DC021113 by The DC

OPINION

The Daily Campus

MONDAY n FEBRUARY 11, 2013 politics

Quote Worthy

“I’m over the moon about the royal baby. But I really can’t mount an argument in favor of monarchy. Is that treason? Do I have to turn in my passport?” —Kiera Knightly, on Prince William and Kate Middleton’s pregnancy “Just goes to show you — if you let the internet decide, it will always choose cats.” —Jimmy Kimmel, on Monopoly’s decision to use a cat as a game token firing line

Don’t forget our roots As Congress begins to discuss immigration reform, more than ever, it is important to remember that America is a diverse nation. Too often, we homogenize who we are — an Anglo-Saxon nation built on Protestant Christian values. Last week, a list of the most common last names in the U.S. included Garcia and Rodriguez. America is a nation built on change and flexibility; this is what made it — and continues to make it — the melting pot of the world. We have never been a static nation, and policy has never been dictated by traditionalism. It is always our progressivism that has propelled us to economic and social victory. It’s time for hawks in Congress to understand this basic American fact. Courtesy of AP

In this photo released by CBS Broadcasting, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, left, and late night host David Letterman, right, react with laughter during the Governor’s first visit to CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman,” on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013 in New York.

—Rahfin Faruk, Editor in Chief

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Gratitude expressed differently in India abhijit sunil Contributing Writer abhijitsunil@smu.edu As I alighted from the DART bus at SMU and thanked the driver for the ride and wished her a good day, I thought back on how many times I had wished good day to any bus driver back in India and thanked him or her for a ride. It wasn’t a shock for me to realize that I had not done that even once. And I neither was alone nor being aberrant. Like me, I am sure a vast majority of Indians would have realized this as amongst the first things they have had to adapt to on arriving in the U.S.: to be expressive about their gratitude in a direct and open way that is somehow conspicuously absent in many parts of the Indian society. Does this mean that Indians are not as polite or grateful? I definitely do not think so. Though this thought leads me to realize that every community on earth may have their own way of being polite and expressing their gratitude. In the West, of course, spelling out a “thank you” in the spur of the moment is the most polite and correct way. But in India, you would end up hurting the feelings of your loved ones or family if you thanked them in return of favors or what they do for you out of care and love. We Indians definitely do reserve and mince our thank you words quite more than what may be right. This can be partly due to our intrinsic fatalism and the quiet stoicism that characterizes Indian culture, like the way many authors such as A. L. Basham and Amartya Sen point out. But it could partly also be because of a colonial hangover that accentuated the already complex casteist hierarchies. Years of colonial rule where, at its early times, we even had exclusively European restaurants that proclaimed outside its doors

“No Indians and dogs allowed” certainly did not reinforce a climate of thankfulness. Especially among the Indians and their British Masters where, somebody was “higher” or “lower” than someone else in social stature. If the indices for this hierarchy traditionally were simply casts and creeds, the colonists broke it down to economic and political levels. But, as I mentioned, this idea of spelling out thank you is simply relative, just the way manners are. After all, manners and politeness are a function of society and context. Many Indians can be notoriously stoical: but, nonetheless, honest in their feelings of gratitude or appreciation. Here is the U.S., thanking the shop clerk for handing over your receipt or the bus driver for dropping you off at your station is just natural. But in India, some of these very actions would be considered “extra polite.” But yet, I feel that sometimes, just wording out a thank you in whatever language, can just be the simplest and most efficacious way. It is direct, and instantly could make someone’s day. It is indeed the duty of the bus driver to drive you around, but it isn’t a bad idea to occasionally say he did a good job. Whenever I do that here, I stress out my thankfulness a little extra to somehow vicariously make up for the expressions I may have missed out in the past in India. I sometimes even think back on a particularly very kind bus conductor I encountered back in India once who issued me a ticket. She must have been very bold and vulnerable to be working in an environment like that. Unfortunately, I can’t remember if I had thanked her.

Governor Christie’s weight is irrelevant in job performance trevor thrall Opinion Editor tthrall@smu.edu Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey has been getting a lot of flak about his weight. Critics are coming out of the woodwork to comment on the man’s size, and Gov. Christie has been a bit abrasive in his response. All this hype just leads me to one question: so what? The topic of Gov. Christie’s weight became a talking point this week after he was a guest on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” Letterman has been known to make fat jokes about the governor, so naturally Christie joined in on the fun by pulling a donut out of his pocket when Letterman was midsentence. Later, Christie even read some of his favorite jokes that Letterman had previously made at his expense. But does Christie really think his weight is a laughing matter?

Apparently not, because the next day he made sure to inform the public that he is very serious about losing weight. He briefly addressed the need for dieting on “Letterman,” but he must have felt the need to be clear to those who showed concern about his health. He still managed to keep the energy light and positive at this point, but it didn’t take us long to see his breaking point. Christie’s anger surfaced after a former White House physician made an appearance on CNN to discuss her concerns about his performance as president if he decides to run in 2016. She said the stress of the job would not compliment his health issues, and he may just die while in office. Christie’s response being, “she’s just another hack looking for her five minutes.” As silly as Christie’s angry response may seem, I can’t say that I blame him. The doctor’s statements were just a waste of television time. She gave a lot of

generic statements about heart disease, diabetes, blood sugar and cholesterol. Thanks, doc. We didn’t know fat people have health issues. We’re doing a really good job of focusing on an irrelevant matter. If any votes are cast on this basis, I blame the media for honing in on it. I mean, whose idea was it to have a doctor put in her two cents? Her prediction of Christie’s premature death was the weirdest attempt at fear mongering I’ve seen in awhile. The guy hasn’t even said he’s going to run for president. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. All we’re doing to this man is tearing down his self-esteem. Of course he’s going to laugh at himself when he’s constantly the butt of the joke. If he didn’t, he’d look like a little girl. America doesn’t want a self-conscious man leading the country. But we all know he doesn’t think it’s funny. Nobody likes being bullied on physical appearance.

The jokes are probably taking less of a toll than the concern. As we can see, he was not as gracious on this front. If people think they are doing him a service in expressing worry, they are mistaken. It’s emasculating. A grown man does not want to be coddled by the nation he is trying to lead. Chris Christie deserves a fair shot. Does his weight affect his job performance as governor? If not, then move on to the actual questions. Do we like his policies? Is he in touch with American citizens? Is he morally upright? Let it go, America. Ruining Christie’s leadership abilities by crushing his self-esteem will benefit no one. Let’s not forget that William Howard Taft couldn’t even fit in the bathtub.

Thrall is a sophomore majoring in journalism and film.

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Sunil is a graduate student in Lyle School of Engineering.

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