H 81°, L 61° | Tomorrow: 
H 81°, L 62°It’s not true to say dreams die as you get older, although the responsibility accompanying freedom certainly can get in the way. Freedom generally lacks masters, and yet, in achieving freedom, we each become subjected to the will of a new, more powerful master. We must all face this new master for the rest of our lives, subjected to judgment over all our deeds.
And who is this new master? Who lords over the toiling of the newly liberated-yet-enslaved graduates? Corporations? Employers? Government? Academia? No — these masters begin to lose their force and meaning with knowledge, their control merely temporal and physical, at best. This new master is vastly more intimate and powerful. No, it’s not God — it’s that face in the mirror: yourself.
Have my intentions matched my actions? Have I done the best I can? No external force in this world can effectively mete judgment upon these private matters — the self is the sole arbiter of these cases, judging the actions of the individual for the benefit of the soul — not by the letter of any law.
And here we are, seeking external affirmation where none can ever be truly received. Links in a grand chain of common heritage shared by all the children of humanity, as one phase ends, so another begins.
But what lessons have we gained from this journey? What epiphanies can be deciphered from the codex of our collegiate lives? By what standards can we judge both our performance and our progress? Concrete, one-sentence answers to these questions do not truly exist — only vague proverb-esque responses can do the questions any justice, or provide any justice to the soul in search of answers.
Arrogance and self-deception are the hallmarks of the fallen individual, bringing him or her crashing to the ground from even the highest of heights. Hubris is the downfall of man, the scourge of civilizations, the root cause for all of the faults of mankind and the incurable human condition.
And, as one’s freedom increases, so too do the consequences of uncontrolled hubris — if not from external sources, then from judgments of one’s self.
Hubris can affect us all through an observation of ourselves free of self-interest. Addicts refuse to admit themselves to be capable of such weakness of will and say, “Aren’t we better than that?” Debt piles up, but the problem never seems real, and they say, “Aren’t we wiser than that?” Creative individuals claim the absolute superiority of their art over others’ on the whim of their own personal judgment, and they say, “Aren’t we sharper than that?” Professors and journalists adamantly deny the existence of blatant intellectual bias, and they say, “Aren’t we smarter than that?”
The day an individual claims himself or herself to be above hubris is the day he or she succumbs to it.
Judgment of these ills can never come from an external source — they must come from within. Coupled with the joys of increased freedom is the affliction of responsibility to judge ourselves accurately.
To see both the world and ourselves not as we would wish, hope, pray and beg for it to be, but as how it is. To believe not what we want, but what logic and reason decree we must.
These are the lessons learned by the college student. Gaining the ability to craft an efficient computer program, balance an accounting ledger, write a reasoned thesis, paint a self-portrait, perform a masterpiece, design a newspaper page, build a circuit, solve a math problem, argue a contentious position or protest a cause are not the true lessons of a college experience. They are merely some of the skills that one can pick up along the way — data for further digestion.
The knowledge gleaned from the pages of a textbook or the lecturing of a professor is meaningless in comparison to the revelations of this life experience. College is about learning how to live on your own and what that truly entails.
Conversations and relationships with others, nights out on the town, foolish choices and the oft-regrettable consequences that seem to accompany them — these are the sources of the true lessons of college. Lessons about what it costs to be an individual, what it means to be yourself.
It’s not true to say that dreams die as you get older. We simply begin to understand what they really mean.
Zach Stern ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science, soon to study law this coming fall. He would like to thank all of the brothers of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity for teaching him the meaning of friendship and brotherhood, his fellow co-workers and friends at The Badger Herald for welcoming him as one of their own, his parents for sticking by through thick and thin, Professors Donald Downs and Scott Gehlbach, the many readers who have both praised and critiqued his many columns and, most importantly, the city and people of Madison for helping to make the past three years of his life undoubtedly the best.
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Why are you graduating early? Do you think you’re better than all the rest of us???
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Why would he want to spend another $30K to stay? As it says, he’s on his way to law school.
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Well maybe he can just be a lawyer and sue me for asking a question.
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“We will not repeat the mistakes of other generations, appeasing or excusing tyranny, and sacrificing freedom in the vain pursuit of stability,” the president said. “We have learned our lesson; no one’s liberty is expendable. In the long run, our security and true stability depend on the freedom of others.”
While history does not hide the U.S. role in Europe’s division, American presidents have found little reason to discuss it before Bush’s speech.
“Certainly it goes further than any president has gone,” historian Alan Brinkley. “This has been a very common view of the far right for many years — that Yalta was a betrayal of freedom, that Roosevelt betrayed the hopes of generations.”
Bush said the Yalta agreement, also signed by Britain’s Winston Churchill and the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin, followed in the “unjust tradition” of other infamous war pacts that carved up the continent and left millions in oppression. The Yalta accord gave Stalin control of the whole of Eastern Europe, leading to criticism that Roosevelt had delivered millions of people to communist domination.
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It is time to speakup for an old friend I want to call your attention to the plight of an old friend named Social Security. Social Security is 70 years old now and still healthy. But some of our nation's "leaders" say it's time for retirement. Like other wise elders, in our youth-oriented society, Social Security has been portrayed in the media as weak, ill and unable to do the job. But let us look at the facts: * Social Security has done a good job of providing dependable income for seniors widows, orphans, disabled workers and their dependents for 70 years now. All this at an administrative cost unmatched by private insurance companies. And public opinion remains positive about Social Security. * Right now, Social Security is taking in more money than it is paying out, resulting in a surplus. This is strength. * Conservative estimates by the Social Security trusties predict that 100 percent of benefits will continue to be paid until 2042. That is 37 years from now. The Congressional Budget Office estimate is the year 2052 and some say both of these conservative predictions are too low. * After that, Social Security will be able to pay out 75 percent under current rules. And some minor changes—like raising the cap on earnings that are taxed—could keep the system sound indefinitely. Social Security is not in crisis. Dr. Frist of the Senate, also known as the Millionaire's Club, has diagnosed the condition of Social Security as a crisis and probably terminal. The White House has prescribed radical surgery in the form of private retirement accounts as well as means testing to turn it into a welfare program. This will result in reduced payment for workers, but big profits for Wall Street. Other countries that have privatized their social insurance programs in similar ways have had problems. Before submitting Social Security to the risks of unnecessary and irreversible surgery, a second opinion—and perhaps a third—is needed. What is needed is the opinion of the average American, workers who are paying into Social Security and will need to rely on it in the future, including the current recipients. I suspect that will probably include most of the readers of this paper. If you think that Social Security is healthy, my advice is to become a Social Security advocate. Speak up for Social Security before it is too late. Don't be fooled by all the propaganda and scare tactics. Get the facts. Then call or write your senator and representative and tell them—that like most 70-year-olds—Social Security is doing just fine and should be left alone. Glen Swanson Coos Bay, OR
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PICKETERS NEEDED!!!
URGENT!!!
TERRORISTS PLAN TO MEET ON OUR CAMPUS NEXT WEEK!!!
SEE http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1100
Draft Agenda
Friday, June 24 Grainger Hall of Business Administration, University of Wisconsin 975 University Avenue
7:00-8:30PM Beyond Chutzpah: The Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History
Dr. Norman Finkelstein, Professor of Political Theory at DePaul University, and author of Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, will present a keynote address that is free and open to the public.
Saturday, June 25 Grainger Hall of Business Administration, University of Wisconsin 975 University Avenue
8:30-9:30AM Registration and breakfast
9:30-10:15AM Welcome/Ice-Breakers and About the US Campaign
Members of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project will welcome conference participants to Madison and review conference logistics with attendees. Kymberlie Quong Charles, US Campaign Membership Outreach Coordinator, will introduce the US Campaign, its goals, membership criteria, organizing strategy, taskforces, days of action, etc.
10:30AM-12:00PM Skills-Building Workshop Session #1
Workshops will be practical, hands-on, skills-building sessions that will increase the effectiveness of conference attendees' activism. Conference attendees will choose three out of four workshops. For the media and grassroots advocacy workshops, conference attendees will be encouraged to plug into national taskforces facilitated by the US Campaign. Scheduled workshop facilitators are:
Divestment: Mohammed Abed, al-Awda Wisconsin, Mark Evenson & Nancy Turner, Faculty, UW-Platteville, and The Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals Sister City Projects: Jennifer Loewenstein, George Arida, Jim Goronson, Kathy Walsh, Madison-Rafah Sister City Project Grassroots Advocacy: Josh Ruebner, US Campaign Legislative Task Force Media: Rima Mutreja, Palestine Media Watch/US Campaign Media Task Force
12:00PM-1:30PM Lunch & informal caucuses/affinity groups
NOTE: Lunch is not being provided at the conference. Conference attendees will be directed to low-cost food options near campus.
Conference attendees will organize themselves into informal caucuses/affinity groups in order to network and strategize by common interest. Examples could be by religious, ethnic, racial, professional, or geographic identity.
1:30PM-3:00PM Skills-Building Workshop Session #2
3:00PM-3:30PM Break
3:30PM-5:00PM Skills-Building Workshop Session #3
5:00PM-5:30PM Conclusions & Evaluations
Conference organizers will facilitate a discussion on lessons learned from the conference and encourage people and groups to plug into the work of the US Campaign. Conference attendees who are willing to circulate their contact information can do so and will be encouraged to fill out conference evaluation forms before leaving.
The Crossing, 1127 University Ave.
5:30PM-7:30PM Social Hour/Dinner
The conference will move across campus to The Crossing, a campus religious center, for a social hour and Middle Eastern dinner. Both conference attendees and the general public are invited to the dinner, which will cost $10.
7:30PM-9:00PM Rebuilding Homes, Rebuilding Hopes in Gaza
Cindy and Craig Corrie, the parents of Rachel Corrie, a US peace activist who was killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, and Khaled and Samah Nasrallah, family members who lived in the house that Rachel tried to prevent from being demolished when she was killed, will present the story that links their families together. The panelists will be introduced by Joe Carr, a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, who will also peform a spoken word tribute to Rachel Corrie. The panelists will speak about their involvement with the Rebuilding Homes Alliance and there will be a fundraiser for the US Campaign and the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project. The event is free and open to the public.
Sunday, June 26 The Crossing, 1127 University Ave.
9:00AM-9:30 AM Breakfast
9:30-12:00PM Strategizing Session
Conference attendees will group themselves by geography (local, regional, state-wide) in order to strategize and develop a plan of action for their area in an informal setting. Strategizing sessions will be facilitated by conference organizers to encourage the formation of new groups where none exist, to strengthen existing groups, and to create local, regional, and state-wide coalitions that are plugged into the work and organizing strategy of the US Campaign.
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” Social Security is 70 years old now and still healthy”
SS is the biggest Ponzi scam the world has ever seen. Ths collapse of this pyramid scheme is inevitable. The government took all the SS taxes and spent them. There are no assets in the so-called SS trust fund except IOUs from one governemnt agency to another - no cash, no stocks, no real estate, nothing but government bonds which are not real assets.
Bonds that you issue to yourself can’t be be considered assets. Any insurance company that spent your premiums on operating expenses and tried to use it’s own bonds as assets would end up indicted for fraud.
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The reality is that the chickenhawk meme can be effectively demolished by simply changing the word “soldier” to “law enforcement officer” or “firefighter”.
If all you wannabe cop lefties support law enforcement in your communites so much, how come you don’t all become cops, huh? Yeah, and what about firefighting? How come you don’t pick up a hose and put out some fires, too? That’s what I thought, hypocrite cowards. Always asking someone else to risk their own lives for you!
Well, of course this is sheer idiocy. No one would ever take this position.
The fact that this rubbish has been mindlessly repeated for months by the far left is evidence of the utter lack of critical thinking on their side. Aren’t moderate Democrats embarrassed by this nonsense? Does anyone over there bother to think for themselves anymore?