Capitol times. (Middletown, Pa.) 1982-2013, March 30, 1992, Image 9

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    Students need vacation from break
Michael Stone
Capital Times Staff
So much for our spring break. Was
that the fastest week of your life, or what?
For some of you, it’s your last one before
you get sent out into the real world. I
hope you took advantage of the respite.
I, on the other hand, planned to do
quite a lot-I even made a list. I wanted to
do those things I've never had time for:
washing my car, cataloging my video
tapes, making some new cassettes for the
car stereo, and taking a trip to New York.
It doesn't seem too strenuous for nine
days, does it?
Well, I opted to work the first few days
at the intellecutal haven of a movie
theater, where I am employed as an usher.
After two days of smelling like popcorn
and such thought-provoking conversation
as "how about some butter flavoring," I
needed a rest
I was given some free tickets to the
Live concert in Lancaster on Sunday
night. The person who gave me the tickets
said the band wouldn't start until 9 p.m. I
arrived at 8:10 and the band was halfway
through their set. I spent a total of six
hours traveling back and forth to see thirty
minutes of music-how rewarding. If the
Political and sexual
Terry Wolf
Capital Times Staff
Read about any good sex lately? How
about bad sex? Animal sex? Now that I
have your attention, I really want to talk
about sex. Not safe sex, or premarital sex,
not even sex in particular, but our
attitudes about sex. Stay focused; there
will be a quiz at the end of this column.
The values in the country have
become, not surprisingly, those of a
Judeo-Christian culture. No shock there.
From the time we first mounted a school
bus it was shoved down our throats. "One
nation UNDER GOD." When I was in
elementary school we still had "a moment
of silence" after the Pledge of Allegiance
so we could pray.
We constantly have this notion or
religion reinforced every time the president
goes to church, because the networks like
to go with him.
It's no surprise then, that extramarital
sex or homosexual activity by an elected
official is described as scandalous, or
immoral. We prosecute, we judge, and we
pass sentence based on our religious
beliefs. We usually don't re-elect such a
person to office because he was a bad boy.
That type of action and social norm
strikes me as unusual, coming from a
country whose founding fathers stressed,
among other things, freedom of religion
and separation of church and state.
Let's take those two concepts one at a
time. Freedom of religion means the
ability to practice any religion you
choose, or to practice NO religion, if you
so choose. I think that is fairly clear. I
believe in that. I'm Methodist; albeit not
as I should be, I still believe in the things
that religion has taught me. I just don't
lead singer didn’t have an attitude and the
personality of an anal-retentive lawyer
with a two-by-four stuck up his butt, I
might have enjoyed it more.
I spent Monday enjoying the
Etched In Stone
abnormally warm weather in a park and
getting lost in the woods. After about two
hours of mindless walking, I swear I saw
Chinatown, but that might have been a
mirage.
I woke up Tuesday painfully tired from
all the driving I had done in the previous
36 hours. I tried using some Zest soap,
but to my disappointment, it didn't make
me dance around my house yelling
"Zestfully Clean” at the top of my lungs.
I spent the day in the theater again,
losing some more points off my IQ, and
witnessing a mother laugh proudly as her
two-year-old brat happily dumped popcorn
wherever he walked. I bet you never knew
an uptight guy in a black, polyester vest
would bludgeon a woman with a two-foot
usher broom.
A sad note: Earl Scheib, famous for
painting "any car any color for $29.99,"
automatically expect YOU to believe in
those things.
The other one, separation of church and
state is not as clear. If we have TRUE
separation of church and state, then I feel
Wolf's Den
religious ideals should have nothing to do
with the election of, or attitudes about,
elected officials. I don't care if Bill Clinton
wears his grandmother’s dresses. That has
absolutely nothing to do with his ability,
or lack of ability if you will, to be the
president of this country.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
€Ajphwail rmm staifif meetm®
Attention all staff:
There will be a mandatory staff meeting on
Tuesday, March 31 at 12:30 p.m.
ffiSpl. in the Cap Times Office
(room W-341)
Anyone interested in joining the staff should come to the meeting.
No experience is necessary, everyone is welcome! tL IrV
THANK YOU!
died over break. The same day, Tammy
Faye Bakker filed for divorce due to
"loneliness." Coincidence? I think not.
On Wednesday, I had planned to go to
New York City with a friend to take in
some touring. He called me Tuesday night
(while I still reeked of popcorn) and
informed me he wasn’t feeling well. He
was fearful that it might be cancer-related,
which really made my day..
I spent all day Wednesday waiting for
the phone to ring. It gave me the chance
to fulfill my fantasy of spending an entire
day watching television. It was painfully
boring-I guess your favorite shows are
only on when you can't watch them. The
movie channels show awful stuff during
the day and MTV and VH-1 show THE
SAME TEN VIDEOS ALL DAY LONG.
So much for my fantasy.
I finally got the call and found out it
wasn't cancer, just something minor. It
allowed me to relax slightly and sleep for
a change.
I spent Thursday and Friday visiting
my friend. We played the boardgame Life,
and I found out I don't have one. I finished
with no cash, no possessions, and hence,
no life. I didn't realize the game was
autobiographical.
I spent Saturday getting some minor
ideologies exposed
If a situation exists where a politician,
or one aspiring to be a politician, has
performed an act that Jewish and Christian
devotees find sinful, too bad. I think we
should be more concerned with our
country's foreign and domestic policy than
other people's sex lives.
President Kennedy was accused of
promiscuity, but he certainly did an
adequate job in the nation’s top office.
Another, less sinful man may (or may
not) have started a nuclear war during the
Cuban Missile Crisis.
Separation of church and state has been
sorely lacking in this country for a long
time. We worry too much about a person’s
sex life and too little about his or her
If you cannot attend, PLEASE contact Elin!
CAPITAL TIMES TJ ¥7 T\ /Q
March 30, 1992 UT“Hd KJ ! 7
maintenance performed on my car. I had to
use a new garage, which wasn't pleasant. I
spent an hour on the phone getting
estimates and using some friends'
recommendations. I finally found one, and
when I walked in, I wept and screamed,
"Please don't rape me for everything I
own. I know nothing about my car. Don't
lake advantage of me, kind souls."
I escaped fairly unscathed, but my
checkbook felt the brunt of the attack.
And I spent Sunday sitting in my
bedroom chanting, "I can't believe it's
0ver...1 can't believe it's over."
Well, although I did no academic work
over the break, I still feel burned out and
tired-doing all that driving and worrying
didn't help. I never got the chance to
complete the things on my list, I just ran
out of time. I still have 10 video tapes to
which I have no clue of their contents.
I bet that if I went to Daytona, I'd be
dead by now.
And after watching MTV for a day, do
you know what I found out?
If I sec the Genesis "I Can’t Dance"
video or Totally Pauly one more time, I'll
puke.
Here's hoping your break was more
enjoyable and not filled with urges of
regurgitation.
qualifications. That may have something
to do with some of the problems we
currently have with our country.
The founding fathers had many good
reasons for including the idea of separation
of church and state. They remembered the
problems England had with a king who
was also "keeper of the faith." They did
not want religion to be a big power broker
in the realm of politics. But it's happened
anyway.
We judge people we elect to a public
office that is supposed to be free of
religious ties, and we do it based on our
own religious standards. Usually, we hold
these people to a higher standard than what
we expect of ourselves.