Jordan River Forum

Laughing at the horror\nThe PC movement is attempting to divest the language of unpleasant words and replace them with watered down, clinical ones instead. This forces us to be prejudiced toward, for instance, handicapped people, as we guard our words around them. They suggest we should call them, for instance, differently abled people. This is true, they are differently abled, but it contains no description of the fact that they are not able to, for instance, walk, which is the thing that the speaker was trying to get at in the first place. So we sit there with crippled tongues and exchange pleasantries that could in no way imply, under any reading, any sort of reference to the fact that they cannot walk. \nBut the fact is, I think that handicapped people are just like any other people. I don't want to have to treat them differently than other people, which is by definition prejudice. If one walks on eggshells around them I consider that more disrespectful than just talking as one person to another. Also, I do not wish to offend them, by any means, and would apologize and modify my behavior if I had done so. It's like when somebody says "Quick, everybody act normal" and you forget how all of a sudden. \nThis is analogous to the way people that have undergone tragedy in their life are attempting to eradicate humor. Or, at least, confine humor to benign subjects that don't really need it, like sending a doctor to a well person's house. Misery loves company, as they say. If we cannot laugh at the horror of the world, what are we left with? The horror of the world, and no laughter.\nJeremiah John\nSophomore\nTeater's opinions unpatriotic\nWhy do you let people like Duncan Teater submit editorials? I look at the IDS Web site every few days to see the news out of IU, and looking at the headlines from this individual I find that there is nothing positive in this person's comments. I have no problem with someone expressing an opinion, but now is a time to be patriotic and supportive of our country. This person should come to New York and get a feel of the atmosphere out here and he will most likely change his tune.\nMatthew Multerer\nNew York, NY\nAre we God's chosen people?\nAs I was reading Joshua Claybourn's column "Pacifism provides delusion of utopia" in Monday's IDS, I could not help but wonder about a few things. First of all, I fail to see the connection between the political opposition to a particular military action and the endorsement of authoritarianism. The United States has a history of bombing other countries with the stated goal of persuading them that they should think like us and act like us and be like us, and yet, of all the countries bombed by the United States since World War II, none of the actions have led to a stable democratic state. Is it unfeasible that bombing leads to unrest and chaos and discord?\nThe interpretation of Christianity as encouraging war seems to be a re-reading of the original intent of Biblical scriptures, possibly dating back to Crusade times. The New Testament of the Bible, upon which Christianity purports to be based, introduces a code of forgiveness to override Hammurabi's code. Jesus said people should turn the other cheek; how can one call the words of Jesus foolish if one is claiming to have based one's ideas on the Christian paradigm? I propose not leaving the whole world blind.\nSo where does the idea of war as a positive influence on the world originate? Does Mr. Claybourn think that mocking his own stereotype of physical appearance which he attaches to those he classifies as representative of the political "other" is equivalent to making a sound point? If anything, I would deduce that the peace campers are against authoritarianism and tyranny. The events of Sept. 11 would be shocking if only they were not so inevitable. Divisiveness and trite ridicule do not make one impressive or informed. I think there is too much emphasis on the political "us and them" of this. Just as the terrorist attacks were bound to occur, is not unrest and violence the inevitable consequence of the attacks on Afghanistan? Are we in America God's Chosen people? Are you willing to bet all of your money on this assumption?\nChris Horn\nJunior