THE RIGHT ANGLE: The Truth About College Republicans - Opinions
All of your life, you've been taught to never judge a book by its cover. And yet, you do it everyday without even thinking about it. Maybe you judge people by their physical appearance, maybe by their clothing, or maybe by things you've heard about them. Regardless of why you judge them, it's wrong, and you know it. Why then, do you continue to let hearsay dictate how you view certain groups around campus?
Today, I am going to introduce you to the UNCG College Republicans. I am well aware of the things they say about us, and so are most of you. The groups and individuals on campus that differ from us ideologically would have you believe that we are racist, sexist, and homophobic. I suppose these rumors are to be expected, but I have a suspicion that there are those of you who are capable of thinking for yourselves, and that is who I am speaking to right now.
According to our wonderful critics, the College Republicans are not interested in doing anything that is not controversial. They say we exist solely to cause trouble. These people have never bothered to listen to our side of an issue; they simply go by what they've heard and what they want to believe.
Last Wednesday, I attended a meeting of the College Republicans. If I were to believe everything I had heard about the group, I would have expected to do nothing all night but discuss how we could annoy the rest of the campus. But perhaps you'd be shocked to learn that we don't want to do that. During our hour long meeting, we discussed many things - food drives, community service, trips to Washington DC, fun group events - and yet, not once did I hear someone say, "Hey everyone, what are some fun, creative ways we can make the liberals on campus hate us even more?
I know for a fact that some people have avoided associating with the College Republicans because of our image around campus. I find it very unfortunate that so many of you blindly believe these rumors without even bothering to hear our side. Last year's Morals Week was not meant to promote bigotry, regardless of what you might have heard. It was actually meant to promote equality; had you opened your mind and looked at it from a different point of view for once, this would have been obvious.
Stop letting other people dictate your beliefs. Drop in on a College Republican meeting sometime and decide for yourself. I know from some of the emails I've received recently that there are more conservatives on UNCG's campus than one might think. It would be wonderful if their voice was louder on this campus.
Fellow conservatives, here is your opportunity to have fun with a group of people who share your views. This is also your chance to make a difference. Right now we are working hard to build our group up so that we can do great things for our community.
We welcome people of all backgrounds and belief. We may not all be "gun nuts", "Jesus freaks", or "rednecks" like you've heard, but we do welcome all kinds. Find out what we are REALLY all about. Stop by and join us on Wednesday nights at 7 in the Joyner Room of the EUC.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
John Who?
THE RIGHT ANGLE: John Who? - Opinions
A beautiful thing happened on November 2nd. People of all ages, all races, all backgrounds, put their differences aside and stood in line to cast their vote. And those Americans, or at least the informed ones, voted to keep George W. Bush in office for four more years.
My mother told me to be nice in my "victory" column. She reminded me that both Bush and Kerry were pressing for the healing of our nation. I considered it for almost an entire minute before I realized I couldn't be nice. I say this because not sixty seconds after I got off the phone with my mother, I walked past a young man who said to me, and I quote: "I should light you on fire for that," as he pointed to my Bush pin. I smiled in support of his right to free speech and suppressed mine in the name of dignity.
But he's not the only reason I can't be "nice" in this column. I'm still hearing people rant about how Bush stole the election, or how we have an idiot in the White House for another four years. In fact, all I'm hearing around campus is name-calling and excuses, and it's getting old. Because of this childishness and stupidity, this week's column is dedicated to all the sore losers out there.
First of all, anyone that has to refer to Bush as an "idiot" is clearly feeling insecure about their own intelligence level, and probably with good reason. Bush is a smart man, and there is no way he could have won re-election if he wasn't. Do you really think his supporters consist solely of rednecks and religious right-wingers? What about us average Americans who are just worried about losing too much of our hard-earned money to the government? Where do I fit in? Maybe you should try watching a news channel sometime; you'd be shocked to find that plenty of people who are probably better educated than you actually support Bush.
Oh, and then there's the people that say Bush "stole" the election. Okay, in 2000, I could understand the concern. Had the roles been flipped, I would have been just as angry as most of you were about the outcome. But to say he stole an election in which he won the popular vote AND the Electoral College? Not only did Bush win by 3.5 million votes, he won with the largest popular vote of any President in history!
Although I guess I really shouldn't be so harsh. After all, this must have been a huge let down. I mean, you guys had everyone on your side: MTV, the media, Hollywood, rock stars. But you forgot to court the people who really mattered. The average American really couldn't care less about who Jon Bon Jovi or Ben Affleck is voting for, and your average American young person was simply annoyed every time Puff Daddy interrupted "The Real World" to scare people into voting.
The movie stars and rockers made for a great show, but it was little more than that. Bruce Springsteen put on a concert for Kerry that drew a huge crowd, but as soon as he stepped aside to let the Democratic candidate speak, the concertgoers started leaving. It seemed that the large majority of America didn't care to mix their entertainment and politics.
So you guys went to all that hard work. You rallied together beautiful, talented people, you spammed the popular television networks, you threatened VOTE OR DIE! And it worked. It got the people out in masses. Record numbers all over the country turned out at the polls. And yet, Bush still won by 3.5 millions votes.
What does this tell us? It tells us that the Democratic Party is not the party of the average American. All over the country, average, hard-working Americans decided that national security, tax cuts, and strong values were much more important than anything Kerry or his beautiful band of Hollywood stars could offer. For the past few months, we have been told which issues we're supposed to care about. We've had gay marriage and stem cell research and abortion rights crammed down our throats for too long. Last Tuesday, we made known what are the most important issues in this country right now, and we were heard. We voted to keep our Republican president for four more years, and we voted to add more Republicans to the House and Senate. Last Tuesday, the Republican Party proved that it is indeed the party of the average American.
So I guess I can understand what all the bitterness is about. I just wish some of you would show a little maturity. I think if you're old enough to vote, you ought to be old enough not to throw a temper tantrum over the outcome. I think even I could have kept my composure had Kerry won by 3.5 million votes. And don't worry: in four more years, you'll all have a new hero, and even the most loyal of you will be saying, "John who?"
A beautiful thing happened on November 2nd. People of all ages, all races, all backgrounds, put their differences aside and stood in line to cast their vote. And those Americans, or at least the informed ones, voted to keep George W. Bush in office for four more years.
My mother told me to be nice in my "victory" column. She reminded me that both Bush and Kerry were pressing for the healing of our nation. I considered it for almost an entire minute before I realized I couldn't be nice. I say this because not sixty seconds after I got off the phone with my mother, I walked past a young man who said to me, and I quote: "I should light you on fire for that," as he pointed to my Bush pin. I smiled in support of his right to free speech and suppressed mine in the name of dignity.
But he's not the only reason I can't be "nice" in this column. I'm still hearing people rant about how Bush stole the election, or how we have an idiot in the White House for another four years. In fact, all I'm hearing around campus is name-calling and excuses, and it's getting old. Because of this childishness and stupidity, this week's column is dedicated to all the sore losers out there.
First of all, anyone that has to refer to Bush as an "idiot" is clearly feeling insecure about their own intelligence level, and probably with good reason. Bush is a smart man, and there is no way he could have won re-election if he wasn't. Do you really think his supporters consist solely of rednecks and religious right-wingers? What about us average Americans who are just worried about losing too much of our hard-earned money to the government? Where do I fit in? Maybe you should try watching a news channel sometime; you'd be shocked to find that plenty of people who are probably better educated than you actually support Bush.
Oh, and then there's the people that say Bush "stole" the election. Okay, in 2000, I could understand the concern. Had the roles been flipped, I would have been just as angry as most of you were about the outcome. But to say he stole an election in which he won the popular vote AND the Electoral College? Not only did Bush win by 3.5 million votes, he won with the largest popular vote of any President in history!
Although I guess I really shouldn't be so harsh. After all, this must have been a huge let down. I mean, you guys had everyone on your side: MTV, the media, Hollywood, rock stars. But you forgot to court the people who really mattered. The average American really couldn't care less about who Jon Bon Jovi or Ben Affleck is voting for, and your average American young person was simply annoyed every time Puff Daddy interrupted "The Real World" to scare people into voting.
The movie stars and rockers made for a great show, but it was little more than that. Bruce Springsteen put on a concert for Kerry that drew a huge crowd, but as soon as he stepped aside to let the Democratic candidate speak, the concertgoers started leaving. It seemed that the large majority of America didn't care to mix their entertainment and politics.
So you guys went to all that hard work. You rallied together beautiful, talented people, you spammed the popular television networks, you threatened VOTE OR DIE! And it worked. It got the people out in masses. Record numbers all over the country turned out at the polls. And yet, Bush still won by 3.5 millions votes.
What does this tell us? It tells us that the Democratic Party is not the party of the average American. All over the country, average, hard-working Americans decided that national security, tax cuts, and strong values were much more important than anything Kerry or his beautiful band of Hollywood stars could offer. For the past few months, we have been told which issues we're supposed to care about. We've had gay marriage and stem cell research and abortion rights crammed down our throats for too long. Last Tuesday, we made known what are the most important issues in this country right now, and we were heard. We voted to keep our Republican president for four more years, and we voted to add more Republicans to the House and Senate. Last Tuesday, the Republican Party proved that it is indeed the party of the average American.
So I guess I can understand what all the bitterness is about. I just wish some of you would show a little maturity. I think if you're old enough to vote, you ought to be old enough not to throw a temper tantrum over the outcome. I think even I could have kept my composure had Kerry won by 3.5 million votes. And don't worry: in four more years, you'll all have a new hero, and even the most loyal of you will be saying, "John who?"
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
God Bless America
THE RIGHT ANGLE: God Bless America - Opinions
There is one major downfall to writing for a weekly paper. As I sit here writing my column, it is October 27th. I am a week away from the elections, and most of you will not read this until after they are over. I could take a week off from politics, but with everything that is about to happen in the next week, how can this political science nerd think of anything else?
This election season has been incredibly exciting for me. I've worked as an intern at the Bush/Cheney campaign since July. I've attended speeches, debates, rallies, and protests. I've been give the opportunity to make my conservative views known to the UNCG community by way of this column. I was even given the chance to debate liberal columnist Okla Elliot at Solaris a couple of weeks ago.
In turn, I've been ridiculed for working for Bush. I've been verbally abused by little old ladies who support Kerry. I have received large amounts of hate e-mail in response to my columns, as well as angry comments in my online blog and on the Carolinian website. At the Solaris debate, I received jeers, obscene gestures, and rude comments every time I tried to speak.
And you know what the best part is? I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.?
Every time someone yells, "Bush sucks!" in response to my GOP gear, every time I read a letter to the editor about how wrong I am, every time someone calls me a name, I am reminded of how great America is.
It's exactly what our forefathers wanted for us. We can hate our leaders, work to get them kicked out of office, and even threaten mass suicide if re-election occurs. We can burn pictures of Bush, we can burn flags, we can burn crosses... and okay, we can't burn abortion clinics, but we can protest them until our faces turn blue.?
Imagine living in a country where you live in constant fear of your government. Imagine not being able to pray to your deity of choice or speak your mind. You very rarely see large protests against the leaders in countries with authoritarian dictators. You can compare Bush to Hitler all you want to, but I have a feeling if you had compared Hitler to another crazy leader back in Nazi Germany, you would have been tossed in a concentration camp.
Although no one can agree on the exact wording of it, everyone knows that Voltaire said it best: "I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." I believe that with all my heart, and that's why I can despise Green Day's political views and still listen to their music religiously.
So go ahead, yell at me, call me names, tell me I'm stupid. If you see me on campus, tell me you think my column is the most closed-minded thing you've ever read in your life. I can't make you read it, and you can't make me change my mind, but we can all say what we want without fear that we'll get thrown in prison. It's the First Amendment that gives me hope even if Kerry is elected as president this week. It's my right to say how much I despise him and how I disagree with everything he does. And that, my friends, is why I love this country.
God bless America.
There is one major downfall to writing for a weekly paper. As I sit here writing my column, it is October 27th. I am a week away from the elections, and most of you will not read this until after they are over. I could take a week off from politics, but with everything that is about to happen in the next week, how can this political science nerd think of anything else?
This election season has been incredibly exciting for me. I've worked as an intern at the Bush/Cheney campaign since July. I've attended speeches, debates, rallies, and protests. I've been give the opportunity to make my conservative views known to the UNCG community by way of this column. I was even given the chance to debate liberal columnist Okla Elliot at Solaris a couple of weeks ago.
In turn, I've been ridiculed for working for Bush. I've been verbally abused by little old ladies who support Kerry. I have received large amounts of hate e-mail in response to my columns, as well as angry comments in my online blog and on the Carolinian website. At the Solaris debate, I received jeers, obscene gestures, and rude comments every time I tried to speak.
And you know what the best part is? I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.?
Every time someone yells, "Bush sucks!" in response to my GOP gear, every time I read a letter to the editor about how wrong I am, every time someone calls me a name, I am reminded of how great America is.
It's exactly what our forefathers wanted for us. We can hate our leaders, work to get them kicked out of office, and even threaten mass suicide if re-election occurs. We can burn pictures of Bush, we can burn flags, we can burn crosses... and okay, we can't burn abortion clinics, but we can protest them until our faces turn blue.?
Imagine living in a country where you live in constant fear of your government. Imagine not being able to pray to your deity of choice or speak your mind. You very rarely see large protests against the leaders in countries with authoritarian dictators. You can compare Bush to Hitler all you want to, but I have a feeling if you had compared Hitler to another crazy leader back in Nazi Germany, you would have been tossed in a concentration camp.
Although no one can agree on the exact wording of it, everyone knows that Voltaire said it best: "I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." I believe that with all my heart, and that's why I can despise Green Day's political views and still listen to their music religiously.
So go ahead, yell at me, call me names, tell me I'm stupid. If you see me on campus, tell me you think my column is the most closed-minded thing you've ever read in your life. I can't make you read it, and you can't make me change my mind, but we can all say what we want without fear that we'll get thrown in prison. It's the First Amendment that gives me hope even if Kerry is elected as president this week. It's my right to say how much I despise him and how I disagree with everything he does. And that, my friends, is why I love this country.
God bless America.
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