Two party system best path for United States

Dear editor,

This is in response to D. Chernikov’s letter in Wednesday’s Stater.

It is always fishy when ideologues from the far right use the “fascism” label to discredit existing democratic systems. The libertarian, i.e., winner-takes-all, survival-of-the-fittest, after-me-the-flood approach is deceiving and dangerous. Since the “liberties” it proposes need protection, even “libertarians” need a ruler and a state to enforce their ideology and interests. And whose interests would these primarily be? That’s right, the ones of the new-model cowboy survivors of Darwin’s worst nightmares.

Don’t get me wrong, not that our current two-party democracy is fair or balanced by any means. A congress, senate and president under the iron grip of the powers that lobbied them into the political saddle do precisely what they are told; they protect the quasi-democratic status quo. However, and here comes the rub, this very “quasi” contains more social hope and chance than any “libertarian,” “communist,” or “fascist” alternatives would ever do. These types of systems are, as Hitler made clear during one of his infamous rallies, openly intolerant. They leave no room for doubt and “quasis;” they are anti-democratic by the very nature of their ideology. None of the Western-type democracies has a “libertarian” free-market health care system, and people in Europe would take up arms against the sick euphemism any such system would entail.

Those, like Paul or Perot (Nader does not quite fit the mold), fed up enough with American democracy to launch their own presidential campaigns, have one thing in common: They are trying to expose weaknesses in the system for purely ideological gain. What they don’t realize is that their fictitious quid-pro-quos remain, for the time being, out of tune with American-Dream-like pragmatism, which continues to market shame as a genuine quality of charity.

For all its faults, it is good that the two-party gridlock on power prevents political narcissists, jesters and demagogues such as Paul, Perot and Nader to grab center stage. Politically conscious enough, still, we are stuck with the two lesser evils – Democrat or Republican – and all we will have to face in November are the limits of our choices between our common chauvinism, racism and religious fanaticism, things we’ve been trained to keep in check, more or less, since we set foot in this brave new democratic world of ours.

Frank Rosen

Doctoral candidate of English

KIC should be more aware of religion when planning

Dear editor,

The Kent Interhall Council, also known as KIC, strives to achieve student involvement and diversity on the Kent State University campus. The organization is responsible for many popular events and activities as well as one of the most anticipated events of the year, Lil’ Sibs Weekend. This year, the weekend of April 19, the siblings of KSU students will invade campus for a weekend of fun activities organized by KIC.

However, some students will unfortunately be left out of this tradition because April 19th is also the first day of Passover, an important Jewish holiday. An organization that promotes student involvement and diversity should be more aware and considerate of all types of students at KSU. Not implying that KIC purposefully left out the Jewish student population, but considering that Passover is on the calendar, I find it odd that such a significant event would be scheduled on this day. Did they ignore the holiday or simply not care that they would potentially be affecting 1,200 KSU students? There are several growing Jewish organizations on campus, including Hillel and the fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi. Construction has recently begun on a brand new 11,000-square-foot building for Hillel to house weekly Shabbat services and other Hillel activities for KSU and University of Akron students.

When a friend and I expressed our concerns to the KIC executives, the immediate response was a very sarcastic and condescending: “Passover, come on.” Before being laughed at by the people in the KIC office, I was given the excuse that all the scheduled events end on Saturday before sundown, which is when Passover officially begins. I don’t find this a valid excuse; they wouldn’t have scheduled it for Christmas Eve Day or Thanksgiving Day, both of which are typically celebrated at sundown as well. Just about every holiday takes preparation and with almost 3,000 out-of-state students at KSU, traveling from sibs weekend to home for Passover, is an ordeal within itself. None of these issues seem to be a big concern to KIC. The KIC diversity committee asks KSU students to “come represent who you are on this campus,” but this year, the Jewish students will not be able to do so at sibs weekend.

Emily Margolis

Freshman journalism major