College Democrats of Madison

Hey guys, check out the College Dems’ column in the Daily Cardinal!

In the United States, an overwhelming majority of Americans identify with both religious and political beliefs. In every major religion of the world, people are called to love one another as themselves. That being the case, why isn’t this fundamental idea inherent in our politics as well?

The idea of loving one another transcends not only religious boundaries, but is also an ethical belief we have heard since childhood—the Golden Rule. Politics should be a tool used to help our neighbors, but I do not see that reflected in contemporary politics.
Social issues like welfare and poverty are crucial to the concept of loving one another. If we are called upon to help our neighbors, why is it such a problem to give to the less fortunate? Many conservatives argue against welfare because of the cost, yet many continue to support the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, where combined costs total nearly a trillion dollars. It is hard to justify supporting these wars when we are not willing to give to our neighbors so they can live better lives. With nearly half of every tax dollar going to the military, our policies just do not seem to follow our faith-based values.

Furthermore, many conservatives threaten a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion based on their religious beliefs to protect the life of the fetus. Whatever your stance is on this issue, please acknowledge that there are many other issues that affect the protection of life. This would include such issues as war, the death penalty and stopping genocide. It is contradictory to vote for a candidate based on his or her abortion stance when he or she also supports war. After the attacks on Sep. 11, President Bush declared it our moral responsibility to rid the world of evil. With the civilian death toll in Iraq reaching close to one million, can we still justify that call to action through our faith values?

Lastly, I would like to touch on the debate concerning health care. One of the biggest problems concerning this issue is our inability to put ourselves in others’ shoes. We are so comfortable in our own situations that we forget that others are struggling to survive, even in our own country. With over 40 million Americans uninsured, we face a terrible crisis. Again, the idea of helping our neighbors is not only a religious idea, but one concerning all of humanity.

It saddens my heart when I see people frivolously spending and indulging themselves with worldly possessions, yet the idea of a national health-care plan is still too “frivolous” for our government. Opponents of health-care reform argue that we can’t afford it. I reject that claim. What we cannot afford is having our own citizens out on the streets because a surgery bill cost them their house.

What we cannot afford are insurance companies denying procedures based on costs, and those decisions resulting in the deaths of patients. That is a real crime. Gandhi said the “earth provides enough for every man’s need but not every man’s greed.” The barrier of selfishness must fall before we can help out our fellow citizens.
The bottom line is that we, as citizens, whether religious or not, need to step up and give to our brothers and sisters. We can use the government as a tool to efficiently help our neighbors in a way we cannot individually. But government will not always be perfect and cannot force us to help each other. We must take the initiative on our own to help our neighbors and promote good in our lives.

If you have ever justified your politics through your faith, then I ask you to consider whether your decisions were for the benefit of others. If we want change in this world, we must embody that change and represent it for others to see. Ultimately, we must love each other as ourselves. Otherwise, the ideals of selfishness and greed will take over and progress will cease.

James Meincke is the communications chair of the College Democrats of Madison. We welcome all feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.

Key to progress lies in the Golden Rule

This bill marks a major step towards LGBT equality. Hopefully this is a sign of more progress to come.

Obama signs hate crimes bill into law

Washington (CNN) — President Obama on Wednesday signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.

The expanded federal hate crimes law was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill that Obama signed at a packed White House ceremony.

The hate crimes measure was named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped and severely beaten in October 1998, and James Byrd Jr., an African-American man dragged to death in Texas the same year.

Shepard’s mother, Judy, was among those at the ceremony that also included Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Attorney General Eric Holder and leading members of Congress and the Pentagon, who were on hand for the appropriations bill signing.

To loud applause, Obama hailed the hate crimes measure in the bill as a step toward change to “help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray.”

He cited the work of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and others “to make this day possible.”

Several religious groups have expressed concern that a hate crimes law could be used to criminalize conservative speech relating to subjects such as abortion or homosexuality. However, Holder has said that any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, not to prosecute speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs.

Former President George W. Bush had threatened to veto a similar measure, but Obama brought a reversal of that policy to the White House.

When the bill won final congressional approval last week, Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese called the hate crimes measure “our nation’s first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”

Earlier this month, Obama told the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest gay rights group, that the nation still needs to make significant changes to ensure equal rights for gays and lesbians.

“Despite the progress we’ve made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open,” he said in an address at the group’s annual dinner. “This fight continues now and I’m here with the simple message: I’m here with you in that fight.”

No matter how much progress is made in the fight for reproductive rights, there are still those who try to take them away.

Two women are challenging an Oklahoma law that will require the state to create a Web site where any woman who has an abortion will have to provide intimate details about her choice — including her relationships, financial situation and even her motivation for seeking the abortion.

This law represents a direct attack on a woman’s right to privacy. It is ultimately a woman’s choice and her right to have an abortion. It is never an easy decision to make, and women should not be forced to relay the details of that decision.

“A friend said it best: It’s like undressing women in public, exposing their most personal issues on the Internet,” said Lora Joyce Davis, one of the plaintiffs working with the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights to fight the law, which goes into effect Nov. 1.

It’s really easy to think in the abstract when discussing healthcare reform, but sometimes I think we all need a little reminder about what we’re working for.  Here’s a story about my best friend, Leslie.

When Leslie was in seventh grade, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.  After her diagnosis, she underwent many procedures and began a regiment of medication to keep the disease in remission.  The medicine was successful, and she was soon able to return to school and all her normal activities.

The real challenges for Leslie and her family were yet to come, however.  Before her illness, Leslie and her family did not have health insurance.  They applied to get insurance shortly thereafter, and because of her preexisting condition, Leslie was denied.  At first things were okay, but soon medical expenses began piling up.  Crohn’s requires a large regiment of pills to be taken daily in order to stay in remission, and even then there is no guarantee it won’t flare up again.  In order to cut costs, Leslie began rationing her medicine, taking it only when she felt ill.  For a disease like Crohn’s this is not helpful at all because the medicine is preventive, and can do very little after the fact.

Today, Leslie lives with the crippling pain that Crohn’s can cause because she and her family can’t afford the expensive medication.  Leslie is just one example of the roughly 45 million Americans who are unable to get appropriate medical treatment because they are victims of our broken health system.  They are who we are fighting for.

Check out the College Dems in the news about our Health Care Week of Action!

In the heat of the national health- care debate, UW-Madison student organizations are beginning to rally students on both sides of the issue.

The College Democrats of Madison kicked off their Health Care Week of Action Monday by screening Michael Moore’s documentary, “Sicko.” They also plan to host a health-care panel and a letter-writing campaign throughout the week.

According to Molly Rivera, College Democrats chair, the purpose of the weeklong event is “educating students on the effects of current health-care system and educating them on the benefits of reform.”

Rivera also said members from College Democrats will be on Library Mall Wednesday and Thursday to encourage students to contact their state legislators.

She said College Democrats chose this week because President Obama is calling on everyone nationally to push congress to pass health-care reform, and College Democrats decided to take a local approach on the issue by involving students on campus.

The UW-Madison College Republicans have not yet planned any specific events, however, they said they intend to plan some interactive events for students now that Associated Students of Madison have delegated funding to campus student organizations.

“It’s been really hard to create a firm stance on health care because it’s constantly changing, that’s why we haven’t made a statement yet,” said Stephen Duerst, College Republicans chair. “[However] we believe the government health-care plan is too far-reaching, it’s big government and it will be ineffective and inefficient.”

Furthermore, Duerst said the health-care reform options posed by the president will not include choice for people. As an organization, the College Republicans do not agree with government telling hospitals and health-care providers what to do and taxing them.

Here is the link:

Health-care debate arises among student orgs

-from The Daily Cardinal

Hey everyone,

First of all, I hope you’re enjoying our Health Care Week of Action so far! We’ve already watched “Sicko” and passed out five hundred fliers informing members of the campus community about how reform will benefit students.  Nice work to everyone who has already taken part in our great events.  If you haven’t gotten involved yet, we’ve still got plenty of things going on the rest of the week– you can check our calendar for more information.

One of the things you can do at any time is write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper showing support for President Obama’s efforts at reform.  An easy way to do this is to go to www.barackobama.com and click on the link that says “Health Care Action Center” and then go to “Write a letter to the editor.”  From there, you can just follow the simple steps presented to send a letter to one or more newspapers in your area.  Here is a sample letter written as part of our official “Letters to the Editor” event for Health Care Week:

To the editor:

As a college student, it is clear that health care reform is a crucial component to future success of our country.  It is incredibly concerning that young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 make up one third of the uninsured population, and nearly two thirds of these people are in that position because they simply cannot afford it, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.  Another 40 percent of young people are already in debt because of health care costs.

These shocking statistics reveal just how important it is that health care reform is implemented this year.  Provisions supported by President Obama, including having access to low-cost health care and being given the option to remain on a family plan until the age of 26, will help guarantee that young people start their adult lives in an economically and physically healthy state.  I sincerely hope that our elected leaders consider the health and financial security of millions of young adults as they vote on health care reform.

Evan Giesemann

Madison, WI

I approached my letter from the perspective of a student; however, you can obviously write yours based on your perspective and experiences.  For more information about the President’s plan and statistics you can use in your letter, you can check out the following websites:

www.whitehouse.gov

www.democrats.org

www.collegedems.com

Thanks for reading, and I hope you all take a few minutes out of your day to contact your local newspapers, email your representatives in Congress, and join in some of the fun events for the College Democrats Health Care Week of Action!