The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 1, 2005 - 5 LETTER TO THE EDITOR Wasting my life Homosexuality promotes sex with children, beasts TO THE DAILY: I have received word of the New York Pizza Depot rainbow sticker issue (Gay pride sticker sparks con- troversy at pizzeria, 07/18/05) via e- mail from Andrew Shirvell. Being a recent University alum, I remember enjoying great pizza many times at NYPD with a wonderful environ- ment that typified what it meant to be in Ann Arbor. I remember many businesses that obviously catered to the homosexu- al agenda and made this known by displaying a rainbow sticker on the storefront window. While there is a notion that people who choose to live sexually perverted lives are wel- come in the store as any other pay- ing customer would be, there is an underlining deeper issue. Displaying the rainbow sticker is not a symbol so that homosexu- als can know who will accept their business and who will not. It is a symbol to further the radical homo- sexual agenda, spearheading the deeper motive of normalizing the homosexual lifestyle. When sexu- ally deviant lifestyles are normal- ized and embraced in a society, then their breakdown begins. When we embrace one form of sexual devi- ance, then we begin a trend that embraces more and more sexually perverted lifestyles. Pedophilia, bes- tiality and other sickening sins will logically follow the progression. God ordained sexual relation- ships to be between one man and one woman in holy marriage. Period. This has always proven to be the best way for society and individuals. Watch and see - if homosexual- ity is embraced, then accepting these other sins will not be much of a stretch to make as the trend continues. I strongly encourage you to stand up for what is godly in this situation. Ask the question, "What would Jesus do?" Our highest and most noble aspiration in life is to follow the perfect example of Jesus Christ. He showed us how to live and then urged us to "follow him" no matter what it might cost us. Jesus would certainly minister to the homosexuals, as he ministered to all types of sinners. In fact, he was often considered to be a sinner just from his association with them. However, the rainbow sticker is not an emblem that you are seeking to love and minister to these patrons as you would anyone else. To all, it is painfully clear that these stickers are meant to show your support for their lifestyle. Why should a business feel compelled to do this? Is one in business to sell a product to all who walk in the doors or to be a tool of the homosexual agenda? I believe that Jesus would minister to the homosexuals as he did to all types of people. He would go out on the streets and converse with them in an upfront, loving manner, bring- ing these lost souls to repentance and new life as His followers. Jesus was willing to suffer and take up His cross, and He calls us to follow in His steps. We must be will- ing to do God's will and lead holy pleasing lives to God no matter what the cost. Jesus said to "be harmless as doves and wise as serpents." Do not be deceived by the obviously sinful agenda the rainbow sticker has come to represent! Demonstrate wisdom by acknowledging what the sticker represents and the reputation of a business by showing this. Dem- onstrate holiness by not agreeing to promote this agenda. Demonstrate courage by tearing down divisive, sinful emblems and promoting love and acceptance of all people, not lifestyles. Mark Drinkall Alum ALEXANDRA JONES Cc So I had a bit of a rev- elation this week. The blatant obviousness of the idea to which I was so suddenly introduced makes me feel like a tool to tell you about it, but here goes: I have, for most of the past six months, felt increasingly tweaked - anxious, stressed out, over- worked, depressed, hopeless. There was no unforeseen trauma, no death or illness, nothing big to report. All I did was go to my shitty classes, work at my shitty job, come home to my tiny and perpetually messy apartment and feel bad that I wasn't cheerful and energetic when I saw my boyfriend. All I could think about was how, no matter how much or how hard I worked, I'd never get to a point where I could stop. After classes ended, all I did was work (food service, for those of you who don't know) and feel like, somehow, nothing was ever going to get any better. And I hated myself for not snapping out of it, for not being able to suck it up and deal with my crappy situation. So one day, after six hours of chok- ing back tears at the insurmountable injustice that separated me from the comfortable middle-class profession- als to whom I serve skim lattes for a living, I came home to a present from my boyfriend. It was a book called "How to Be Idle" - I'll spare you the details, but go read it, now - and it's by Tom Hodgkinson, who happens to edit a British magazine called The Idler. At first glance, I thought it must be some tongue-in-cheek, ultimately pointless self-help book; rather, it's one of the more seditious tracts I've ever read. Hodgkin- son encourages us to take our lives back from the post-Industrial workday and become "master(s) of the self' through laziness - dozing past 8 a.m., taking long lunches, napping, drinking. To him, "living is an art," not whatever you do when you're not working. I hadn't been doing anything, really, besides working, and that's what was driving me crazy. We're taught from childhood that working is a virtue: Ever since my sis- ter and I were old enough to wash a dish or Windex a surface, my parents foisted many household chores on us. Perfectly normal, but here's where the bullshit comes in: I don't know if my stressed out, well-meaning parents read this in a book or came up with it themselves, but they stipulated that the day's chore had to take at least half an hour. Rather than rewarding the speed and efficien- cy with which I could, say, clean the bathroom or vacuum the floor, they created a mandatory maximum. It's normal - instinctive, even - to want to expend the least possible time and energy on a task, whether you're hunt- ing for sustenance or making a living. It's why I wait until the last minute to do schoolwork and chores. While those things might not qualify as drudgery, I need sufficient time to relax, slack off and otherwise dick around beforehand. The thing is, it's hard not to getcaught up in the cycle. If you're anything like me, you probably think of yourself as a fun-loving,relaxed pleasure-seeker: You like to sleep late, drink on weekends and other special occasions, and participate in activities you enjoy. You're not crazy about work or studying, but hey, that's what pays for all the fun you're so fond of - there's no way to get around that. So you do your damnedest to get ahead career-wise, volunteering for assign- ments and tasks, staying late, taking a full course load and generally doing more than is expected of you. Because, as we're reminded whenever we feel like slacking off, money is what makes fun andcomfort possible. We getmoney by working our asses off, by competing for status in the eyes of our peers and superiors. The crazy thing is that we've been training all our lives to, well, not be able to have one. So here's this week's big question: Why the fuck should we work so hard in school when all we're getting after we graduate is I.) a huge student loan debt, which goes along nicely with 2.) the opportunity to work, five days a week and probably more, for the rest of our lives in order to be seen as the respect- able, too-busy-to-thinkbuying machines we are? And, more importantly, when are we going to stop? Jones is a Dailyfall/winter associate arts editor.She can be reached at alma jo@utich.edu. The not-quite-as-great generation KARL STAMPFL 5>'(N\ N LETTERS POLICY The Michigan Daily welcomes letters from all of its readers. Let- ters from University 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 containing statements that cannot be verified. Letters should be kept to approximately 300 words. The Michi- gan Daily reserves the right to edit for length, clarity and accuracy. Longer "viewpoints" may be arranged with an editor. Letters will be run according to order received and the amount of space available. Letters should be sent over e-mail to tothedaily@michigandaily.com or mailed to the Daily at 420 Maynard St. Editors can be reached via e-mail at editpage.editors @umich.edu. Letters e-mailed to the Daily will be given pri- ority over those dropped off in person or sent via the U.S. Postal Service. f aliens are tuning in to our television shows, they must not have a very high opinion of the 18 to 24-year-old demo- graphic. Chalk that up to MTV, which portrays us as petty drama queens whose few concerns include winning challenges on Road Rules and making the high school cheer- leading squad. Don't believe me? Right now I'm watching "The '70s House," and Peter just said to a fellow housemate "I don't feel like you be keeping it real in this house" after someone failed to wash a cereal bowl from breakfast. On CNN, our parents usher in the computer age and demonstrate Amer- ica's resilience after Sept. 11 on CNN. ("Then the firefighters rushed into the collapsing building, eyes blazing with courage.") Our grandparents stave off Nazism and survive the Great Depres- sion on The History Channel. ("We have nothing to fear but fear itself.") Mean- while, we stand by as Xzibit pimps our rides and Ashton Kutcher tricks celeb- rities into awkward situations on MTV. ("Look like you been punk'd, dawg.") I'm not worried about what aliens think of our hip-hop flippancy, but I am worried about how our elders perceive us as a result of what they see on television. After all, they are the people who will hire us when we get out of college and who decide whether our teenage brothers and sisters can enter convenience stores at a clip of more than two at a time. If MTV has convinced them of our child- ishness, we could all win Nobel prizes, and we still wouldn't stand much chance of earning their respect. In the last week, I've watched a spat- tering of MTV from the perspective of a 45-year-old. Here's what I found: Saturday, 1 p.m.: Xzibit changes someone's life by painting his broken- down Dodge Caravan psychedelic colors and inserting faux-waterfalls. And who says our generation isn't generous? Sunday, 8 p.m.: On "The '70s House," a group of twenty-somethings are locked into a house and immersed in the culture of the '70s. Sample quote: "It's not fair that we have to wear these '70s clothes all the time." Later, on a preview for a future installment, one of the girls says, "Um, I didn't use the record player because I don't even know how to!" Tuesday, I a.m:: On "Room Raid- ers," a lesbian searches the room of a trio of girls to decide which one to date. She finds scandalous underwear, handcuffs and other assorted items that you wouldn't want your parents to find. Nothing says responsible young adult like agreeing to share your sex toys on national television. Wednesday, 9 p.m.: On "Made," a girl is frustrated because her quest to become prom queen is failing. One of her friends puts a poster advertising her campaign in the boys' washroom. A few seconds later, her friend comes in and says: "They pissed on it, and they ripped it off. That's not cool!" Later in the show, a classmate rips the head off of another one of her posters. If you're an older person and you're watching this, what are you thinking? Probably not that our generation is ambi- tious and resilient. If they've watched even only 15 minutes of MTV while flip- ping through the channels, people must think we're disrespectful, sex-crazed, petty, selfish and utterly obsessed with Lindsay Lohan. Now that's the kind of person I want to have in my office. If we keep this up, our grandparents will be known as the Greatest Generation, and we'll be known as the Not-Quite-As- Great Generation. Don't get me wrong; MTV is enter- taining, cutting-edge and a huge money- maker. I don't think it should change to the point where it shows teenagers doing community service 24 hours a day. That would be inaccurate and, worse, boring. But maybe it could meet the older gener- ation halfway. The network could maybe show one normal kid once, say, every two or three days, and older people could agree to keep an open mind and divide reality from reality television. If that fails, all is not lost - at least the aliens will think we're attractive. Stampflis a DailyfAll/winter administra- tion beat reporter. He can be reached at kstampf@umich.edu.