Opinion
Lessons gathered while in Madison
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Also by Rob Deters:
- SUVs and Earth Day do not mix (April 24, 2003)
- Reflections on 'real world' (April 27, 2005)
- Lessons gathered while in Madison (May 5, 2005)
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Another victory was handed to the Wisconsin Innocence Project last week. Leaving law school and moving out into the legal profession, I have to say I had no greater honor than working for Keith Findley and John Pray at the Wisconsin Innocence Project. They continue to show the residents of Wisconsin that justice does not come easily, and the best system is one that is watched closely.
I can’t easily articulate how important to me the pursuit of justice is, even when I’m not sure about the innocence of the person I might be representing. In my view, it isn’t about the guilt or innocence of the person involved. It’s about the process conforming to the standards of fairness we decide. It’s about playing by the rules and giving everybody the same set of standards. The second you cut corners for a person you know in your heart of hearts is guilty, you contaminate the entire justice system.
What drives me crazy about many conservatives in our country is their willingness to shortcut the justice system in favor of what they feel is the expedient solution. That’s the whole point behind the “sneak-and-peek” warrants authorized by the Patriot Act that made right-thinking people rather paranoid. It was decided that when it came to terrorists, cutting corners on the Constitution was acceptable.
It isn’t. No matter what sort of “war” America is in right now, abusing the Constitution isn’t worth the victory. When I mentioned last week that our generation’s vigilance is what it takes to keep America from sliding backward, this is what I was talking about.
Whether it’s the insistence intelligent design is a rational or acceptable form of science (it’s not), or that terrorists and detainees don’t need rights under the Geneva Convention (they do), or that big business should be unfettered from those pesky safety and environmental regulations (they shouldn’t), keep your eyes peeled for anyone insisting oversight is unnecessary.
Our country went through years of unfettered capitalism and justice. It was not pretty. Lynchings, poisoned meat, a corrupt justice system and an oligarchy of wealth are not what America is about. We are about opportunity, a level playing field and freedom — just about everything many conservatives are actively working against in this country.
When Tom DeLay calls the currently toothless EPA the Gestapo, you realize we’ve reached some strange twilight zone of demagoguery. There is no way to win an argument with a side that refuses to be rational, and, as philosopher and scientist Richard Dawkins points out, there is absolutely nothing rational about the current crop of conservatives running our country.
I’m not sure after two-and-a-half years of writing this column that I’ve ever convinced someone who desperately disagrees with me that I’m right. How or why would my mere words shake the foundations of someone’s tightly held beliefs? If God tells you homosexuality is wrong, being rich is a right and inferior people (read: anyone who isn’t just like you) are worthy of contempt, who am I — opinion writer for a college rag — to state otherwise?
Well, I’m someone who thinks I have to try to make a difference — otherwise, my existence is rather meaningless. I write for the paper for this reason. I register people to vote for this reason. I want people involved as much as possible for this reason. And I’m going to be a lawyer for this reason.
I want you to care, and, if possible, agree with me. If not, then listen. If I’m totally full of it, walk away.
In the end, the best we can all hope for is a country of people who think for themselves. I’m utterly convinced the liberal movement in this country will reign supreme. It is preferable over any other such organization I can imagine.
Anyone in favor of prejudice, repression, fear and war has, as far as I’m concerned, a hate-filled heart. Those people will eventually be outnumbered by people who think carefully about their choices and actions. These people will care about the environment, care about parity between the sexes, races, religions, creeds, orientations and viewpoints.
Intolerance is a disease I hope to see eradicated by the American dream.
It’s a pie-in-the-sky world I believe in, and one I’m willing to fight for.
This education is the biggest weapon in your arsenal. Don’t be afraid to use it.
I’ve been here for just shy of a decade, and it’s been a beautiful ride.
Take care, Madison.
Rob Deters (rvdeters@wisc.edu) is a third-year law student.
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"In the end, the best we can all hope for is a country of people who think for themselves. I'm utterly convinced the liberal movement in this country will reign supreme. It is preferable over any other such organization I can imagine."
LOL @ DETER ... ALL EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY. STAY AWAY FROM MINNEAPOLIS - WE DON'T NEED YOUR CROCKERY HERE.
Rob, keep fighting the good fight!
"LOL @ DETER ... ALL EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY. STAY AWAY FROM MINNEAPOLIS - WE DON'T NEED YOUR CROCKERY HERE."
Rob, ignore him. You are hot-looking and you're welcome in Minneapolis any time. rrrrrowlll!
good riddance, jerk-off.
Rob you're the best! Actually thinking aboiut issues and being moderate, using logic and facts rathe than propaganda and opinion. Ignore the College republicans on here. I might not always agree with you but you are great. Good Luck.
Thanks for all the great columns! Best of luck to you! I'll miss lusting over your hottie picture though. Rarrrr!
"Actually thinking aboiut issues and being moderate..."
if rob is being moderate, than rush limbaugh is being moderate on the air everyday
Rob is moderate. He isn't a communist, nor a socialist, nor evena Greed. He makes mainstream moderate arguments tempered with reasons. If yor thinking is on the far right wing of politics then DEters will seem liberal to you,but that is just as much ignoring facts as your political philosophy so what do I exepct?
Moderate means in the middle. He is on the liberal side of moderate but his opinion are within the realm of moderacy as opposed to someone like say Ver Standig or Baumgardner or Dols. Those guys are extremists.
lol @ Rarrrrrr
Yeah Rob! I'll miss you speaking truth to ignorance! Go get em buddy! Sit those conservative fascists the hell down!
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.