rest of the way in silence. I was 23
years old before I saw my first homosexual,
and here was my youngest son, already con-
fronted with two of them at the age of six.
After the Sesame Street on Ice perfor-
mance, we went back to my sister's apart-
ment. I sat Jack on the couch and knelt down
in front of him. I've always felt it's best to
be honest with my children, so I laid it all
out for him. I told him what homosexuality
is, and that it is an abomination in the eyes
of God. I told him about how homosexu-
ality started in the summer of 1967, when
the hippies decided to challenge the natural
order that God established at the beginning
of time. I told him that the two men he saw
holding hands were sinners. I even told him
about how the liberals were trying to force
the homosexual agenda on America and
redefine marriage, one of the most sacred
institutions God ever devised.

Jack sat there silently for a few minutes,
and then tears formed in his eyes. As they
rolled down his cheeks, he looked up at me
and said, "Daddy, are those two men going
to hell?" I nodded. "Should I pray for them?"
he asked.
The question caught me so completely off
guard that I began to cry myself. I hugged
my son tightly and told him, "Yes, Jack.
Pray as hard as you can." I had never been sq
proud of one of my children.
It's funny how you try so hard to teach
your children the right thing to do, and some,
times they're the ones who end up teaching
you. I realized that my heart had hardened
on the homosexuals. We shouldn't scorrt
them or try to cast them out of society. We
should pray for them. Only with God's help-
can they learn the error of their ways and get
their lives back on track.
And so I hope and pray that we as a nation
can find the strength to help those who are
suffering from homosexuality. In these uncer-
tain times, we need to look to the Bible and
follow Jesus's example. I am reminded of how
Jesus did not shun those who were stricken
with disease and poverty. Jesus loved even the
most reviled of his people. Instead of turning
his back on the lepers, He lived among them.
He prayed for them and healed them. And,
now, over 2,000 years later, I pray that we as a
nation can do the same for the homosexuals.

Hoard can be reached
at j.ho@umich.edu.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Demoeruts have ignored the
threat of terroism
To THE DAILY:
Jesse Levine and Stuart Wagner attempt-
ed to blame past Republican actions for the
Islamist terrorism we face today ((R)hetoric,
02/22/2005). In the interest of objective
journalism, however, we would like to point
out some of the ways in which Democratic
presidents have failed to protect our country.
In 1979, former President Jimmy Carter
allowed the Shah of Iran to be deposed and
American hostages to be held for 444 days
(They were released on the day of Reagan's
inauguration.).
Feb. 1993: Five Americans were killed
in the first World Trade Center bombing
by Islamist fanatics. Former President Bill
Clinton did nothing.
Oct. 1993: Eighteen American troops
were killed in Somalia, some of whom were
dragged through the streets of Mogadishu.
Clinton did nothing.
Nov. 1995: Five Americans were killed
by a car bomb in Saudi Arabia by Islamist
fanatics. Clinton did nothing.
June 1996: A U.S. Air Force complex
in Saudi Arabia was bombed by Islamist
fanatics. Clinton did nothing.
Aug. 1998: American embassies in Kenya
and Tanzania were bombed by Islamist
fanatics funded directly by Osama bin
Laden. Clinton did nothing.
Oct. 2000: The USS Cole was attacked
by Islamist extremists. Once again, Clin-
ton did nothing.
After the horrific events of Sept. 11, Pres-
ident Bush has successfully waged wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq, ousted the Taliban
and the fascist regime of Saddam Hus-
sein and captured or killed 90 percent of
the leadership of al-Qaida. As opposed to
Clinton's approach of running from terror-
ism, Bush has refused to back down. This is
to the discontent of many Democrats who
would rather blame Islamist terrorism on
Republican actions during the Cold War
than acknowledge rampant Democratic
inaction during the 1990s. Blaming Repub-
licans is a rather comforting thought, pro-
vided one doesn't look at the facts.
We have taken excerpts from "This is
War," by Ann Coulter.
Alan Weiss

view, this represents a new hard-line stance
taken by the Vatican, and it needs to be
denounced by leaders across the world.
The Pope said in his new book that abor-
tion is "legal extermination." He made
abortion comparable to the extermination
of Jews and other groups in the 20th cen-
tury. He further says that gay marriage is
a "new ideology of evil." My problem with
these statements goes beyond their ideo-
logical viewpoints. I have no problem with
religious people, and for that matter, people
who are not in favor of gay marriage. My
biggest problem lies in the transition of the
Vatican from an influential political entity
to a religious puppet.
In the last three years, perhaps some of
the most volatile years in Middle Eastern
and North African history, the Vatican has
remained virtually silent in commenting
on important issues such as Iraq, Iran and
Sudan. Where is the Vatican that was so
instrumental in maintaining balance during
the Cold War? It had long been the place of
the Vatican to speak out and educate people
about atrocities and drastic situations going
on across the world, like in the case of the
Sudan right now. The only comments that
the Vatican has made are on the Israel-Pal-
estine conflict. These comments are frivo-
lous, as the Vatican is not really concerned
with the conflict and well-being of people,
rather it is a front to advance Christian
power in the Holy Land.
My question is this: When is a political
leader going to take a stand and denounce
these statements? Why don't leaders, par-
ticularly those who won't be politically
ruined by denouncing the Pope, denounce
him? The Pope is not is the all-powerful
entity that he once was, and the sooner poli-
ticians realize this, the better.
Alexander Mann
LSA junior
Review of Vagina Monologues
uxs isn j f nmed, not credibe
To TmDAIY:
Victoria Edwards seems to have missed
the point of The Vagina Monologues ('Mono-
logues' shock and inform, 02/21/2005). This
is demonstrated most significantly in her
statement that "the repeated images of sexu-
al violence became ... extraneous." How are

been performed at every single production
of "The Vagina Monologues" that has been
put on anywhere in the world since then.
In addition to arguing that the imaged
of violence were somehow extraneous,
Edwards also claims that "the prevalence
of the anti-male rhetoric diminished the
credibility of the monologues." As a man
who has seen the Monologues four times,'
I didn't find their credibility to be the
least bit diminished by an apparent abun-
dance of anti-male sentiment. And while I
doubt anyone would be politically incor
rect enough to publicly suggest otherwise,
the fact that I have repeatedly watched and
enjoyed "The Vagina Monologues" does not
in any way conflict with the fact that I am a
heterosexual male completely comfortable
with my sexuality and gender identity.
The vast majority of violence against
women is done by men, as is the vast major-
ity of violence of every kind. The men who
are portrayed negatively in "The Vagina
Monologues" are just those who perpetrate
such violence or otherwise try to exert ille-
gitimate power over women's bodies. If
Edwards views the negative portrayal of
men who do negative things as a portrayal
of all men in a negative light, then it seems
to me that she's the one making the extra
leap of assuming that all men try to exert
illegitimate power over women's bodies. It
would then be her own credibility that is
diminished by anti-male sentiment, and not
that of "The Vagina Monologues."
Greg Malik
LSA junior
Weekend Magazine helps
Chess Club recruitnent
To TmEDAux:
On behalf of the Chess Club, we would
like to thank you for taking the time to
interview Ali Thompson and run an article
about our club in your paper (Chess Club
offers (k)nights of smart fun, 02/17/2005).
Your article was more than we could ever
ask for when it comes to publicity, and
thanks to the Daily, we have already had
several new players contact us. Thank you
for allowing our club greater access to the
University community. We are honored to
have had a spot in the paper.
Henry Lu

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