Newspaper Page Text
*
Wednesday
April 27, 2005
Read this because an angry grad student said to
MAD
with Jesse Bishop
Ah, spring is in the
air. No, wait, that’s just
my imagination. I started
to make fun of the issue of
global warming, you know,
since it was 30 degrees
Monday morning, but
global warming is a serious
problem not to be made
light of by my silly antics.
So, I thought I would
try to blame the weather
problems on politics,
which I could, but I’ll give
that a rest (for now).
Instead, I’m going to
let weather off the hook this
week (but only cause Dubya
said something about nukin’
Mother Nature, and we
don’t want that—now do
we? Well, “nuc-u-lar” still
cracks me up!).
No, this week I’m
going to give my thoughts
on books. Imagine that,
a guy who wants to teach
English in college wants to
talk about books.
So here goes. I’m
going to give my top five
Take your pick: your God or your embryos
Double Vision
D°npj6
By Jake Earl and Luke Abel
lukeandjakearehott@yahoo.com
Who likes Eric
Rudolph? You know, the
guy who killed people
for liking abortions and
international sports?
Let’s see a show of hands.
Yeah, you. Raise your
hand, even if you’re in a
public place. No one will
laugh, I promise.
Hopefully, raising
your hand was a non-issue,
because, hopefully, you
don’t like Eric Rudolph. In
fact, let me apologize for
opening with a redundant
rhetorical question that I
knew the answer to in the
first place.
And yes, I know some
of you raised your hands,
because you feel like being
cute. Like the guy who
would always raise his
hand in high school when
the teacher asked you to
raise your hand if you were
not there.
(She West (Senrgtan
The University of West Georgia
University Community Center, Room 111
Carrollton, GA, 30118-0070
Editorial Line: (678) 839-6527
Advertising Manager: (678) 839-4783
- ? Editorial E-mail: uwgpaper@westga.edu
Advertising E-mail: paperads@westga.edu
On the web at http://www.thewestgeorgian.com
Opinion
books of fiction (which
you’ve probably not heard
of outside of a class) and
my top five books of...dare
I say the word...POETRY.
So, if you’re not a fan
of books go play in traffic.
No, really, go.
Fiction:
5. Cormac McCarthy’s
“Child of God,” a haunting
tale of necrophilia and
acceptance. McCarthy
also wrote “All the Pretty
Horses,” which was
adapted into a film starring
all the pretty people (Matt
Damon and Penelope
Cruz). “Child of God” is a
short read, about 140 pages,
I think. It is disturbing on a
few levels, but in an “open
your-eyes” kind of way.
“Lester Ballard was
a child of god, much
like yourself perhaps,”
McCarthy writes, and, if
after finishing the novel,
you can find a place in
your heart and church for
Anyways, I did bring
up Eric Rudolph for a
reason. He was recently
convicted of four bombing
attacks, which were on the
Olympic Games, a gay
bar and an abortion clinic,
all located in Atlanta
(he pleaded guilty to all
charges). This last target
is what is of importance to
Jake and me.
Rudolph is a
particularly extreme
example of someone who
holds the very common
view that abortion can
be equated to the murder
of a person. The first
sentence in Rudolph’s plea
agreement concerning the
bombing of the abortion
clinic states plainly that
“abortion is murder.”
Eric may have chosen
to act on this belief with
violence, but there is a
huge number of Americans
Lester, then good for you.
4. The anthology
“Sudden Fiction
International,” which can
be purchased for like five
dollars on amazon.com.
This is a collection
of short-short stories (less
than 1,000 words). One of
the best is from Gabriel
Garcia Marquez, titled
“The Dentist.” Be glad
you’re not a mayor in some
Latin-American country,
ouch. The collection also
has stories from Ann
Beattie (who visited here in
the Fall) and other prolific
writers of our time. Great
stuff in this one.
3. Jonathan Safran
Foer’s “Extremely Loud
and Incredibly Close.”
Okay, I know at least
two people on this campus
have heard of this one
(which is how I found it).
I haven’t finished it, but
trust me when I say that it
is absolutely on the top of
my list. What 1 have read of
the book is unbelievable.
If Sept. 11, 2001
affected you, please
give the nine-year-old
protagonist a chance in
this one.
2. “A Kind of Flying”
by Ron Carlson is one of
today that hold this belief
without behaving quite so
drastically.
The argument that
both Eric and many
Christians subscribe to is
that abortion is murder.
This means that the
destruction of an unborn
child at any of its various
stages is the destruction of
a person.
Whether or not one
is a person is determined
by whether or not that
individual has a soul. So,
to abort an unborn child
from conception to the
days preceding birth is to
destroy a being with a soul.
A phrase commonly used
to encapsulate this idea is
“soul at conception,” or
the idea that, since zygotes
have souls as soon as the
egg and the sperm meet,
they are a person, and to
destroy the souled being
is murder.
If the idea of soul
at conception is true,
then the immorality of
abortions, at least from a
Christian standpoint, is
definitely decided. Let us
consider, however, other,
more fundamental truths
Christians claim to know
about God.
Daniel Bell, Editor-in-Chief
Jason Thogmartin, Advertising & Business Manager
Dave Word, News Editor
Bobby Moore, Sports Editor
Kevin Pate, A&E Editor
Jennifer Robinson, Photo Editor
Samantha Bishop, Copy Editor
Jose Santiago, Webmaster
Doug Vinson, Advisor
the best collections of short
stories ever.
Carlson has been
called the master of the
happy ending, which is
rare in literature and still
have the text maintain
integrity. My favorites
from this collection are
“Bigfoot Stole My Wife”
and “I am Bigfoot.”
This collection could
change your life, seriously,
in that “touches your soul”
kind of way.
1. As if there were
any doubt.,.”A Feast of
Snakes,” by Harry Crews,
chronicles the descent into
the modem South in a way
that only Crews could
achieve. Joe Lon Mackey
(one of the greatest literary
names) leads an interesting
life. Read this and find out
what “true love” really is.
Poetry:
5. Pablo Neruda’s...
well, anything really.
Check out any Neruda
collection for some mind
boggling uses of language.
And, you get two languages
for the price of one because
Neruda writes in Espanol.
Find a collection that is
translated though, unless
you’re gunning for extra
It is claimed that God
is both rational (through
the creation of a complex
and systematic universe),
loving (through the acts
of Jesus Christ) and wants
us to choose to love him
(through the granting
of free will). The ideas
of soul at conception, a
rational God, a loving God
and a choosing humanity
all seem to fit together.
God loves his
creations, especially
souled ones and would
rationally forbid them to
destroy each other, so that
they may have the chance
to come to love him.
But now it is time for
the proverbial monkey
wrench. Where does it
come from? The toolbox
of Science. Research has
consistently shown that
only half of blastocysts
(a stage in embryonic
development) implant in
the uterine wall, which is a
necessary step to becoming
a baby.
In addition, thirty-five
percent of embryos fail to
lead to births. Morowitz and
Trefil, Oxford University
biologists, provide us with
a convenient simplification
of these statistics: “slightly
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establish
ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances. ”
- First Amendment, United States Constitution
credit in a Spanish class.
Seriously, his work
is wild and emotional and
everything that poetry is
supposed to be, with a
touch of the old school
Romanticism thrown in
for fun.
4. Philip Levine’s
“Selected Poems” is
possibly the most touching
collection I’ve read in a
while. I stumbled onto this
author a few months ago
and I love his work. Some
of the poems read like short
stories, only with better
language, so those of you
that don’t “like” poetry
might want to check this
one out.
3. & 2. Tie—Edward
Hirsch’s “For the
Sleepwalkers” and Kim
Addonizio’s “Tell Me.”
I know that some
students on campus had
to read Addonizio’s book
for a creative writing
class, so there are some
people who are onto this
woman’s skills. But, I can
hear at least one naysayer
giving me the what-for
over Hirsch. Both writers
are crazy-talented and the
books both work a very
personal level.
So, buy both of them
fewer than a third of all
conceptions (72 percent
of 45 percent) [or 32.4%]
lead to a fetus that has a
chance of developing.”
If God puts souls in
every conceived zygote,
does this not mean that
over two-thirds of God’s
souled creations die? Not
simply die, but potentially
die without experiencing,
sensing, thinking and,
dare I say it, having the
opportunity to love God?
If God gives all
zygotes souls, two-thirds
of which die, according to
the statistics at hand, this
means one of two things:
1) God gives souls to the
doomed two-thirds with
the intent that they choose
to love him (which they
cannot do), or 2) God
gives souls to the doomed
two-thirds without the
intent that they choose to
love him.
Now, let us refer
back to the Christian
claims concerning God
I mentioned earlier. In
particular, it is said that
God is rational and loving.
In light of the previously
mentioned scientific
evidence, God behaves
in manner number one
Copyright Notice
The West Georgian, copyright 2004, is an official publication of the University of
West Georgia. Opinions expressed herein are those of the newspaper staff or indi
vidual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of university faculty or staff
Letter Submission Policy
The West Georgian welcomes letters to the editor. Letters may be mailed to:
Editor, The West Georgian, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, 30118,
or sent via electronic mail to: uwgpaper@westga.edu.
All letters must be signed and include a phone number and mailing address for
verification purposes. Letters should not exceed 3SO words and should be submit
ted by 5 p.m the Friday prior to publication Editors reserve the right to edit for
style, content, and length.
and you be the judge of
whose is best.
1. “Donkey Gospel”
by Tony Hoagland is my
favorite book of poetry,
right now.
The poems are
poignant and tempered
with humor and heartache.
Check out “Mission” and
“Benevolence.” Hoagland
is a master at sucker
punching the reader in the
gut with a laugh or even
some tears.
I realize that most
of you won’t finish
this column, much less
actually read a book.
Think about this though, I
know people who’ve been
asked what the last book
he or she read was —while
on a job interview.
Many of you will be
graduating this May and
some in the summer. Think
about how good you’ll look
to a prospective employer
if you walk in and see a
copy of “Donkey Gospel”
or “A Feast of Snakes”
lying on some one’s desk
and you’re able to discuss,
intelligently, the work.
Even if you don’t read
these books, please read
something.
and is irrational because
he would be requiring
something of his creations
which is impossible. God
may, on the other hand,
behave in manner number
two, but is then unloving
because he would simply
not care whether or not
these souled beings love
him before they die.
Since Christians do
not accept that God is
irrational or unloving,
consequences of “soul
at conception,” they
must either reject this
controversial idea, or
reject the widely accepted
belief of a loving and
rational God.
With “soul at
conception,” Christians
must revise their
understanding of
abortion, or revise their
understanding of God.
Would it have been a
boon to Eric Rudolph to
have done the former,
and decide not to bomb
an abortion clinic in
downtown Atlanta?
Man, that was intense.
Tell you what. I’m reeling
right now. If you think
reading this is exhausting,
try writing it. 1 guess we’ll
be seeing you next year.