Ben Kundman, Editorial Page Editor
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The Behrend Beacon
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f\ THE BEHREND
4 Beacon
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The Beacon is published weekly
by the students of Penn State
Erie, the Behrend College;
First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed
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Erie, PA 16563.
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The View From the Lighthouse
The Six-Year War
The attack of Sept. 11 ushered in the true beginning of the 21st century
With a terrorist ring waging an attack on the United Star
now been exposed to a new kind of war - a war not of
versus state, but organization versus state, or organiz;
versus civilization (depending on how you look at the si
tion). It is unprecedented. We are in many ways, mal
the rules as we go along.
The Bush administration recently announced that the >
against terrorism could last up to six years. We do not km
how long this war will last for sure; six years is an esti
mate. We at the Beacon think that the six-year estimate is
a legitimate prediction. We are not military experts who can fall back on
Academy expertise, but we understand the cost of freedom.
This war would probably have been over by now if we were engaged in a
state versus state war - for example, Desert Storm. But this war, being differ
ent, must be strategic and all encompassing. This war is not about dropping a
few bombs, rolling in the tanks, raising the Stars and Stripes, and saying,
“OK, this one is over.” No, this war is about removing terrorism from the
world like a surgeon would remove a cancer.
This operation must be highly planned, specifically targeted and precise.
We must not only topple our enemies’ regimes. We must sort through a state’s
government and determine who is with whom. Then we must remove those
against us and leave the ones with us and engage in nation building.
To justify the long war we must understand what social forces caused this
new war. Just as the conditions of Germany under the Treaty of Versailles
contributed to WWII, various factors caused the rise of terrorist groups. We at
the Beacon believe that the political situations and economic circumstances
in the states which harbor terrorists help bin Laden’s organization.
We do not excuse the terrorists. We think they are evil and calling them
the scum of the earth is an understatement. We believe that the situations of
the general public in the regions helped cause the war.
By this we cite oppressive regimes and backward economic systems.
We genuinely believe that had these governments been democracies and had
free economies we would not be writing this editorial today. Put it this way:
If you had to live in the desert, were barely eking out a life and lived under an
oppressive government with no rights, would blowing yourself up in an air
plane seem all that bad?
Now if you had the right to vote and participate in your government, if
you had basic rights and liberties, if you had an education, if you had a good
job, and money to spend would you want to blow yourself up on an airplane?
In this regard, we must not only see this as a military action, but a state
building one. We must defeat our enemies and then provide them with a
democratic form of government with a market-based economy. We may have
to oversee this transition over a period of time and give the states economic
aid. Germany has not been an aggressor since the U.S. and Allies briefly
occupied the state, set up a democratic government, a free economy and imple
mented the Marshall Plan. Germany has since become a world power and a
great trading partner of the U.S. and the rest of the world.
And so as we did with Germany and Japan, we must do with these states.
We must make it a sterile place for the breeding of terrorists. This will take
time and money. But freedom is not cheap and cannot be achieved in a day.
Another factor that will add to the time of this war is the training of
foreign armies. As you read this staff editorial, we are in the process of train
ing Philippine troops to combat terrorism. It will take time for these militaries
to learn the skills they need to protect Western Civilization. This training will
add time to our campaign without doubt, but it is worthwhile.
One can look at all the above and say simply, “So what?! Lets just
worry about us!” One can say this, but he or she should wake up from the
isolationist world because it is long gone. This would just leave us vulnerable
to further attacks and not solve the problems that caused this war in the first
place.
But for the sake of argument let us look at this option. We will pull all of
our troops back home and have them patrol the border, airports, and fly the
skies in defense of the next attack. This operation would billions and
take years because the threat of terrorism would never be removed, and it
would take longer and cost us more money in the long run.
We only have one choice in this war: to stick to our guns and wipe
terrorists from the face of the earth. This may be an impractical goal, but it
must be reached as soon as possible. We must not get lazy, bored, and cheap.
We must stick with this war until our objectives arc met whether it takes two
years, six years, or 10 years. We must follow through in this operation.
Editor-in-Chief
Robert Wynne
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Business Manager
Paige Miles
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Ben Kundman
‘ ‘Professionalism
’ersonai
•Letter Policy*
that week’s issue,
EDITORIAL
Friday, January 25, 2002
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Should Secretary of State Colin Powell appear on MTV?
Hey, Bill Clinton did it, so why can’t Colin Powell? As one of the biggest
media outlets to the teenage and young adult population, MTV deserves to
bring important and influential people under its spotlight. What pimple
faced, squeaky-voiced 15-year old comes home from school and
automatically flips the TV on looking for C-Span or MSNBC? Chances are
if someone wants to appeal to the teenage masses, MTV is the place to go.
Middle-aged folk (and older) like to stereotype the younger generations
as being ignorant and uninterested in politics. Ever try to talk about politics
with someone 20 years your elder? They commonly say “No, you’re wrong,
you’re too young to tjp ? day...blah blah blah.”
So now, those same against bringing the
Secretary of State on a netwljl; lil|fii|llV: Bibably so they can continue to
harass the younger generatitHl’ ail>utlf»tl!P MTV has already effectively
educated teens about politics. During election years, the network sponsors
“Rock the Vote,” which takes political candidates’ issues and puts them in
perspective for their younger audiences. What parent would be against
putting their children in front of the TV to watch and learn about national
leaders before watching “The Real World.” It’s a win-win situation;
education over cable TV! Go for it, Colin!
Money, that’s what I want
plenty of happiness for me. Generally,
fl’m a content person, but
Attitude problem money troubles weigh on my
_ . mind, and tend to stress me
Miles out. For example, as I sit here and type
— this, my hands are freezing cold. I
B u.S i i Mot s don’t want to turn up the heat too high
in our house because that would hurt
Money would solve both my roommates’finances and mine.
Recently my doctor warned me that
my weight is falling dangerously below
average. Sure, I can blame being sick
or even petite for that, but it’s all really
about how expensive food is.
McDonald’s dollar menu couldn’t have
come out at a better time. For $3.18,1
can get a medium Coke, a double
cheeseburger, and four chicken
nuggets. Could there be a better meal?
Not that I can afford!
In the morning, I often have trouble
deciding what to wear. If I had more
money, I could buy more clothes, and
no longer would I have the terrible
stress of picking out an outfit. Plus, I
wouldn’t have to do laundry nearly as
much. (When you have to kick your
all my problems.
Shallow? Sure. Naive? Maybe. But
lately, being the completely broke
student I am. I’m beginning to believe
that a little bit of the green stuff could
make me blissfully happy.
I was talking with my mom the other
day about which major I will pursue for
the highest paying career. “You really
like that stuff, don’t you?” said my
mom.
“Money? It’s not that I so much like
it, it’s that I need it,” I responded. She
then told me to marry a millionaire. No
problem there. (Any takers?)
It’s always been said that money
doesn’t buy happiness. Well, I think a
large amount of money would buy
Her resolve: a good resolution
Jthis column entirely not to what you
. | j. have chosen to resolve
C hit Chat jor change this year, but rather why?
.Christine Kleck X
■ resolutions each year and
■ why do they choose to
resolve the areas of their lives that they
do? I think a lot of it has
to do with the desire to change and a
new chance to make that change. There
is something about putting up a brand
new calendar each year that draws us
into that mode of starting over. It’s
something about a never-before-seen
year that contains never-before
experienced months on the upcoming
pages that makes us think that we have
to run out and change the world. Okay,
maybe some of us just want to change
one part of our lives. But, all-in-all, a
desire to start over always seems to pop
up around the first of each new year.
Is it a dream that you keep having?
Eel i tori aJ Colu um i5 l
They have made movies about them.
People have broken them within days
of making them. By the time you have
to come up with another list for next
year, your lack of commitment or your
success at incorporating them into your
life has caused you to completely forget
the list from the previous year.
Yes, as you all may have guessed,
they are the famous and infamous New
Year’s resolutions. Whoops! Did you
foiget to generate a few this year? Well,
I wouldn’t worry about it, because I’m
sure the other half of you are also
saying whoops because you have
already broken them.
At any rate, I have decided to devote
<C_
Hot Debate o
Every week, two editors from the staff will debai
are encouraged to email suggestions for the
- Rob Wynne
te a topic that is hot. Students, faculty and staff
hot topic. Send ideas to behrcoll2@aol.com
Maybe it has to do with those few extra
pounds that just seem to linger? Is it a
relationship that needs mending? Or a
credit card that needs cutting?
So what the world is telling us that
we aren’t all perfect and that by
Christmas or so we should, at the bare
minimum, be at least a little bit “better,”
based on what we decided to resolve
in January.
Now this is all well and good, but
we should never lose sight of why we
resolve things and change things, or
rather why we should resolve and
change and improve our lives - for
ourselves. We must always remember
that these changes are simply a
reflection of the inner person who
chose to make those changes in the first
place.
Resolutions based on what society
and others tell us to change and
improve will only end with a breaking
of that resolution. Ultimately, that
the Week
Colin Powell should not appear on MTV. Period.
Many people view the appearance of our Secretary of State on “Music”
Television as being an important step in bringing politics to the youth of America.
I say hogwash. MTV bringing politics to the youth of America is like someone
pushing their best friend down the steps then handing them aspirin, as they lay
crumpled in a heap at the bottom.
While Powell has faithfully served the United States as a soldier and a politician
for the past 40-odd years, MTV has defiled our nations’ airwaves with it’s morally
decadent programming for the past 20. (Granted, F have nothing against moral
decadence, but I don’t think seriouspoliticians belong on, say, the Spice ChanHK,
or MTV for that matter.) NtiHk hashjflfefteqmgfattention spans to the point
that the only thing they can JpppjtiJfMs NHpfwhich has gotten to the point
it doesn't even show lose interest. Granted,
teens would get to ask pertinent qllltflms silh JPBoxers or Briefs?” and “Paper
or Plastic?” - two questions actually asked in prior MTV forums. I think MTV
should encourage teens to become involved in politics, not feed them liberally
biased pop-politics in a neat little package. If the kids don’t have the attention
spans for C-SPAN, let them watch Headline News. It’s real trippy with all the
weather and sports and farm information all going on at once, and they never stay
on one story for more than 30 seconds. Perfect for the MTV generation.
In closing, feeding an apathetic youth population with pop-politics i* enabling
it to continue being apathetic. Youth will never look outside of MTV as long as
their politics are handed to them in a Bagel-Bite sized package.
dryer to get it to light, you’ll understand
how much laundry can suck.)
Two months ago, 1 bought a car. The
car only cost $948 (although the blue
book value was $4000.) Jt has its faults.
The locks are fubar and the hom doesn’t
work. Money would fix this. Okay, so
I could probably fix this, but I really
don’t have the patience. A mechanic
would. Also, I’m sure I’ll be dropping
the clutch on the car pretty soon, and
that’s going to cost a hefty $7OO. Money
would buy me a new Jeep Wrangler that
has a working hom and a brand new
clutch.
Bills are a whole different realm.
Since I got screwed on books like every
other Behrend, my credit card is
suffering. I despise having a balance on
it, but there is no way I can pay it off.
On top of that, I have rent, insurance,
utilities, and cell phone. Yeah, it’s part
of being independent and living away
from home, but it’s pretty gosh dam
expensive. I wouldn’t have to worry
about any of these bills if I had a
sufficient amount of funds.
The Behrend Beacon
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I can hear my mother telling me that
money won’t make me content with life
nor will it make friends. And it’s also
true that I don’t want friends who like
me for the amount of money I have, but
that’s not a issue. As I said, I’m content
with life in general, but the money issue
is what drives a majority of the United
States to do what they do. Some abuse
money or don’t know how to be happy
with it, which in turn creates the evil
image money holds. Truly, it’s about
knowing how to manage money and
still be happy with life aside from
finances.
My management professor told us in
class that Bill Gates has so much
money, he doesn’t know what to do
with it. He’s attempting to give it away,
but failing. I hereby volunteer to take
any excess money that Bill Gates is
having problems disposing of. Also,
sympathetic readers can send checks to
the “Paige is starving fund, c/o the
Behrend Beacon.” Greatly appreciated.
Miles’s column appears every
three weeks.
unresolved resolution will probably just
re-surface next year at this exact same
How boring is it to make and then
break the same resolutions each year
at exactly the same time. Remember
that variety is the spice of life and being
true to one’s self adds extra zfist to that
spice.
Create resolutions because you want
to change and because you desire to
improve a particular area of your own
life. If, 365 days later, you feel better
about yourself because you created
those goals, stuck to them and then
reached them -1 would have to say that
you have accomplished a resolution
that many people don’t think to achieve
at the start of each new year. That is
the resolution to come up with a good
resolution (that is a resolution for you
and by you, of course!)
Kleck’s column appears every
three weeks.
Page 5
- Ben Kundman