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ccording to tradition, it was known as a hard-party-
ing fraternity. What was unwritten, but expected was that its members would frequently drink liquor, often become loud and unruly, and from time to time find them- selves in pitched disagreements with whomever their ad- versary happened to be.
So wrote reporters and biographers regarding Brett Kavanaugh’s university fraternity life. But you can bet thousands of fraternity and sorority members across America either held their breaths or managed a little smile as they for a moment, compared their college fra- ternity experiences to those of the embarrassed Supreme Court candidate.
But is it not so that college-university fraternal groups have represented the core of our nation’s success? Many of America’s greatest leaders have emerged from the ranks of what is known as Pan Hellenic, Presidents have taken their seats having sat in secret societies, and our na- tion has been none the less affected for it or by it.
However, few are denying that there is a darker side . . . a side seldom talked about, which only gets aired when the tawdriest of situations occur. Such happened at a uni- versity where a young man who was being hazed lost his life because of the severity of it. Another incident oc- curred when a fraternity pledgee succumbed to alcoholic poison after chug-a-lugging too much liquor at one time. But as we stated earlier, it in no way dictates or detracts from the meritorious history of frats and sororities.
So, what can be learned from Kavanaugh’s alleged fra- ternity escapades? With the movie Animal House still fresh on our minds, the film that made actor John Belushi famous for his portrayal of a drunken, an out of control frat-hound, and with – for many of us – too many memo- ries of what “Ralfff” really means (vomiting after a drunken stupor), is it not time that we open closed doors, let in the light of day and for many of us simply say “Yes, rowdyism may at times have been in the mix, but that in itself is not what fraternal spirit was all about.
In other words, the time has come for even secret so- cieties to become transparent if and wherever necessary. Else, the organizations that helped spawn W. E. B. Du Bois, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Alicia Keys, Jada Pinkett Smith, Toni Morrison, and former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall among thousands of others may run the risk of being overshadowed by John Belushi’s character “Blutarsky” and perhaps Kavanaugh’s allega- tions will be what represents a noble and historic tradi- tion . . . the real and true American Fraternal Image.
One Brain Is Good Enough
can't speak for anyone else but, when it comes to some of the new technology being prepared to enter the market, I'm not sure if I'm a fan. This rings especially true for any- thing that involves individuals being required to have their most personal info stored away somewhere inside of a com-
pany's computer database. Last week USA Today ran a story about how car compa- nies are working to equip auto- mobiles with biometric systems that will allow car owners, through fingerprints, facial recognition and eventually retina scans, to be the only ones capable of operating their vehi-
cles.
According to the company
behind the high concept tech, Synaptics, installing cars with this type of programming will make them more secure from hacking than the current fob- based systems.
Ironically, this new tech
also appeals to banks and other lending institutions because cars will also be programmed to shut down once a car payment is missed. What should make everyone skeptical about get- ting behind the wheel of any mode of transportation where the driver's control can be over- ridden is the idea that the same program that can shut a car off could also be capable of taking command of the acceleration and driving the vehicle over a cliff or into a wall.
While the thought of cruis- ing around in something that automatically conforms to your musical taste, desired atmos- pheric conditions and driving style the moment you push a button may sound ideal to some (most likely millennials), to me it comes off as just an- other trap, along with smart phones, smart homes and smart watches, designed to pull people even further into the matrix.
For those who are turned on by the wow factor these types of devices provide, I imagine whatever has to be sac- rificed, anonymity, the ability to travel without being tracked and ownership of identity, is no big deal. But for the rest of us, people who can see where all of this could be headed and who are not looking forward to liv- ing in a world where everything we touch, hear, and use, is somehow tied to the worldwide web, it's an ominous sign that escaping big brother's reach will become even more difficult going forward.
Hopefully, one day soon, the fear that continues to exist about the threat of A.I. and the interneting-of-all-things will be proven to be a product of un- warranted paranoia. Until then, though, it probably wouldn't be a half bad idea to invest in pur- chasing any car model manu- factured before 1980 just to be on the safe side.
That way you'll always know that the only brain making de- cisions about your life will rest solely between your ears.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Company. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbarronice@gmail. com.
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Brett Kavanaugh And The Fraternal Image
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