Thursday, January 31, 1991
Even peace lovers need to support the troops
I've listened to many
conversations about the crisis in
the Middle East. People have
varying views of the war and our
involvement.
Some fear it'll be like
Vietnam. For those too young to
remember Vietnam, I'd like to
point out that the tragedy wasn't
what we did or didn't do, it's what
happened to those who fought in
that war. They did what they were
asked. Then, for those lucky
enough to avoid the body bag,
they had to fight a new war. The
country they fought for suddenly
didn't want them.
Further, the war didn't end
when they returned. They still
carry horrible memories of what
happened over there. When you
see death first hand and must kill
or be killed, it leaves you with a
scar that will never go away.
Campus
Voice
Compiled by
Gerry Harrison
How do you feel about
the war in the Gulf?
Back from the dead
by Mike Royko
I received some startling
information while I was reading a
cover story in Time magazine.
The story itself wasn't
depressing. It was about the
obsession for physical fitness
that has become a part of
American life.
I don't mind reading about
how millions of people jog,
whack balls, wrestle with
exercise machines, ride 12-speed
bikes, and otherwise punish
themselves to squeeze into a pair
of designer jeans. Just as long as
I don't have to take part.
But at the end of the story
there was one of those self
testing quizzes that magazines
and newspapers like to print.
You've seen them. They're
usually labeled something like:
"Do You Drink Too Much?" or
"How Happy Are You?" or "Are
You Under Stress?" or "Arc You
Courting a Heart Attack?" or
"What's Your Rating as a
Lover?"
You answer the questions,
then add up the points, then look
at the bottom to find out what
kind of shape you're in. And
depending on the kind of quiz it
is, it says something like:
"Ten to 20 points -- You are a
deeply unhappy person and will
probably jump off a bridge
Many Vets still have nightmares
Vets of both Vietnam and the
turbulent sixties, keep this
important thing in mind when
faced with someone in their teens
or a young peace activist:
They've never experienced war or
the need for peace.
They grew up seeing peace as
the norm, something they took
for granted. They have no idea
what happened in the sixties.
Nothing in any history book can
offer the feelings that were felt
during that time.
While you might think that
those radicals are out of touch,
you, the generation of the sixties,
need to recall what you went
through. That generation was the
twentieth century's most radical.
In fact, more changes came
about as a result of the efforts of
the sixties youth than any other
"First of all, I support our troops. All of you college
warmongers and gung-ho G.I. JOES should sign up. If you believe
the world's freedom is being threatened in the Gulf then you should
be the first to volunteer. We all want the troops home, I'd just like
to see them come home alive."
soon."
Or: "Ten to 20 points -- You
are a terribly inadequate lover and
your mate is surely carrying on
with somebody else."
I usually skip these quizzes
because I know the results in
advance. If you don't know if you
drink too much by the red of your
eyes, then you're probably too
shaky to take the quiz in the first
place.
But the headline on the quiz in
Time had a title that made it
impossible to ignore. It said:
"How Long Will You Live?"
That is an intriguing question.
If you know the answer to it,
then you have time to make
plans for your future. For
example, you might buy a new
Mercedes-Benz, knowing your
children would be stuck with
paying it off. Or you could stop
slobbering on your boss's shoes
and tell him what you really
think of him and his wife.
So I took the quiz, which
consisted of about 30 questions
in two categories: personal facts
and lifestyle status.
The personal facts included
whether I lived in a city or small
town; the longevity of my
grandparents; health of my
parents' marital status; and
earnings. The lifestyle questions
had to do with how much I
smoked, drank, exercised, slept,
The Collegian
decade in United States history.
Many changes were positive:
voting rights for people at 18,
the civil rights movement, the
women's movement, academic
enlargement and a growing
student voice on college
campuses nation wide.
But, mistakes were made. We
were oun 1. Don't 'ud 1 e too
Andrew
Festa
harshly the activists of the 90's if
you don't want to be so judged.
On a personal level, I find
myself on the side of peace. I
prefer to speak for peace in the
90's just as I did in the late 60's
Jake Sherosky
Third semester
MT S
weighed, and whether I was easy
going or an aggressive, angry
person.
It was a simple test. I started
with 72 points, each of which
represented a year. I just added or
subtracted as I went along.
When I finished I looked at
the final number. Then I looked
for further instructions. Most
quizzes tell you to multiply by
two or something like that.
But there were no further
instructions. The final number
was it.
"That can't be right," I told
myself. And I took the quiz
again. But the results were the
same.
According to the test, I died
seven years ago.
I couldn't believe it. I went to
a co-worker and said: "I just took
this test in Time magazine. It
says that I died seven years ago."
He nodded and said: "I'm not
surprised. You haven't looked
well lately."
Hoping to show that the test
gave inaccurate results, I asked a
friend who doesn't drink, smoke,
swear, get mad, and stays in
perfect physical shape, to answer
the questions. The final figure
was 82 years.
"How did you do?" my vice
free friend asked.
"I died seven years ago."
"Nonsense. Only the good die
and the 70's. I do not, however,
feel the troops fighting for our
country should be punished, as
were the Vietnam vets. We need
to support them now and when
they return.
I can't condone war for any
reason. I can accept the argument
that Iraq's president must be
stopped. I can accept that
someone needs to do something.
But, I can't accept the concept of
war. Do we really need to kill
each other? Can we not live in
peace and harmony in this world?
I realize I sound idealistic, but
is that so wrong? Unlike my
youthful stand in the Vietnam
war, I do not blindly condemn the
war in the Middle East.
Rather, I condemn the very
idea and concept of war. I
condemn the need for humans to
take human life. I condemn the
"Being from Germany, I feel that war is not the answer to any
problem. I don't feel the life of my son or my students should be
sacrificed for a war that doesn't make sense. Any argument for this
war makes no sense. I support the people involved in the war but
not its politics."
young."
At first I was depressed. I've
always known that my lifestyle
isn't recommended by most phys
ed instructors, but I didn't think
the situation was that serious.
After all, I take vitamin pills and
get regular exercise by walking
down escalators.
And I know others who have
the same habits and have made it
to ripe, old ages. After I took the
test, I sought one of the oldsters
out in the nearby bar and asked
him: "Oldtimer, how long have
you been living this way?"
"As far back as I can
remember," he cackled.
I looked at his wrinkled,
withered face, his frail, stooped
shoulders, the liver spots on his
hands, and said: "To what do you
attribute your remarkable old
age?"
He said: "What the hell are
you talking about? I'm only 38."
The joint does have poor
lighting.
Now that the initial shock has
worn off, I don't feel as bad about
the test results. In a way, i find
them complimentary.
For one thing, I took the test
again, basing the answers on the
condition I was in seven years
ago.
Those results showed that I
wouldn't have died until last year.
So that tells me something,
social norm that deems a person
weak or radical who says
anything in the name of peace. I
condemn any situation in which
humans must die.
We've scarred Earth with
pollution, war, and other forms
of destruction. Isn't it time for us
to look for ways to end that
distrusting?
I know it's unrealistic to
expect the human race to be
humane to itself, but to not look
for ways to end the destruction of
life is to embrace the fatalistic
view: "NOTHING CAN BE
DONE!"
Andrew Festa is an eighth
semester English major. He is
one of two new columnists for
The Collegian.
Ursula Davis
Assist. Professor of Communication
although I'm not sure what.
You can look at it this way: I
must be a truly amazing physical
specimen if I'm in such awful
shape that 1 should have died
seven years ago, but I'm still
walking around today.
Nevertheless, there's a
warning in the test results, I
guess. So I'm going to
immediately change some of my
bad habits.
By doing so, I can make a
dramatic shift in the results and
add about 10 years.
For one thing, I lost three
points (or years) by answering
"yes" to the question: "Do you
work behind a desk?"
I'm going to add those three
years by moving out from behind
my desk and sitting on my sofa
when I write.
Also, I failed to pick up two
years by answering "no" to the
question: "Did any of your
grandparents live to be 85?"
Actually, one grandfather
would have surely made it, but he
died at 82 in a barroom brawl
with a sneaky young Greek who
had a knife hidden in his sleeve.
Finally, instead of losing
three points by being "intense,
aggressive and easily angered,"
I'll gain three by becoming
"easygoing and happy."
And 111 think to that.
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