KentNewsNet.com

Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Opinion

To speak against:

Small businesses like Susan's Coffee and Tea forced to shut down while Starbucks stores pop up all over; the litter after a weekend of drinking; Kent State's parking system; the interrogation methods that still remain classified despite Obama's release of "torture memos"; the lack of prosecution for those who approved Gitmo's sneaky legal framework; CollegeACB still being a trashy waste of Web space; the silence rape victims endure out of fear; athletes making more money than doctors; economic disparity in America, let alone the world; war.

To promote:

Women's rights; LGBT rights; gay marriage; legalization of marijuana; decriminalization of marijuana; illogical approach to America's war on drugs; Afghanistani women speaking for women's rights; continued humanitarian aid to war zones; more use of public transportation, bikes and feet; buying from local businesses rather than corporations; planting trees; saving whales; spiritual peace over religious wars.

To ban:

VH1 from popping out more shows with Bret Michaels; Angelina Jolie popping out babies like a gumball machine; Bill O'Reilly from speaking; cult-like religions from swiping ignorant people's money; diet pill infomercials that forget to mention the deadly side effects; Chris Brown from playing on the radio again; Natalie Portman from being allowed to be both gorgeous and smart; Zac Efron from leaving his innocent Disney niche in my head.

To stop:

The denial of abortions for rape victims in Mexico; Sri Lankan civilian suffrage; the continued disappearance and death of women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Burundi's criminalization of homosexual relations; political violence in the Gaza strip; the Mexican drug war; Somali citizens suffering while pirate warlords make millions of dollars; America from being so dependent on oil that we pay the Somali pirates off; our nuclear spills off their coast they say angered them in the first place; teen suicide.

To reflect why:

Some 8-year-olds have BlackBerrys while others have graves; some 10-year-old girls are taught to be sexy while others are taught sexual-abuse scars are the norm; some 12-year-old boys stare at a screen as a virtual body fires rounds while others stare at real tribal leaders forcing them to shoot or get shot; some 13-year-olds are given allowance while others are given their parents' debt and become indentured for life.

To express disgust that:

Fifty percent of America's marriages end in divorce; the blanket of trash on the grass of College Avenue stuck out just as much as the cops in the videos from the riots; a survey showed more people can name an American Idol judge than the three branches of government; did I mention Natalie Portman's brains and beauty?

To remember that:

While we fight for our right to party, there are others fighting to get out of poverty to get an education; while we start fires to speak against our system of law, there are others who die in fires because they don't have a system of law.

Brenna McNamara is a junior philosophy major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at bmcnamar@kent.edu.

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