• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Bounds is a third-year microbiology and molecular genetics student.

By Kenneth C. Bounds

Many columns that appear in the Viewpoint section are devoid of any real thought or rationale that would indicate the columnist has sufficient knowledge to form his or her opinion.

For many students, The Bruin is a source of news and current events. But the Viewpoint section is quite possibly read more closely than News simply because students feel more in touch with the opinions expressed there. The fact that these uninformed opinions are getting such large exposure is disturbing because of the indubitable influence they have.

Another qualm I have with The Bruin is the selection of news articles. I know it’s not feasible to expand the news section simply because the paper does not have the resources or money. However, I believe a wider variety of articles should be published.

Don’t get me wrong, I am still interested in the work being done in Afghanistan to ensure stability, the fighting between Israelis and Palestinians, and all the latest Enron events. I hope these things aren’t forgotten when the next big story hits. But because these issues are widely covered, other things are forgotten.

For example, what is happening in the former Yugoslavia? I think people are still starving in Somalia, but I don’t know for certain because its not in the news. And what about the fighting between Russia and Chechnya?

This doesn’t only happen in the Daily Bruin. It is the problem with every news source; they are able to tell people what news is. I expect more from a paper put out by one of the greatest universities in one of the greatest and most diverse cities in the world.

I know The Bruin is a liberal paper. The news that the paper reports is about as unbiased as any other large circulation newspaper, possibly because many of the articles come from the Associated Press.

The Viewpoint section is different though. Most of the columnists lean to the left. Some are moderate liberals and some are extreme leftists. The only people on the right are people like Ben Shapiro, whose purpose seems to be making his readers detest both him and conservatism by spewing closed minded, uninformed, stereotypically extreme Republican ideas akin to “the liberal femi-nazi democrats are baby killers” belief.

Please find a more thoughtful, open-minded representative of the right. I would like to read the opinions of people who know what they are talking about and can think for themselves rather than regurgitating ideas that were fed to them by whatever influences they had when they were growing up.

This mindlessness occurs with liberal columnists as well, but at least there are some of them who aren’t sheep and think for themselves. Shapiro and his like are the only conservative representatives on the Viewpoint staff, which is sad.

My viewpoint is that people need to be more open-minded. Get your news and facts from many different sources and think about things before you make an opinion. Try not to be a victim of the endless propaganda that is apparent in all sources of news, from the Daily Bruin, to the New York Times, to the papers in Moscow, Tehran, Israel and Palestine.

And finally, before arguing for your opinion, you should have a considerable amount of knowledge and evidence that backs up its validity. You should also be open to any knowledge or evidence that could possibly change your mind. You would have to be extremely pompous if you refuse to.

Comments

Post a comment