North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 85, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 3, 2004 Page: 3 of 10
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Wednesday - March 3, 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 H rin km ev er
Commentary Editor
R.J. Avery considers his impressions of
COLUMN "The Passion of the Christ" and whether
the movie followed Jesus's vision of love.
Jesus in agony, not action
After seeing
"The Passion
of the Christ/' I
have a little dif-
ferent perspec-
tive of it than
previously.
I still believe
it was a well-
orchestrated
media stunt,
however a
very timely and intense
translation. It is easy to get
lost in the Bible's message
of love and forget some of
the very harsh realities Je-
sus taught us and ultimate-
ly lived out.
Mainly being that the
world will more than likely
take every chance it gets
to hate and ultimately kill
anything and everything
that is beautiful and true.
I think as you look around
this world today, this is
very easy to see.
Some of the more recent
visionaries who have been
killed for their peaceful
words and actions are as
follows: Gandhi, Martin Lu-
ther King Jr., John Lennon
and not to mention many
other past middle-eastern
leaders who were more
peaceful in their mindset.
It would be nice to say that
Jesus's point was to bring
peace to the earth. Unfor-
tunately this is far from the
truth. While Jesus comes to
bring peace and love to our
hearts, he knows the Earth
is beyond reproach when
he says this:
"I have come to bring fire
on the earth, and how I wish
it were already kindled! But
I have a baptism to under-
go, and how distressed I
am until it is completed! Do
you think I came to bring
peace on Earth? No, I tell
you, but division ..." (Luke
12:49-51)
Jesus was all about peace
and love, right? Well if you
took this verse literally
you may ask "Why is Jesus
going to bring fire to the
earth?"
Or you could look at the
fact that the majority of
wars would be fought in
his name, and that being
the son of God he may have
been able to envision this.
He goes on to describe how
families will be divided,
but leaves out any mention
of nations.
Anytime a wise person
is speaking, it is always a
good idea to pay attention
to what they don't say.
Here he doesn't say any-
thing about dividing na-
tions or races, but instead
families. Possibly eluding to
the fact that a faith in Christ
is something that will ignore
these worldly barriers and
part even the inner work-
ings of the family.
Well you might say part-
ing a family is worse than
parting a nation. To which
I would reply, if the part
who follows Christ in their
walk will love those who
don't believe even more
than those who do. In Mat-
thew, Christ states this:
"You have heard that it
was said, 'Love your neigh-
bor and hate your enemy.'
But I tell you: Love your
W
K
R.J. Avery
Sociology Senior
enemies and
pray for those
who perse-
cute you ... If
you love those
who love you,
what reward
will you get?
Are not even
the tax col-
lectors doing
that? And if
you greet only your broth-
ers, what are you doing
more than others? Do not
even pagans do that ... ?"
(Matthew 5:43-44,46-47)
I think this division is
showed very well in the
movie. Throughout the
crowds you can tell there
are people who are sympa-
thetic when the man steps
from the crowd to help Je-
sus with the cross. Albert
Einstein said this:
"The world is a danger-
ous place, not because of
those who do evil, but be-
cause of those who look on
and do nothing."
Studies on mob mental-
ity have been very sadden-
ing in our era. Showing that
even when there is an obvi-
ous right and wrong, such as
showing a person two lines
and asking which is longer,
the person will nine times
out of 10 go with the other
two or more actors who
choose the wrong answer.
By movie-making stan-
dards, this movie was great
and authentic. The acting
was superb, but I will have
to agree with some colum-
nist I have read that said it
will leave the non-believer
either jaded, depressed or
just confused. I would rec-
ommend the "Gospel of
John" to anyone watching
Jesus in action, not just in
agony.
I think this movie will
give the Christian Church
a chance to reflect on itself,
hopefully growing stron-
ger in its love in order to
better spread Christ's mes-
sage of love. More than
likely, churches will speak
sermons of redemption
and people will continue to
point fingers and simplify
the issue like the man Lynd-
say Knecht wrote about on
Friday, Feb. 27, 2004.
Overall, I think this mov-
ie brought out a good point
that people of all colors,
creeds and faiths can learn
from. That everything good
in this world - even you -
withers away and dies, and
sometimes things that are
too beautiful for this world
will be take=n without ex-
planation.
Bob Marley sang, in "Re-
demption Song":
"Emancipate yourselves
from mental slavery; None
but ourselves can free our
minds. Have no fear for
atomic energy, 'Cause none
of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our
prophets, While we stand
aside and look? Some say
it's just a part of it: We've
got to fulfill the book."
R.J. Avery is a sociology
sophomore from Forney.
He can be contacted at
rjal981@hotmail.com.
FCÚ
)
DIANA DUFINETZ/NT DAILY
Stern rules limit rights
Whowouldhavethought,
after nearly 20 years on the
air, Howard Stern would
offend someone?
Soon after the FCC re-
leased a policy of zero tol-
erance for indecency, Clear
Channel Communications,
Inc. pulled Stern off the
air for his Feb. 24 program
containing sexual referenc-
es and racial slurs. Clear
Channel Radio Chief Ex-
ecutive John Hogan called
the show insulting, taste-
less and vulgar to "anyone
with a sense of decency/'
Stern is suspended from
Clear Channel stations un-
til he conforms to "accept-
able standards of respon-
sible broadcasting."
A similar case happened
in Florida to a Tampa disc
jockey "Bubba the Love
Sponge." In addition to his
termination, the FCC now
wants to squeeze the
sponge for $715,000.
This proposed fine
came after a com-
plaint from an
alarmed father who
heard the program's
references to sex and
drugs.
The new FCC poli-
cy comes in response v £
to more than 200,000
complaints it re-
ceived after the Janet
Jackson Super Bowl
scandal. Now, in its
quest for broadcast
decency, it is attack-
ing the radio waves.
Violations of the no-
tolerance policy will
result in huge fines
for the station. Cur-
rently, the maximum fine
for broadcast indecency
is $27,500, but Congress is
considering increasing it to
$275,000.
Clear Channel, who
operates over 1,200
radio stations nation-
wide, intends to sus-
pend and even fire any
disc jockey who does
not behave.
Suddenly, foul-
mouthed Stern and
many other radio per-
sonalities like him have
to censor themselves,
let their programs go
or take the shows else-
where.
The transcript of the
Stern program in ques-
tion does not show
anything out of the
ordinary. Anyone who
has ever listened to the
Howard Stern show
knows exactly what to ex-
pect: foul language, sexual
content and an overall
raunchy feeling. He has
been the same way for al-
most two decades. Now,
for an episode that had
nothing new or especial-
ly shocking, he has been
pulled off the air.
Jackson's peepshow has
been blown out of propor-
tion, and it has turned the
FCC into a bully. Love him
or hate him, Stern had a
firm footing in the radio
industry. He was offensive
but has stuck around . Un-
til now, he has been able to
take advantage of a right
enumerated in the First
Amendment: the freedom
of speech.
With the FCC's stronger
censorship, we are not just
saying goodbye to potty
jokes, naughty words and
bedroom talk. Freedom of
speech is one of the most
important rights we have,
and we have to protect it.
Letters
TO THE EDITOR
Re: "Stewart triumphs over
law/' March 2,2004.
Is anyone as appalled and
dismayed as I over the column
written by Elizabeth Dixon re-
garding Martha Stewart? I cer-
tainly cannot comment on Mar-
tha Stewart's guilt or innocence
of all of the charges, nor on the
court's decision to dismiss some
of the charges, as I have not been
involved in that case.
However, what bothers me is
Ms. Dixon's statements such as
"If you don't have connections
on the inside, then why bother
trading?" and the implication
that if you have enough power
and money, and can get away
with it, then anyone is justified
in illegal and unethical behav-
ior. Insider trading is illegal but
according to Ms. Dixon "any
smart person within the stock
market should have some kind
of safety net" - even an illegal
one it would seem. Are these ad-
mirable and acceptable traits?
One could take Ms. Dixon's
argumente a step further and
say that sexual assault is OK
- if you have enough money,
are famous enough and can get
away with it. Child pornogra-
phy is OK - if you have enough
money, are famous enough and
can get away with it. Plagiarism
and inaccurate reporting for a
major newspaper is OK - if you
can get away with it and don't
get caught. Does Ms. Dixon feel
that ethical behavior and obey-
ing the law don't apply to those
who are famous, rich and have
connections?
I did learn one thing from her
column. Anytime I see an article
with her byline, I will know that
legality, ethics and doing the
right thing are not important,
and so I will skip the article.
Kaaren Day
Associate Professor
College of Education
Re: "Search for WMDs not
over/' Feb. 18,2004.
I am writing in regards to
Phillip Stauffer's column in
Wednesday's NT Daily. While
his main challenge to the Bush
administration is focused
around the need to define what
a WMD "is" is valid, I disagree
with some of his other points. I
am particularly troubled by his
attacks on liberals and I find his
column fraught with problems.
To begin, let me respond to
one of his questions, "If liber-
als think that Bush is such a
moron, then how were they, as
well as the world, fooled by his
assertions?" Liberals wTere not
fooled and neither was the rest
of the world. As it became ap-
parent that our military would
be invading a sovereign nation
without actual provocation,
people across the globe united
in protest. Lest you forget, one
of the largest protests since the
Vietnam War occurred in Wash-
ington, D.C. According to the
Oct. 30, 2003 Nezu York Times,
"the demonstration on [Oct. 19]
in Washington drew 100,000 by
police estimates and 200,000 by
organizers.
This protest was not unique
in the United States. Our own
state saw organized protests in
Austin, Dallas and even Den-
ton. Of course not everyone
protested in the same manner.
The worldwide unity of pro-
tests, called 'The other super-
power" by The Nation Maga-
zine, brought together liberals,
military personnel and conser-
vatives with one common goal:
unity against the Iraq invasion.
We wTere not silent!
In retrospect, it is important
to remember the hype that the
Bush Administration started
by making claims that Iraq
had WMDs, making this the
grounds on which invasion
would be based. Now that none
have been found, the terms
have changed, which I find sus-
picious. Yes, there is still more
ground to search, but come
on now, if the weapons were
"stockpiled" as Colin Powell
testified at the United Nations,
they most likely would have
appeared by now.
Phillip, you and I can agree
on the evilness of Saddam.
But please, read some alterna-
tive voices in "history." Many
other proxies in Asia, Africa
and South America have been
trained by our government
to fight the communists and
other perceived enemies. Spe-
cifically, Saddam, was "used"
by the United States to keep
Islamic fundamentalism from
the region in check. It has been
suggested that the biological
weapons were procured from
the United States to fight Iran,
and that Iraq may have even
poisoned its own people to gain
world sympathy during the
two countries' war. Don't forget
though that the United States is
the only country to have killed
with nuclear weapons, and that
the United States used numer-
ous chemical weapons in Viet-
nam, and that it is possible that
Gulf War Syndrome is the direct
result of our use of radioactive
armor-piercing depleted-ura-
nium munitions.
Maybe we can learn a lesson
from this experience. We need
to, as a country, support democ-
racy and not dictators. Unfortu-
nately, this does not seem to be
where we are headed because
Iraq is not looking like an emerg-
ing, healthy democracy. We are
raping their land by bombing
them incessantly, leaving Iraqis
in dissolution after the invasion
with 110 equitable model to help
the citizens of Iraq.
This cycle of hate against
oppressors is historically vali-
dated and we are slaves to it
(Pax Americana). I encourage
you to read Edward Said or
the writings of other postcolo-
nial critics to supplement your
viewpoints. That's what I call
fair and balanced.
Bernadette T. Donahue,
Martin Wallace and William
Hicks, School of Library and
Information Sciences faculty
members
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
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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
"Prudence and compromise are
necessary means, hut every man
should have an impudent end which
he will not compromise."
- Charles Horton Cooley
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 85, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 3, 2004, newspaper, March 3, 2004; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145113/m1/3/: accessed June 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.