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opinion
Final
gripes to close it out
What a long, strange trip these last couple of years at the
On-line Forty-Niner have been. Since this could be my last
opportunity to write my own opinion and have it in print,
I decided to write this a little differently.
I have decided to make a list of parting shots; five things
that I believe in strongly that must change for the sake of
not only our society, but for the future people who will inhabit
this space when we are all gone.
1. President Bush: We all remember this man as being the first
president to steal an election. Some of us know this man as
the first illiterate president we have ever had. I will remember
him because he is an embarrassment to the United States who
will eventually leave behind a legacy similar to Ronald Reagan
and his Reaganomics. I hope everyone knows that we are in
a recession and that President Bush is making some bad decisions
locally and globally that will impact our future in ways we
never thought they could. Declaring a 50-year-war has not
exactly made me feel more relaxed either. The best solution
is to not give him four more years and that will all depend
on if the Democrats run somebody with a pulse this time.
2. Globalization: The fundamental idea behind globalization
is that it gives smaller countries a chance to compete economically
with the larger more powerful countries. Unfortunately, globalization
just makes small countries completely dependent on larger
countries such as Japan, the United States and Great Britain.
Not only do small countries depend on larger countries to
buy their goods, they also put themselves in deep debt with
the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund who loan
them the money to help them compete on the world market. This
trend may seem irreversible, but the answer is really simple:
True open trade amongst countries must be established, trade
that is not dependent on the larger countries whims.
3. Abortion Rights: Simply put, a woman's body is a woman's
body and there is never any reason for a man to try to make
a decision whether to let her have an abortion or not. The
common misconception is that some women who have abortions
are promiscuous and irresponsible women who cannot live with
the consequences of casual sex. The truth is that woman from
diverse backgrounds and ethnic make-ups have abortions for
various reasons and they should continue to have this right
despite what any "moral" people have to say.
4. Mexican President Vicente Fox: This will be quick because
I am sure many people do not know who Fox is. For those who
don't, Fox is the Mexican equivalent of his good friend President
Bush. Like Bush, Fox is a businessman who despite being a
refreshing change in Mexico because of his snapping of the
Partido Revolucionario Institutional's stronghold, still runs
his presidency for the benefit of big business. Like Bush,
Fox must also be held accountable for his decisions, especially
when it comes to allowing foreign companies to exploit the
Mexican people for the sake of the almighty dollar.
5. Trends: When are people finally going to learn to like
things for themselves and not because other people do? Prime
examples are those people who love MTV -- which by the way
is the worst television channel in existence. These MTV fans
love any band that appears on MTV, they buy their records,
go to their shows, hoot and holler for them out on the street
and then when their five minutes are up they throw them out
like yesterdays old newspaper because there's somebody new.
This is similar to trends we also see with clothing, television,
restaurants, nightclubs and various personal technological
accessories such as palm pilots and cell phones. I guess it's
not the trends that need to end, but the urge to be trendy
needs to stop. Wouldn't it be better to just be yourself and
be happy liking things because you like them? Who cares what
the rest of the world thinks?
I actually have many more than five things to fit here, but
for the sake of space I will just stop. By the way I would
like to thank anyone who has ever read this column and even
more so the people who felt compelled to write in and share
their opinions with me. The greatest thing about this world
to me is the opportunity to have an open dialogue and listen
to other people's opinions, which is something I hope continues
for all of us for the rest of our lives.
Alex Roman is a journalism major at Cal State Long Beach.
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Alex
Roman
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