Open forum

As I ponder the approaching millennium, I note several fundamental flaws in Western consciousness. We believe we can continue to consume and pollute at unbridled rates with no threat of ecological or economic disaster, that there is peace in New World Disorder wherein the have-nots living in abject poverty far outnumber their comfortable Euro/American counterparts. Our superstitious faith resides in the very science and technology whose adversarial relationship with creation has created so many of these very crises we face today. Have we no duty to the unborn to strike a path of sustainability, no obligation to consider the dispossessed and voiceless in our deliberations? Will our political system save us if only we elect all the right people?

These are the tenets of a dysfunctional people destined to leave a legacy of misery in their wake as they bring about their own demise. As the Good Book says: "The people perish for lack of vision." We're so programmed to remain within our own backyard or in front of our TV that we are really clueless to the extent of the devastation we are leaving for our descendants. And it is exacerbating in the New World Disorder. It calls for a determined non-violent response, both reactive and proactive. It compels us to question our very lifestyles as a moral issue in a world ever more sharply divided between haves and have-nots.

May we challenge ourselves this dawning millennium to examine alternatives and build citizen alliances with like-minded people. The consequences of living within the bowels of Babylon are monumental. Our know-how has surpassed our know-why. How and where do we begin creating a sustainable world? One place to start is the Brainerd Green Party -- third Wednesday of every month at the library.

Viva

James Cohoes

Brainerd

The following Open Forums were written by Brainerd High School students.

Quit complaining

Complain, complain, complain. I don't want to hear it.

Everybody knows that its cold in Minnesota. If one doesn't like cold weather, then why would they live here?

If a person loves snowboarding, skiing, ice fishing and snowmobiling, then that's a different story.

Minnesota is filled with a lot of snow and cold weather. It should also be filled with people that enjoy these things.

It's also understandable if one still lives with their parents, and are not old enough to make the decision to move on their own yet.

Well, my guess is that when they are old enough, moving across the world, or even across the country, would seem too scary, or too big of a jump for that person. So here they'll sit, 10 years later, dreading the thought of even going outside because they don't want to freeze to death.

A person only lives once right? I think everyone should travel as much as they can, while they can. Live your life to the fullest.

If one has always wanted to live in Florida for instance, try it, what have you got to lose A person can always move back if they don't like it. At least one won't have to spend their whole live wondering if it was for them or not.

One would never know what they like without experiences. So don't complain.

Heather Herbote

Teens bombarded

Today teenagers are bombarded by images of the "perfect body" through out both mass and print media. How can people say that teenagers have it easy these days?

Not only do we have to deal with the fact that to be accepted we must look like the Barbies that we grew up with, but we also have a distorted view of what our perfect partner would be.

If your future spouse does not look like the models and action heroes that we see in movies, then they aren't good enough.

The pressure to look perfect is stifling. If a girl doesn't spend an hour on her hair in the morning, then she can't be pretty. If a guy doesn't work out and build up his muscles, then he cannot be handsome.

How could this happen to us? How could we let the media influence us so much? The today's models look like victims of famine. The action heroes looked as though they are pumped up on steroids. These should not be our views of perfection.

We teenagers need to come to the realization that no one is perfect and we don't need to look like those people that we see in magazines or in the movies. The only way we would be able to achieve that look is through countless plastic surgeries and tons of silicone.

The only way to feel totally comfortable with yourself is to be yourself. Don't strive to be someone you are not.

Danielle Boos