Hot button issues need compromise

Being the news junkie that I am, I just couldn’t help but to notice the hot button issue at hand these days: illegal immigration. And being the liberal that I am, I just can’t help but to compare it to the last hot button issue brought up just before the 2004 election: gay marriage.

During the 2004 election, President Bush practically based his campaign on that he in no way condoned gay marriage and would propose a constitutional amendment banning it.

Three years after Bush’s re-election, no such amendment is found in the Constitution, and the gay marriage issue is pretty much the same as before.

Now, in the case of gay marriage, even I have to admit that Bush made a pretty smart move … well, maybe not Bush, but whoever was in charge of his campaign.

The gay marriage issue spurred the evangelical Christians and anyone else vehemently opposed to gay marriage out to vote.

It’s hard to believe that one issue could make people vote a certain way or in that case for a certain party (or vote period).

But that’s what hot button issues do. They play on people’s sentiments, emotions or religious beliefs to fire them up.

Any hot button issue is bad for the country. The fact of the matter is that hot button issues, like gay marriage, illegal immigration and abortion, all remove public attention from much more important issues at hand, e.g., the ongoing war in Iraq, the growing gap between the rich and poor and capturing that terrorist guy … what’s his name?

Oh, yeah, Osama Bin Laden.

More importantly, however, is the fact that these issues have the power to divide us, since many of us are led to believe in the “you’re either with us or you’re against us” mentality.

Our nation was built on compromise. If you don’t believe me, read about the drafting of the Constitution. These hot button issues will not simply be solved with incessant bickering, since I doubt that one side will get all that it wants.

These hot button issues should be handled like any other political issue and be dealt with with compromise.

DIANA I. PEREZ
Junior, Altamirano, Mexico
Pre-Journalism
Telecommunications

Terror lurks on R&B Web site

I just read an article concerning orientation for upcoming freshmen (“Orientation kicks off,” 6/14). I am a parent of a new student, and we have not yet gone to Orientation, but are looking forward to it.

I was a bit disturbed by the comments from a “Zaid” dated 6/14 and 6/15/07. I realize our nation believes in free speech, but this young man (or woman) needs to have a background check.

The comments could turn into something more serious than just the words they are today. His enrollment at the University should be reconsidered. The safety of University students is more important than one freshman’s right to free speech.

We already know what one deranged student can do on a college campus.

JULENE GLASGOW
Dacula