Thursday, December 5, 1991
Live long and be happy
by Andrew Festa
A good friend of mine, on
many occasions, pointed out
that too many people
complain about wrongs and
injustices, and that not
enough people suggest ways
to alleviate the complaints.
Too few people talk about the
good they see.
We've all heard, or been a
part of, conversations in
which complaints fly free like
hundreds of angry bees.
When was the last time you
heard someone propose a
solution? Why, that would be
like tossing a butterfly into a
bee-hive.
We spend entirely too
much time bitterly exposing
the world's ills, a task that
does need to be done.
However, we spend little or
no time talking about the
positive things, or proposing
cures or corrections for the
negative.
As young children, the
world is a fine and beautiful
place to be. Even in the worst
conditions, young children
have nothing to compare
against; they don't yet know
something better waits for
them.
Their idealistic, youthful
attitudes find them delighting
in the season's first major
Pocketbook politics a credit to nation
by Mike Royko
With a presidential election
coming up, Americans have an
unusual civic opportunity. Just
about anyone can be a political
activist.
And you can do it without
sending in a campaign
contribution, volunteering to
stuff envelopes, making
partisan phone calls, ringing
doorbells or handing out
campaign propoganda.
In fact, you can make an
impact without leaving the
comfort or discomfort of your
own home.
It works this way:
Most political experts agree
that the key to this election will
be the economy. If times don't
get much worse, or if they
improve, President Bush has a
goad chance of being re
elected., • . , •.. .
If the slump -gels wore,
and more people lose their
jobs, a Democrat will have an
excellent chance of beating
Bush. Especially if the pink
slips keep going to well
educated white collar types,
who aren't accustomed to such
rude treatment.
(Of course, the political
experts weren't saying this six
months ago. Then they agreed
that bold warrior•chieftain
Bush was unbeatable and
wondered which Democrat
snowstorm, or burying
themselves in a mountain of
leaves, or building true forts,
or aimlessly playing in the
neighborhood playground or
the old abandoned wreck at
the end of the road.
Somehow and sometime
during that transitional stage
between child and adult, we
lose the youthful innocence
and our delights are replaced
by grumblings.
Does life somehow lose
many of the positive things
we once smiled at or in
ignorance of, or do we
simply, and for reasons I
can't explain, lose the ability
to see the good?
The media, in its ever
increasing role as teacher and
mentor, does not, as has been
suggested to me by a
communication teacher,
merely reflect society, it also
instructs, shapes and molds
society. (For the sake of
argument, I see 'the media' as
a collection of mass
communication channels such
as radio, television,
newspapers, magazines, and
all sorts of advertisements;
those things which reach into
the minds of the multitudes.)
The most powerful of
these mediums (or channels)
is television. With parents
fading farther into the
would he suicidal enough to
run. That's why so many
political experts are yo-yos.)
But now what's-his-name,
Saddam Hussein, is old news.
And when was the last time
you heard anything about
"Stormin' Norman," unless
you are the booking agent for a
speakers bureau?
The welcome-home parades
arc over. The yellow ribbons
are gone. And if anyone in
Washington is thinking about
the troops, it's in terms of how
to persuade them to accept a
bonus to retire early and cut the
the military payroll. (The smart
Gls will ask: "Uh-huh. And
what kind of job you figure I
can get out there?")
Now it is bottom-line time.
One of the oldest truths in
American politics is that people
vote their pocketbooks. When
their , 'pocketbociks runneth
'Over,' they 'hail the president's
vision, wisdom, statesmanship
and erect posture. But if they
look in the pocketbook and sec
only lint and Kleenex, they ask
how a boob like that ever
stumbled into public office.
And that is how you can
help shape the outcome of next
year's election even before you
vote.
You still don't sec? It's so
simple.
The polls show that even
though his popularity has
The Collegian
background, children search
for other role models. This
search takes them, for lack of
better sources, to the media
and all its negative messages.
One could no doubt count the
number of positive messages
Andrew Festa
in one year of news reporting
on television stations on one
hand, and maybe as many as
two hands of positive or
morally adequate movies.
Children are taught,
through the various media
channels, and/or at school,
and/or at home, to be careful
of this cruel world, to be ever
alert for the negatives within
it.
slipped, Bush is still admired
by many people. Not as much
as when he was blowing up
Iraq and making the world sale
for the emir with the hound
dog face. But there arc still a
lot of people, Republicans and
others, who believe that Bush
Then what they should do
to support Bush is spend.
That's right, buy something
right now. And tomorrow.
And the day after. Whip out
that checkbook. If you don't
have enough in the account,
use the credit card and par
later. Your car is wheezing?
Don't put more money into
that clunker. Get down to the
showroom and drive home in
something new. As the ads
say, you owe it to yourself.
You deserve it. .
Children learn at an
increasingly younger age to
be concerned and to be wary
because there's a lot of 'bad
things' and 'bad people' in
the world. They learn at too
early an age to complain. It's
all they hear. What they don't
learn or hear, or don't learn
or hear well, is what to do
about complaints and
problems.
It's a shame so few people
retain their childhood values
and idealistic ways. If they
did, snowstorms would bring
out the smiles, a pile of leaves
would be inviting, tree forts
would still be built (though
fancier), and there would
always be time to play
aimlessly in a playground.
Life is too short, (far
different from anything we
might have supposed,) and
too full of The Living to
allow ourselves to lose
completely that which
brought about the greatest
feelings and the largest
smiles: a positive outlook on
life.
In keeping with my own
words, let me suggest this:
after you've finished reading
this column, check your
calendar for some free time.
Set aside at least one hour per
week, or more if you can,
and play in the snow or the
Big-ticket items arc the
best. Wouldn't you like a big
screen TV? Or new furniture?
Or maybe a personal
computer, even though you
don't need it and it will just
Then do it and help keep
Bush in office. Go Christmas
shopping immediately. Or
order from a catalog if the
weather is lousy. And don't
be a cheapo -- let your loved
ones know that you care
enough to blow a wad.
By spending, you will
stimulate the economy and
create jobs. The retailer, the
wholesaler, the shipper, the
manufacturer -- you'll make
them all happy.
(Unfortunately, many of them
are 5,000 miles away and
speak no English, but some of
it will trickle down here.)
And don't worry about
getting in over your' head.
Debt is . good.' If it wasn't,
why would Bush have talked
about lowering credit card
interest rates so people would
buy, buy, buy? Remember,
we don't have debtors'
prisons. And if you can't
handle the payments, let them
repossess. You can get a new
piece of plastic and start over
again later.
That should be the
Republican strategy. But for
hard-core Democrats, it is just
the opposite. Think poor.
leaves, or walk among the
trees without worrying about
a destination. You might want
to just sit and watch the world
go by from your bedroom
window. Or, you could make
your plans as if you were still
young.
We arc all still children,
but most of us lock the child
away at an early point in our
lives and never let him or her
out again.
Let the child come out;
look for the positive. Live,
and have fun. If you have a
complaint, don't hesitate to be
vocal. Once you're done
speaking your mind,
however, look for and be
vocal with answers and ways
to correct thc situation.
Have a beautiful holiday
Have a child's holiday.
Live and have fun.
Andrew Festa is a ninth
semester English major. His
column appears every other
week in The Collegian.
Think cheap. Think hot dogs
and beans. Think resale
shops. Think putting your
money under the mattress or
burying it in the back yard.
Well, that might be a bit
extreme, so put it into
something that pays interest.
Then don't touch it.
But don't spend. Or spend
as little as possible. Believe
me, your wife will be thrilled
when she removes the gift
wrapping and finds a darning
needle. And you will beam
when you get that Christmas
bar of non-scented shaving
soap you always wanted.
When you see Dickens' "A
Christmas Carol" on TV, cheer
for Scrooge -- at least until he
turns into a money
squandering fool.
If enough Democrats do
that, every time one of those
econoluic Indicators is
announced, it will go down by
two-tenths of one percent and
Wall Street will have another
nervous breakdown and the
pundits will shriek: "What is
Bush going to do?"
And he'll say: "Indexes,
not reliable. Future, bright."
And off-camera: "Barbara,
doo-doo, deep."
Mike Royko is a Chicago
based, nationally syndicated
columnist. His column appears
weekly in The Collegian.
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