*Howard Dean and Religion*

Concerning John Lovejoy’s January 9 column, “Dean’s New Piety Poorly Timed and Insincere”: Dean’s philosophy or religion is nothing new or insincere. Although he may rely on basically secular logic, Dean does believe in the existence of God and the message of the Bible. Contrary to what one might believe from listening to America’s right wing, Jesus seems to have spent most of his time healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and casting out the unrighteous. The Bible (of course) never mentions abortion, and personally I doubt it would condemn it if it could have. But I’m not arrogant enough to think I know for certain.

Neither party wants to confront Jesus’ full message head on. Yes, liberals are uncomfortable with his denouncements of homosexuals. Jesus, however, was not only a Prophet but also a revolutionary, who denounced oppression, military force, and empire. I’m not expecting President Bush to start talking about that side of Jesus anytime soon. What makes Bush’s hypocrisy worse is that he claims to be a devout follower of Jesus, where as Dean acknowledges that religion is not the most important element in his philosophy.

Alex Lampros

*Fraternity parties*

A few days ago, I passed a fraternity house which advertised a “White-Trash Party,” encouraging guests to come wearing “mullet” haircuts. Of course, I appreciate this attempt to spread awareness about Appalachian culture and that of poor whites in general, as these are under-represented groups at this university. Nonetheless, I wonder why this ethnic group has been singled out for such treatment. In the future, in order to prove their good faith and commitment to diversity, I challenge U of C fraternities to celebrate “Black-Trash,” “Latino-Trash,” “Indian-Trash,” and all other cultures of the poor and oppressed. Perhaps it would be admissible, even, to celebrate a “Rich, White-Rubbish” party, in which guests wear the letters of their favorite fraternity.

Or, if I have misunderstood the intent of those who organized this event, I hope they will correct my error.

Joseph Grim Feinberg

First-year graduate student in

anthropology