The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 172, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 19, 2006 Page: 3 of 14
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October 19, 2006
THE J-TAC
Page 3
Keys to the Right
J
EnougK *Vc KnOGivflarK
FoUy Off fke Ftrdnf Page
How Powerrul was Nq*t h
Korean Nuclear Tesf ?/
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ej ,
i"
«l«* rjtfti UAW
Bui No~f Qui of
Detoocra-hc 'TaiKfna
fhintSs _
: However, :/i'
'The mass of men lead
lives of quiet
By TODD SOUTH
McClatchy Newspapers
I feel most like an Ameri-
can while driving. The move-
ment mimics my country's
attitude.
> Each year,.things go ■
faster. There's always some- .
thing more important to do,
somewhere more important
to go.
Where we're going, why
are we going there so fast?
What are we missing along
the way?
That's the image I think
ihe rest of the. world has of
us. Still moving, but not go-
ing anywhere,
I'm not going to share
patriotic writing that rallied
tfre troops and atizens. The
author who best tells the
story of Americans wasn't
too popular in his own time.
Henry David Thoreau
was a bit of an outsider. He
also didn't care much for any
transportation outside of
besides his own two feet
The America I love is the
nation of outsiders, non-
conformists and dreamers
because America, at its core,
is about possibility.
The work that illus-
trates this best is "Walden."
Thoreau stepped away from
the bustling towns of 19th
century Massachusetts and
found solitude in the woods.
" • "I went to the woods
because I wished to live
deliberately to front only the
essential facts of life," Tho-
reau tells readers, "and see
p I could not learn what it
had to teach, and not, when
1 came to die, discover that I
had not. lived."
In his cabin, he laid out
thoughts that stjruck to the
heart of what a person's life
should be about. He ques-
tioned the status quo and
challenged readers to exam-
ine what they considered
commonplace.
For generations, we have
been put to sleep by prom-
ises of comfort and security.
While leading the world in
material development, we
have ne-
wheeL But I've seen most of , s
America from behind a steer-
ing wheel, too, always going
somewhere, never really in a
place, just passing through.
In Iraq, I was insulated
, from the people we were
liberating by a, thin sheet of ■
glass and a plastic door. The
Humvee I drove stood out
as the only patch of green in
a whirlwind of hot, brown
. . . <.
sdnd and an impossibly blue
sky. But!the dirty glass and
green plastic
giected our
character de-
velopment.
Thoreau
said, "The
mass of men
live lives of
quiet des-
peration."
Our nation is leading its own
life of quiet desperation,
and we don't even realize it.
Much of the world doesn't
like America now.
Like our country, I know
what that feels like. I served
my country as a U.S. Marine
Corps sergeant in 2003 in
Iraq, I was my command-
ing officer's driver. I drove
onto and off a ship. I drove
through camps and cities.
Across borders and through
deserts I drove. I passed
camels and men who walked
for days to reach ^ tent they
called home. -
I drove around bombed-
out buildings and through
hawklike stares of dark men
who hated me.
Once I returned home,
people asked me about Iraq.
I can't say too much; I saw
it from behind a steering
'The America I
love is the nation of
i
outsiders, noncon-
formists and dream-
ers because America,
at its core, is about
possibility.'
door were
enough to
divide liber-
ated and
liberators,
as our presi-
dent called
us. i
Attacks on
U.S. troops
Average number of attacks
per day on U.S. troops In frag
during various time periods
this year, according to data
released by U.S. officials:
March 14-June 13
Operation Scales of Justice
22.3
25,3
June 14* Aug. 6'
Start of Operation
Together Forward
Aug. 7-Sept. 23
Operation Together Forward
28.1
Sept 24-Oct 10
Operation Together Forward,
first weeks of Ramadan
<9 2009 mot
Source: U.S. Defense Department
Graphic: Pat Carr, MetinaYingling
Most Americans I see are a -
bit more comfortable in ate
conditioned, cushion-seated
cocoons rolling through cit-1
ies and across, this land, but ^
they're still cut off.
If we listened to Tho-
reau, we might question our
push forward, our need for
more and more and more, 1
We might recognize that the
hope with which we once
inspired other nations is now
seen as sheer greed.
We might see that show-
casing giant personal ve-
hicles, immense wardrobes
and eating contests to the
world does not arouse others
to follow our example.
In "' Walden/' Thoreau
advocates a maxim that
holds true still: simplify, sim-
plify, simplify! He returns to
the idea that people should
question what they do and
why they do it.
I believe we could once
again lead the world through
our actions and not just our
spending. But this can hap-
pen only by looking inward
and taking full account of our
culture and what this nation
is really about.
Self-determination and
sacrifice, leading a deliberate
life, these are the ideals that
show what America was once
and still wants to emulate. 1
If we showed the world
these core principles of what
America is beneath all the .
surface garbage we've built
over generations, then others
would again follow our lead.
University of Georgia journal-
ism student Todd South recently
completed a summer internship
at the 4nniston (Ala.) Star. He
is a Marine and served in Iraq.
Student response to 'The Pope and his Comments'
By JOHN RUHD
Guest Columnist
<; The October 5 article "the Pope and
his comments" by D'Lessa Keys regarding
Kluslims is essentially a large false analogy
fallacy.
! J No person or group of people should
have to apologize for any actions of anoth-
er they do not represent* nor did nothing
to cause. Apology assigns responsibility
:to a party and should only be used when
the party is actually at fault. As stated in
her article the Pope quoted someone else's
writings, thus creating the appearance that
he agreed with them, then later apologized
by saying he does not. He said he was sor-
ry Jor hjs own actions. Then she went on to
say moderate Muslims should, in turn, say
they're sorry for extremist Muslims. But
why? They have nothing to do with any
of what she listed in her final paragraph,
they do not endorse or support the extrem-
ists (she argues their sileri£e would indicate
otherwise, an appeal to ignorance fallacy),
and they do not have aiiy connections to
' . . .
the extremists, Thafs about the same de-
gree of separation D'Lessa herself has from
them. <
Would she like to apologize for the
Crusades, or the sexual assault and mi-
sogyny that arise out of polygamous ^mi-
lies in Utah, or those who murder doctors
who-perform abortions; or the first and
secofid Ku KIux Klaus? Under her logic
she should; all the people responsible call
themselvesChristian,
JohnRuhd is a senior accounting major.
AKHIL
KADI DAL
Letter from the Editor
Homecoming is upon us
again, The incessant beating of
the drum, a mad dash of pur-
ple on campus (yes, even more
than normal), Plowboy recruits
on a frenzied stench in the
hallways, and all around good
school spirit everywhere else.
Some things never change.
But there are others that 1
■ do. For those of you are'fresh
to the campus or returning
alumni^ here's a quick blitz about what's new on
campus. We're all set to get a new $20 million Rec ; '
Sports center, a new dairy facility, a renovated
nursing building and a new dining hall that is
scheduled to be built across from the Thompson
Student Center. In all, Tarleton is set to spend over
a $100 million dollars in new infrastructure for the
campus, beginning this year. That's certainly good
news for current freshmen and future students.
Heck, it better be. good news for them, because
we vote^d on increasing the student fees to budget
these projects just like our predecessors voted to-—*
bring us buildings such as the state-of-the-art sci-
ence building and the new math building.
For those of you picking up the paper for the
'...Tarleton is set to spend over $100
million dollars in new infrastructure for :
the campus, beginning this year.'
first time this semester, let me point out that like in
the past, The J-TAC is committed to bringing you
the most relevant news that occurs on campus —
as well as beyond its boundaries. In an interesting
bit of Tarleton trivia, I have learned that the paper
was once known as the Tarletonite - an inestima-
bly better name than The J-TAC. But don't look for
a change anytime soon. If there is one thing that is
upheld in the highest honor here at Tarleton, it is
tradition. As I write this, the Plowboys are guard-
ing the bonfire with their' mortal lives against
"invaders," even though the Tarleton-NTAC ri-
valry died ages ago. But tradition is fine. It is an :
established practice based on a past good. And the
homecoming tradition is a part of this, allowiiig
both students and alumni to experience a far dif-
ferent sort of college life — one that is far removed
from classes — which is not a bad thing.
My best wishes-to everyone this week, and to <
everyone participating in the events. .
Corrections & Clarifications
There were several errors in the Oct. 12 issue of the •
J-TAC. They are listed as follows.
• On page 7, the headline has an incorrect word. The
correct title is "Program to teach students to handle
roommate conflict." _
• On the same page, the story on the Fall Job Fair one
company was incorrectly identified as the "Tem^
pie-Inland Forrest Prodyicts," It is "Temple-Inland
Forest Products/'
The
J-TAC
Managing Editor
Akhli Kadidal
Associate Managing Editor
'"'Erik' Walsh'
Sports E ditqr
Mike Cedeno
Photographers &
< > ( Staff Writers
Amber Barron
Cliff Bramlett
Ashley Cagle .
Harrison Fleming
D'Leesa Keys
Gaston McDorman
Francisco Reyes
Mandl Roberts
Christen Sjlls
Lydia Ward
Advertising Manager
Chelsea Story
Advertising Assistant
Christina Coleman'*
Rachel Riewe
Student Publications
Director
Jim'Looby'
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J-TAC. Written permission
must be granted for repro-
duction of any portion of The
J-TAC
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exception of University holidays
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 172, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 19, 2006, newspaper, October 19, 2006; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth142139/m1/3/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.