Newspaper Page Text
PAGE t-THE CLUSTER, APRIL 7, IMP
* rr
Editorial/Opinion
To tell the
OK Merarians. what', going on around here? Nobody
give, a dann about anylfaing anymore. OK. OK some peo
ple still give a damn about themselves, and a very few are
concerned about other people. I don't really want to deal
with those people who don't care about anything. We’ve all
been subjected to that so many times that it’s trite. 1 want
to talk about the few people around here who DO care.
You might think tint this is about to be a nushy, sentimen
tal column about those staunch advocates of my philosophies
of life, but I’m not going to do anything even dene to that.
You see, I am surrounded by people with convictions and
although I appreciate their backbone, as 1 know most of you
do as well, I don't agree completely with anyone I know,
(with the exception of one person, maybe).
What I'm concerned about right now is that I’m getting
more and more convinced that our generation really is the
product of nihilism. Don’t tune me out—I'm not going to
ramble into philosophy babble. What 1 mean about us as pro
ducts of nihilism is that we have forgotten that means are
meaningful beyond just accomplishing ends. For example,
studying is valuable for more than just passing a class. Be
ing stheletic is important for more than just winning games.
truth, the truth hurts
Charlie
Smith
r "
Being hooest is virtuous beyond just escaping the danger of
getting caught or losing other peoples' respect.
Another manifestation of this phenomenon that I am loose
ly attributing to nihilism is the reluctance to accept
ANYTHING as authoritative. I don't mean that we're all
running around breaking every rule there is (although that
might be happening too)—most people recognize the value
of accepting codes of cooduct for the sake of maintaining
order. What I mean is that we don't believe the rules are
RIGHT. We believe that they are beneficial or convenient
or (my personal favorite) right for me, but that doesn’t mean
they're right for you. In fact we've all been taught that it
is pompous to say that anything could possibly by uuly
RIGHT—right for everyone. We’ve given up on the existence
of truth.
So when I say I'm concerned about many of ’he people
1 know do do have convictions, it might be better to say that
I'm concerned that our generataion doesn’t have any notion
how to be consistent with convictions. The only conviction
I see people completely committed to is doing whatever it
takes... to succeed, to look good, to win. Even those who
approach consistency in their own lives refuse the impose
their beliefs on others, so they are paralyzed from defen
ding their convictions except in the mW apologetic, milk-
toast kind of ways.
Well I'm going to stop preaching. I'm pretty discourag
ed, but I still want to hang on to the last thread of my belief
in truth. I want to be able to give someone my “word" as
collateral and know that its worth giving. And I don't want
to have to feel like I'm lying when I tell people that Mercer
has an Honor Code. But that's up to ya’ll.
Charlie Smith is News Editor for the Cluster
I was a hyperkinetic mongoloid liberal
Howdy. My name is Bubba "Blow Mud" Cl
1 was a hyperkinetic mongoloid liberal.
look
intake is up. my posterboard bills are waaay down, and
PROBLEM
Subject belongs to People for the Ethical
Treatment of^tnimals.
Subject forces himself to watch PBS, but
finds himself mystified by Sesame Street.
Subject finds himself drawn unavoidably
to rally, for the I
Subject buys an economical foreign car.
Subject displays bumper-sticker on
tforrmmnonrrl economical forebear
that reads. "PRO-CHOICE/
Subject supports freedom to smoke
Subject thinks Sting. Tracy Chapman,
and Bono are swell.
CURE
loin People for the Edible Treatment of
Animals, or its fanatic wing, People for
the Ethical Treatment of Vegetables.
BLOW UP THE TV.
Invest in a lent and hoard noo-perisable
foods. Subscribe to Survival magazine.
Trade it in on a 4x4 with a mounted
20mm Gatling gun and twelve-foot tires.
Crush rronomical foreign can.
Display bumper-sticker on
afoccmrnticined 4x4 reading,
"ABORTION: America’s faatest-growing
sport."
Exercise freedom to smoke crystal
Drawn.
Pipe recordings of shrieking cats and the
cries of child laborers being mntilatnl in
PROBLEM
Subject eats tofo.
Subject thinks graffiti is quaint folk art.
Subject is just thrilled about the role he
plays in this representative democracy.
Subject sends money to the ASPCA, who
control the animal population with
chlorine gas.
CURE
sausage factories through bis clock-radio
while he sleeps.
Substitute baby harp seal in aspic and see
if he notices.
Pin subject on a subway car with
Bernhard Goetz.
Inject subject with sodium pentothal
Let’, get real, shall we?
Divert the fund right here to Brother
Bubba "Blow Mud" Culpepper, who
controls the local populations of possums,
squirrels, stray dogs, deer, turtles.
Bigfect, armadillos, Nazis, subway
grafitos, harp seals, and last by not least,
hyperkinetic mongoloid liberals, using
only a car-crusher monster 4x4 and a
syringe of sodium pentothal. Check or
money order, please.
Leighton Moore is a Columnist for the Cluster
Conference showed reality behind racism
Moat people cringe at the wold racism. It's something of
which they do not openly approve. Most of them would not
warn k> be called a non and very lew people would publicly
announce dat they were mein. The word racism carries wah
it a very negative spnnoxauon
And well it should! Racism is wrong, and the amazing
dung to me is that while everyone seems to be against it—
and if they aren't, they should be—there is still evidence of
it everywhere That includes Mercer.
You may be wondering what brought on this sudden burst
Sarah
Cambrige
of serial awareness. It's as simple as this. The weekend of
April 1,1 attended a conference in Atlanta entitled "Black
Students on Predominantly Whne Campuses " As one to two
white students representing Mercer, I will admit that 1 was
more than a little hesitant to be going. Face it, here oo cam
pus I am in the majority, and it is not difficult to get used
to that. However. I am very glad that I went.
The conference covered several aspects of black student
life, including black history, black music, and the need for
such things as minority affairs offices and financial support
for black graduate students. 1 have always pnded myself on
being non-racist, but in those few days I was exposed to a
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