Page Two, The E-ttZto'p, December 10, 1976
•Editorial'
A Time for
Awakening
Most people's everyday view of life Is clouded by worries
over ordinary problems, so much so that few are able to
really comprehend the joys of just being alive. It is easy
to see why Thoreau says that "The mass of men lead lives of
quiet desperation." They are usually caught between the dil-
emas of one day and the next, seemingly unable to escape the
endless cycle of their lives. It usually takes spectacular
events to jar them from their complacency, to wake them up,
if only for a season,to the wonder of the world around them.
Often Christmas is viewed as such an occasion. The mundane
problems are dispelled by the festive spirit of the time.
And people even sometimes pause (between shopping trips) to
consider what they are really celebrating. Unfortunately,
though, Christmas is only one day out of the year, and after
the last gifts are exchanged and the hoopla over the new
year subsides, people usually settle back once again into
their own "lives of quiet desperation".
But it need not be that way. The idea of being continually
awakened to the world around you need not die with the last
candle of the holiday season. Granted, the problems of
everyday life must inevitably occupy our minds; and we
should never be lulled (as so many people are) into a false
sense of euphoria about our problems or the world's. Being
awake, however, involves a healthy balance between awareness
and optimism, between the memory and the hope of Christmas.
The hope of Christmas seems more alive this year than it
has been in a long time. "Peace on earth, good will toward
men" is much more than just a hollow phrase to be quoted in
Christmas programs. One of the reasons this is true is be-^
cause of a change in national leadership. Surely, the quiet
confidence about the nation's future exhibited by President-
Elect Jimmy Carter will spread among the people in the com
ing year, not only through rhetoric but through concrete
actions.But the feeling of optimism has to go beyond changes
in national politics. The academic and personal problems
that fill our minds,especially at this time of the semester,
still demand solution, but they must be seen in the greater
context of our college experience and they must be treas
ured for the possibilities they hold. The Christmas v/ish of
the Hilltop editorial staff, then, is clear: may both the
memory and the hope of that first Christmas be yours...
as you are continually awakened to the world around you.
Billtop
Co-editor; Rex Best
Co-editor: Jonathan Riddle
Assistant Editor: Julia Storm
Advisor: John Campbell
Contributors:
Cheryl Aldridge, Joy Bridges, Margaret
Doutt, Kirk Hall, Martha Kimsey, Marc
Mullinax, Pat Verhulst
Staff:
I
Debbie Clary, Trudie Goodrich, Beverly Hollar,
Pat Huckabee, Ninette Humber (Copy Editor),
Gus Jenkins, Scotty Miller (Sports Editor),
Debbie Queen, Janls Taylor
J
'Hey, mister! When does Christmas Season start?'
Viewpoint
ChristianTeaching
Dear Editors,
It has now been nine years
since there was an execution
in this country.With the high
crime rate, it will almost
surely be threatening . many
death row prisoners.! believe
the wishes of Gary Gilmore
and Robert White to be exe
cuted should be followed
through with. But, I also
feel that it is sad that so
many "quick to judge" people
seize this as an opportunity
to try to get rid of the rest
of the death row inmates. It
is now time for the American
people to consider this seri
ous issue which threatens
over four hundred lives.
Deference to crime and bib
lical teachings are heard all
too often as reasons for cap
ital punishment. As for it
being a deferent to crime,the
Supreme Court has said that
the results
were inconclusive. And
of such stud^'
yet'
are those that want
hundred
there
have several ^ , ,
executed on the basis of
conclusive studies. And/ j
— •
the ones which want cap^ t
punishment on the basis^^^
("An
I s
imp'
M
biblical teachings,
for an eye," etc.)
say that they have not
reading the New Testameb
Try reading the eighth of
ter of John.
attitude should be on®
forgiveness and rehabil^ ,
tion. Surely in this
of peace and good
ought to be able to txvcv
thoughts away from
back at society's misfit^^^^
wil^ ,
0^
rehabilitation
all of them.
and help
Sincerely it
Kirk
to
As Christians,! believe /
% thi.
iC^nk
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msi
'9an