North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 94, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 25, 2004 Page: 3 of 12
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Thursday - March 25, 2004 - Page 3
'A closer look at the issues that define who we are
and what we believe in."
James Draper
Editor in Chief
Emily Brinkmeyer
Commentary Editor
James Draper and Adam Silva reflect on the
COLUMN Supreme Court case about removing "Under
God" from the pledge of allegiance.
One nation, divisible ...
James Draper
Editor in Chief
It seems our "indivisible" nation
is split yet again.
The Supreme Court heard argu-
ments Wednesday from Michael
Newdow, an atheist, who is suing
his 10-year-old daughter's Califor-
nia school for making her recite the
Pledge of Allegiance. Newdow
claims the phrase "under God"
defies constitutional restrictions on
government-established religion -
the separation of church and state.
Outside the court, hundreds of
protesters proudly shouted the
pledge while just as many others
called for the Supreme Court to
remove the phrase.
"Under God" and other like
phrases permeate many aspects
of American society - our pledge,
our currency and even the Su-
preme Court's own call to order,
"God save the United States and
this honorable court."
The Supreme Court has twice
declared the phrase constitu-
tional, but in June 2002 the 9th
District Court of Appeals banned
the pledge in nine states. The ban
is now stalled, awaiting the high
courf s decision.
The question has spilled out of
the courts and into the public are-
na, bringing heated debate from
both sides.
As for me, I am a Christian. I do
believe that our nation must exist
under God's guidance and au-
thority if we hope to prosper.
But, I do not believe in forcing
my beliefs on someone else.
No one should be forced to re-
cite words they do not believe in.
No person, child or adult, should
feel ostracized because they stay
silent while those around them re-
cite a religious creed or any belief
they don't hold to.
Far too often, we're forced to
choose between our beliefs and
our sense of justice or fairness.
I'm opposed to gay marriage, to
abortion and to many other tilings,
but who am I to deny equal rights
or choice to a person who believes
differently than me? Who am I to
force them to conform to my way
of life?
That is their decision, based on
their own beliefs - not mine.
Christians, agnostics, atheists,
liberals, conservatives, pro-choice,
pro-life - it is our right and our
responsibility to stand up for our
beliefs, whatever they may be, but
we can't do so at another person's
expense. Each person must make
their own choices and live their
own life, however they choose.
Regardless of how the people's
majority rules, it cannot overrule
the minority's beliefs..
And so I do believe, with reser-
vations, that the Supreme Court
should remove "under God" from
the pledge. If s the right thing to do
and the only way to guarantee that
each person's rights are protected.
But, I will still proudly recite
the pledge as always. Ifs my
right, and, thank God, no one can
change that.
James Draper is a journalism
junior from Longview. He can be
contacted at ntdailyeditor @ya-
hoo.com.
Adam Silva
Undecided Freshman
A self-avowed atheist, Mi-
chael Newdow told the Su-
preme Court Wednesday that
the words "under God" in the
Pledge of Allegiance are un-
constitutional and offensive to
people who don't believe there
is a God.
Newdow challenged the
Pledge of Allegiance on behalf
of his daughter. He argued the
court had no choice but to keep
it out of public schools, because
it indoctrinates children when
the government is supposed
to stay out of religion. I agree
with him.
Religious conservatives are
already arguing that this is
just another attempt to further
the secularization of American
society. There is just one prob-
lem with that argument. The
original Pledge of Allegiance
did not contain the words "un-
der God," even though it was
written by a Baptist minister,
Francis Bellamy. No, in fact,
they were added by Congress
in 1954 on the urging of reli-
gious leaders who wanted to
separate Americans from the
secularist communists.
Though many Americans are
comfortable saying the Pledge
of Allegiance as it is, they must
recognize there are many oth-
ers who are not. I personally
don't understand why people
have a problem with these
sorts of issues. No one is say-
ing you can't indoctrinate your
kids in the religion you choose,
they just don't want you to be
able to do it to other people's
kids.
I believe that the problem is
that most Americans who are
religious are Christians and
thus they think nothing of us-
ing the phrase "under God,"
not thinking about what it
means a child who is of the
Hindu faith, or is a Buddhist, or
an atheist (even Jews and Mus-
lims who worship the same
God as Christians know which
religion this phrase is based on
and favors). How must they
feel when to recite a pledge of
allegiance to the country they
love that links their patriotism
with a god they do not believe
in? As a born and raised Ro-
man catholic, I would not be
comfortable if 1 had to say "un-
der Allah" or "under Vishnu!"
Can we all not recognize the
silliness here?
Hopefully, the Supreme
Court will rule in Newdow's
favor and the Pledge will re-
vert back to its original form.
The truth of the matter is, it
was a perfect and powerful
enough to begin with:
"I pledge allegiance to the
Flag of the United States of
America, and to the Republic
for which it stands, one nation,
indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all."
Adam Silva is an unde-
cided freshman from Den-
ton. He can be contacted at
ars0067@unt.edu.
eP!
9/11
It
resultsj
a(U trials
DIANA DUFINETZ/NT DAILY
U.S. gets 9-11 answers
More than two years af-
ter the World Trade Center
attacks, Americans finally
get to hear the whole truth
about 9-11.
Tuesday marked the first
meeting of an independent
commission dedicated to
examining the security
and intelligence lapses sur-
rounding the 9-11 attacks.
The hearings are being
conducted by a 10-member
bipartisan panel called the
National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks Upon the
United States.
These hearings arrived on
the scene at the same time
as former anti-terrorism
chief Richard Clarke's new-
ly published book "Against
All Enemies: Inside Ameri-
ca's War on Terror."
Clarke has 30 years of
White House experience
under the administrations
of Ronald Reagan, George
H.W. Bush and Bill Clin-
ton, as well as a role in the
current administration. His
book contains accu-
sations against the
Bush administra-
tion for ignoring the
warning signs from
al-Qaeda before 9-
11, and later wrongly
focusing their atten-
tion on Iraq despite
a lack of connections
to the attacks.
The White House
is denouncing
Clarke's book for
completely inac-
curate descriptions
of the administra-
tion's anti-terror-
ism efforts.
Bush responded
to the book's accu-
sations by saying
his administration
would have acted
if they had known of a
pending strike by the ter-
ror group.
Vice President Dick
Cheney said any lapses in
intelligence would have
been partially Clarke's
fault too, saying "The
question that has to be
asked is, 'What were
they doing in those days
when he was in charge
of counterterrorism ef-
forts?' "
Clarke has stood by the
assertions in the book.
Among those testify-
ing Tuesday were De-
fense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld (who will ad-
dress Clarke's concerns
directly), former De-
fense Secretary William
Cohen, and Secretary of
State Colin Powell. For-
mer Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright is
also scheduled to testify.
National Security Ad-
viser Condoleezza Rice
met with the commis-
sion privately, but refuses
to testify publicly.
The commission hear-
ings are being followed ex-
tensively by television and
radio stations, as well as
chronicled on the Internet.
Tuning into these reports
offers us all a valuable op-
portunity. The hearings
will give the interested
viewer a wealth of infor-
mation and will provide
many of the answers
Americans have desired
since the attacks.
Our nations leaders
are now being asked to
be accountable for their
actions, and we get the
chance to hear them an-
swer questions with
straight answers, without
hearing the story from
out-of-context quotes or
getting a watered-down
second-hand version from
the news media.
None of us should ignore
these hearings. We should
listen to it on National Pub-
lic Radio (90.1 FM) or fol-
low it on CNN. We should
learn the facts, consider all
points of view and decide
what we personally believe,
not what the news media or
our peers tell us to think.
COLUMN
In the last of a five-column series of famous peacemakers, Vivek Jain discusses the peaceful vision
of Mahatma Gandhi, and the strong dedication he had for his work even when he was physically frail.
Gandhi still inspiration for nonviolence
In the attitude of silence the
soul finds the path in a clearer
light, and what is elusive and
deceptive resolves itself into
crystal clearness. Our life is a
long and arduous quest after
Truth.
- The Mahatma
Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi, born on Oct. 2,1869,
revered by the people of In-
dia as "Bapuji" or the Father
of the Nation and around
the world as the Mahatma or
the Great Soul, was the frail
man who brought a mighty
empire to its knees, not in
the slightest by war, but by
absolute devotion and an
unwavering vow to peace.
While we remember his leg-
endary life faintly now, the
universality and eternity of
his message continue to re-
verberate with their truth till
this day. In this last article, I
feel extremely honored and
humbled to have the liberty
to write about this true apos-
tle of peace and compassion.
While some among us
seem to label Gandhi's vi-
sion in peace and tolerance
and his philosophy of simple
living as "backward [and] ro-
mantic" (Time's Johanna Mc-
geary, March 3, 2000), what
we really do need today, in
Vivek Jain
Electronic Engineering Sophomore
fact, is ex-
actly this
kind of com-
passion and
hope that
he preached
and indeed
practiced in
the face of
brutal pros-
ecution and
oppression
by the colonial rulers.
If we look around us, we
realize that what our world
thirsts for today is not more
wars or supermarkets, but
shrill cries for peace and a
renunciation of materialistic
ways of life that have long
indulged our souls in arti-
ficial, make-believe and es-
capist refuges.
While it may seem ex-
tremely comfortable to stay
smug in our own little lives
away from the sufferings of
our own kind around the
world, the sad part is that
in the long run, everything
that we do, or everything
that we ignore comes back
and haunts us. Bapuji left us
with a very potent message
- a message so simple and el-
egant that it transcends time
and boundaries, a message
that is the underlying truth
of all happiness: absolute
rejection of vio-
lence.
Clad in noth-
ing more than a
handspun dhoti
or a loincloth,
Gandhi led mil-
lions against a
brutal regime.
As he once ex-
plained the vital
roles of reason
and truth towards the path
to non-violence, "an error
does not become truth by
reason of multiplied propa-
gation, nor does truth be-
come error because nobody
will see it ... I object to vio-
lence because when it ap-
pears to do good, the good
is only temporary; the evil it
does is permanent."
So whereas our world may
seem full of violence and
war in present times, the life
of Gandhi inspires us to get
up and get involved not only
around the world but with-
in our own spheres of life.
Standing up, we may some-
times appear to be alone, but
we should not let fear bring
us down. The Mahatma and
his followers took severe in-
juries and even gave the ul-
timate sacrifice in the face of
tyranny and oppression, but
remained utterly committed
to peace.
Though the pace of change
they brought about appeared
slow, Gandhi's movement
showed to the world the
power of the powerless, and
strength of the frail. As he
said often to his followers
of peace, "strength does not
come from physical capacity.
It comes from an indomita-
ble will."
If we pause, sit back and
reflect for a while, we re-
alize that with harmony
and ahimsa (nonviolence),
we all have the power to
change our world. As Gan-
dhi once said,
"Ahimsa is the attribute of
the soul, and therefore, to be
practiced by everybody in all af-
fairs of life. If it cannot be prac-
ticed in all departments, it has
no practical value."
Do not forget to come to
the International Week next
week. A roundtable on peace
is scheduled for Wednesday
in the One O'Clock Lounge.
Check out the NT Daily for
more information.
Vivek Jain is an electron-
ics engineering technology
sophomore from New Del-
hi, India. He can be contact-
ed at vivek@unt.edu.
To our readers:
The Aforth Texas Daily does not neces-
sarily endorse, back or believe the philoso-
phy of the writers on this page. The content
of the editorial is decided by the Editorial
Board and written by the Commentary
Editor. The content of the columns is
strictly the opinion of the writers and in no
way reflects the beliefs of the newspaper.
Letters & Columns Policy:
The Daily welcomes guest columns
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Deliver submissions to GAB 117,
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Commentary editor at brintuzekifi1 Hotmail.
com or mail to P.O. Box 311460, Denton,
TX 76203.
Editorial Board:
James Draper, Cindy Brown, Rachel
Hamm, Emily Brinkmeyer, Jeff Andrews,
Jaclyn Barrientes, Brian Stimson, Tyler Utt,
J.D. Vega, Michael Walter
Daily Quote
"Know how to listen, and
you will profit even from those
who talk badly."
- Plutarch (46-120)
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 94, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 25, 2004, newspaper, March 25, 2004; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145122/m1/3/?q=EARTH: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.