Oracle Online

Well, Lueth, you pushed the right button. Here comes the Inquisition, as you predicted. I, for one, would use a different analogy. I would say that the response to someone’s skepticism about voting is less like the Inquisition’s reaction to atheism, and more like Karen Vogel reacting to a paper titled “George W. Bush: the greatest president ever.” Believing that 43 is the greatest president ever, like believing that voting is pointless, is a matter of opinion. Opinion, of course, should have some sort of logical foundation. When someone presents an opinion that flies in the face of logic, someone with a logical foundation will throw in their two cents. I guess the Inquisition isn’t coming after all.

I believe that there is a point to voting. Our constitution provides us with a system of checks and balances, and one of the greatest checks that exists on the government is elections. Elections hold politicians directly accountable to the people. Lueth, you have it backwards. The safeguards in our system weren’t put there so much to bar radical change on behalf of the citizens, but radical change on behalf of the government. It is true that these safeguards make sweeping, radical transitions slower than many left-blooded college students (including myself) may like, but we need to keep in mind that if radical changes occur at a less-than-radical pace we can decrease the likelihood that the South will secede again and we’ll have another bloody civil war. I, for one, am all about reducing the speed of radical change if it means that people accept it rather than die for it.

But if the system slows change, then how does change happen? Well, let’s simplify the problem. If America were 100 people, six people have half of the money. Twenty-five people think that that is fine, because they believe that equal opportunity exists and that money is a good incentive. Another 25 people think that that is wrong, because equal opportunity does not exist and that wealth should be more equally distributed. The last 50 people don’t bother voting. Then, two of the six people with money spend lots of their money convincing people to vote for them. One of them assumes that it’s wrong to tax away all of the rich people’s money, the other believes that our country is made stronger by providing a greater quality of life for everyone. Then these two spend lots of their money trying to get 26 people to vote for them. They don’t bother trying to appeal to the 50 who don’t vote (like the youth) in great numbers. Why should they, it’s not like they vote!

So in sum, VOTE! Because although on an individual basis you can do more by writing your congressmen, participating in interest groups, and working on campaigns by voting in numbers, we let politicians know that they have to appeal to our demographic as well.

Brian McShea ’09

Re-statement of changes to French department

I enjoyed speaking with Oracle reporter Andy Finken for the Nov. 14 article about the French program. I think it’s important, though, to re-state some key information that may have been left on the cutting room floor.

We in no way expect to bid adieu to French at Hamline! Yes, the Modern Languages & Literatures department must respond to changes, but I said that in reference to our plan to replace professor Tamara Root upon her retirement with an expert in the French-speaking countries of Africa and the Caribbean. This hire would reflect new trends in French Studies nationally and responds to greater interest in the African diaspora here and abroad. It would meet various Hamline strategic plan goals and strengthen our existing ties with Global Studies, International Management, Art History, the graduate school, Off-Campus Programs, and many other departments and programs at Hamline. I’ve met with Dean Delgado and have found him very supportive of a strong, dynamic Modern Languages department that connects the Hamline campus and reaches across local and international communities.

So, au revoir, francais? Au contraire! Vive le monde francophone!

Prof. Andrea Bell
Chair, Modern Languages & Literatures Department