Irresponsible Sony ads\npromote sexual abuse, violence toward women
I am writing in reference to four Sony ads that appeared in the Oct. 4 issue of the IDS which featured young women with browser buttons over their crotches and the words "use me," "share me," and "enter me" over their chests. Their male companion displayed the words "manipulate me." \nI didn't recognize the product, so I read the fine print, "Spread me. Swap me. Trade me. Share me with anyone you like." I still don't get it. This sounds like the language of a gang rape.\nThese ads promote abuse of women. It is ironic that these ads were placed next to those of the Take Back the Night and "Vagina Monologues." Like many people probably did, I first noticed the sexy bodies. As a therapist whose clients include women who have been victims of sexual abuse, I hope that others see that they contain negative messages about relationships and power. As a father of a young daughter, I hope that we soon eradicate the widespread violence against women so that she leads a safe and happy life.\nShame on Sony and the IDS.
Jon Peters\nAlumnus
Discovering your own American dream
The great thing about the American dream is that it exists not in one tangible shape, but rather is the ideological vision of a future shaped by a nation's storied past. It is shaped by the infinite number of different backgrounds of each American that through daily interplay combine to create the greatest cultural diversity imaginable. It is shaped by the patriotism each of us feels deeply rooted in our souls that, although we overlook most days, never diminishes or disappears, yet only grows stronger by time. \nThe American dream is no one dream, much in the same manner that there is no one set of characteristics to define who is American. The ability for each of us to live with and learn from our friends and family each of a past, present and most certainly each with their own epic of a future to come allows each of us to form a vision of our own Uncle Sam. No, he is not the short, white-haired man clad in our nation's colors. He is not even necessarily a man, or short or old. The great thing about the American dream is that each of us, through our experiences and future aspirations has our own view of him. \nInevitably, each of us will ask, what exactly is the American dream? What nobility lies in the daily struggles and hardships we call life? Where am I headed? Many of us may even ponder, where have I come from? We are not alone asking these questions. I for one simply refuse to believe there is no greater purpose than to carry on with our lives in solitude or in family groups caring only for our immediate circle. I believe that with the American dream not only comes self-prosperity but also an immense responsibility to the less fortunate men, women, and children of our land and of foreign territories. I believe in the vast goodness of the humanitarian effort being carried on by the American children by their campaign for dollars for children they do not know yet care for. \nWhen we reflect on recent world actions, it is seemingly impossible to understand how or why anyone could act in such a manner. The world fights over extreme interpretation of religion, yet the teachings of the world's major religions that have been at war for centuries are all nearly identical. It is poignant to see a tool of righteousness purposely left vague for interpretation in different eras and cultures be turned into a weapon of mass proportion by extremists who use religion as a tool to trick others into believing the nightmare they call revolution. Here we must understand and clearly differentiate between the American dream, any dream for that matter, and nightmare. No one is perfect, and nothing is perfect. Many things come close. Love, dreams, and goals may be the closest, as they come in no right or wrong fashion. Each one of us uses these devices to uniquely fit our own lives, making them personally ideal. We must never forget who we are or where we come from. We must learn from the atrocities of the past.\nSo please, let each of us take a moment to reflect on who we are, how we became who we are, and where we are headed. Let us each take a few minutes to imagine our own Uncle Sam. Let us each take a lifetime to shape and live our own American dream.
Ryan Pfenninger\nSenior
