Democracy is not the final solution.

Such words are often regarded as heresy in this, the “Land of the Free.” If you think about it though – really think about it – democracy is little more than the most popular kid in school right now. She certainly has plenty of friends and plenty of enemies.

Here’s the rub. The American form of government – a democratic republic – is simply a form of government. There’s nothing inherently better about it any more than there’s anything inherently better in, say, French over English. It has advantages (such as limited protection against tyrannical rulers) and disadvantages (such as allowing majorities to persecute minorities).

By now you’re probably wondering where this is going. Well, here’s the truth of it – America has been going on a modern-day crusade. America’s crusade is not in the name of Christ, as those in the Middle Ages were. It’s in the name of democracy. However, in the latter half of the 20th century and so far in the 21st century, those countries we have invaded or occupied on the premise of “spreading democracy” have ultimately failed to become democratic.

According to the Hoover Institution, in total there have been 35 attempts by the United States to spread democratic practices through direct intervention since World War II. Of them, only one has resulted in a stable democratic government: Colombia. Yes, Colombia. That’s less than a three percent success rate … and yet American leadership is still very much in favor of attempting to democratize foreign sovereign nations.

Democracy won’t work in Iraq, and we shouldn’t have even tried to institute it there. Going on the basis of Islamic culture and working governments in the surrounding area, it’s fairly obvious that Iraq would best be served by either a monarchy or an oligarchy. Oman has a monarchy and is doing just fine. Iraq cannot simply be thrust into a democratic form of government without some remnant of its previous political structure. Its current status is proof of that. America must stop its crusade – if only for our own sake.

One of the things that surprised me when I came to SDSU was the diversity. I expected a little farm university with nothing more than conservative, Christian farmers’ kids. What I found was a fair bit more, although not quite what I’d like to see.

Politically, there are people here from all across the playing field. Republicans, Democrats, libertarians, anarchists, even a couple fascists. In terms of religion, there’s the same variety – besides the various Christian religions, we’ve got Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, a few Hindu and a good handful of Wiccans. There are many different races and nationalities represented here too.

But you know what? It’s not diverse ENOUGH. The majority of people here are publicly of the white, Christian farm kid variety. There’s nothing WRONG with being a white, Christian farm kid – heck, half of my cousins fit that description. It’d just be nice to see some political groups other than the Big Two on campus. It’d also be good to see more than just Christian churches – I myself am looking into the possibility of starting a Wiccan group on campus.

I just bet that the population here is more diverse than we first appear. We’re just not vocal about it. And so, I encourage everyone reading this to start talking to others about your unique background, hobbies, etc. – let’s make the world come to Brookings and SD State!

Imagine a high school where there are no books. No blackboards. Where all students carry laptops instead of backpacks and have appointments with teachers instead of classes. This is the high school that Microsoft designed and built in West Philadelphia.

The 750-student school isn’t your average school. Sitting on eight acres and completely environmentally-friendly, the building itself is incredibly high-tech. Each classroom has a smart board like those in some of the classrooms at SDSU. Students carry “smart cards” which track their attendance, calorie consumption and let them open their digital lockers.

The cafeteria is a food court with restaurant seating instead of the usual high school mass-feeding corral.

It’s not just the technology that’s different, either. All lessons are customized to the student. Besides the fact that those laptops track individual progress and pace, the lessons are designed to teach students in a whole new way.

Instead of learning geography, students might have a teacher-led discussion about the possibility of avian flu in Philadelphia – and in the process learn geography, a bit of biology and even some history.

Lessons are designed to teach organization, negotiation, planning and other real-world skills; Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates says the point is to produce “smart people,” not just high school graduates.

And really, this is what education should be. Not just memorization through old, outdated technology and methods, but teaching through real-world, practical application of skills and knowledge.

Microsoft is doing a good thing here, and we should be taking note. It’s time for this ‘school of the future’ to become the future.

The Bush administration is a failure, and approximately 65 percent of America realizes this. Yet, it astounds me to find people on SDSU’s campus who still are ardent supporters of the Texan regime. As such, let me offer a few facts for the readers.

Education. Bush has introduced a financial plan to reduce the national deficit. But what he didn’t tell you is that, while military spending remains unchanged in the plan, student loans are being cut by huge margins. Not only does this make it far more expensive to attend college, but it will also reduce the future earning potential of a good majority of the American population as the gap between the educated rich and the uneducated poor grows exponentially.

Disaster relief. During his State of the Union speech, Bush spent 70 percent of his time talking about Iraq and related foreign affairs. He used seven sentences to talk about New Orleans and the arguably more terrible situation there. There are still thousands of people displaced. Even with advanced warning of the flood threat situation, the current administration still took an inordinately large amount of time to acknowledge a state of emergency existed.

Foreign affairs. We all know about the war in Iraq, the war that will never end. That’s not pessimism talking. That’s simple fact. We all know that American lives are being lost in Iraq on what is almost a daily basis. Iraq is a cankerous sore on the side of America that is bleeding away our lives and our dollars. In the global community, America is increasingly seen as an enemy of cooperation. France has always hated or mistrusted us-yes, even during the 18th century. But it’s disturbing to see long-time allies like Britain condemning us for our unilateral actions.

We can’t let this continue. Whether you’re Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Independent, I urge you to vote against those who support the Bush administration in the coming Congressional election.