If I could — before the cordial, upbeat back-to-school vibe gives way to the usual eye-poking and head-butting of the Viewpoints section — I would like to say a few things.

This election season is, of course, a very special one. And as we have all seen so far, it has also been especially wacky. Politically active types everywhere have been flinging stones around for months, setting off tension in every direction. With these circumstances in mind — and with our campus being very much politically active — I ask, can we please be sane about this whole election business?

I like to think of us Marquette students as intelligent, articulate, ethical, good-looking and interesting. And that's just being modest. But in terms of our opinions, sanity does not always seem to be our strong suit. Not that any of us are insane, but sometimes our fervency and rigor tend to outweigh the substance or legitimacy of our arguments, particularly in the Viewpoints section.

One of the advantages of writing Viewpoints rather than, say, gathering in a big room and shouting at each other is that we can filter out the knee-jerk oppositions and inconsistencies to which we are all inclined. Unfortunately, as opposing sides, we sometimes argue so far past each other that no one really pays attention. We forget even to establish the subject up for debate and consequently assault each other with details pulled from irrelevant or wholly separate issues. We should take advantage of this section to its fullest, but if we are simply putting our outbursts into written form, we accomplish next to nothing.

I know being politically active, vocal, empowered and all that other jazz is sort of the thing to do for people our age, but I think we have an important challenge in doing so. If, for instance, you think socialized health care is a bunch of lefty, hippie nonsense, I say prove it or else respect your liberal friend's right to disagree. Or you think all guns should be banned and thrown into a giant incinerator? Prove it, or else respect your libertarian friend's right to disagree.

Although we may feel a strong sense of duty to delve into the issues — and nobly so — may we allow ourselves to discuss other subjects than politics. On second thought, allow me to rephrase that: For the love of God, may we please discuss other subjects besides politics during the next two months.

If you find that there is no escaping your way-too-into-politics friends, feel free to call me. We'll talk baseball. And should we happen to stumble across politics instead, we can do so in the promise to be convincing but not preachy, strong but not violent and serious but not humorless. Sure, the election is serious business. At the same time, with the new academic year beginning to build, we will have enough classes, clubs and organizations to burn us out already. Let's try our best not to burn out each other, too.

Bergl is a junior civil engineering major.

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