| February 5, 1999 |
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Calvin College Chimes
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Letters Chimes article receives praise and criticism I would first of all like to thank John Vander Meer for his fine introduction and able moderation of Michael Becshloss’ January Series speech this past Tuesday. I did however notice an error in his article on the speech in the January 22nd issue of the Chimes. Vander Meer mistakenly refers to President Clinton’s last (emphasis mine) State of the Union speech which was occuring later that same day. Either Mr. Vander Meer is not aware that President Clinton will give a State of the Union speech in January of 2000 and the next president will not be elected until November of 2000, or is he assuming that President Clinton will indeed be convicted in the current Senate trial and be removed from office. If Mr. Vander Meer assumed the latter, he should have said that President Clinton was set to make what could have been his last State of the Union speech that night. If the former, it is simply a mistake. The petty criticism notwithstanding, I wish to thank Sarah Potter, John Vander Meer, et al. for what has thus far been a good year of Chimes. Speaking as a former Chimes-er myself (1991-1995), they have resuscitated what for two years had been dying journalistic enterprise. Thank you and keep up the good work.
Dismissal of Schmidt's speech questioned While I feel that Luke Pals is right to defend the worth and autonomy of films as a medium of art and honesty, to do so at the expense of Gary Schmidt seems to me completely uncalled for. Schmidt, in his January Series lecture, was not making an evaluative judgment about the comparative worth of film and literature, but engaging the image of sitting too close to the movie screen as a metaphor for that kind of near-sightedness (for which the film industry is not necessarily responsible) which literature works to cure. To misconstrue his point and dismiss the remainder of his talk simply because of such a comment seems to me an additional example of someone having chosen to sit too close to the screen only to find himself unable to discern what we call the big picture.
Classes on holidays are not unusual Last time I checked, I had class on Columbus Day. In fact, I think I even had class on Washington's birthday (celebrated on Presidents’ Day.) Now please do not get me wrong; I admit there are racial issues that exist on this campus which need to be confronted. But to say, "It sickens us to think that reasons this day passes by the Calvin community unacknowledged are related to race issues" in reference to the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is way off base. I believe it is inappropriate to make such an accusation.
Reinforcement of the status quo rejected Steven Landsburg’s speech on January 27 was less than challenging for his audience, most of whom were middle and upper class white Americans. Landsburg’s speech was a startling example of the apathy within our own Christian, American community and our all too frequent inability to address pressing issues, even economic issues, outside of our own circle of experience. His speech seemed merely a weak justification, fraught with rhetorical and philosophical language, of our wealthy lives in the midst of a world stricken with poverty. His speech was one that we would all like to believe because it assures us that our wealth and income is our own business and even our own dignity. Where is the justice, the repentance, and the righteousness in all of this? Where is God’s command for us to leave the edges of our fields unharvested so that the poor may be provided for? I would challenge Steven Landsburg, and all of us within the Christian community, to examine God’s emphasis in Scripture on justice for the poor. The January Series is to be commended for bringing phenomenal speakers to our campus. My hope for the January Series is that in future years we might hear more often from those outside of our community who can challenge us to become better Christians. We need to hear from people who have experienced poverty. As Christians, we should use the January Series as a tool to challenge and change us rather than to reinforce the status quo.
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- Michael Bogart, '95