Myth Number One: “It's stu-pid for the Gadfly to name itself after some annoying bug.” Are you calling Socrates stupid? St. Justin Martyr called Socrates the “first Christian martyr.” Socrates' “gadfly” analogy comes from Plato's Apology, which Dr. Har-old says is one of those few books every human being should read before they die. In the Apol-ogy, Socrates is on trail before the Athenians, whom he made uncomfortable by prodding them about their lukewarm and unex-amined lifestyle. He called him-self the “gadfly,” biting the sleep-

The Gadfly is perhaps the most misunderstood of all God's creatures. All he wants to do is bite the sleeping horse. All the sleeping horse wants to do is squash the Gadfly. No one knows what to make of the Gadfly. Some say it's too silly. Others say it's too serious. Some say it's filled with nothing but irresponsi-ble and crazy opinions. Others say its far too philosophical or pro-establishment – to quote one reader, too “puffed up and Troub-like”! So in this article, I would like to “bust” some myths one by one.

The GGGGadfly

ing horse of the city of Athens, and said that if they killed him they would not find another to do what he had done for them. Soc-rates had to take the hemlock, but today, the Gadfly carries on his tradition at FUS. Myth Number Two: “The Gadfly is made up of a bunch of crazy people who do nothing but vent ridiculous and radical opin-ions.” False! The Gadfly staff is essentially made up of a few grad students, a couple English ma-jors, and a pre-the. They are all very responsible people – the

Continued on page 4

Myth-Busting the Gadfly

Out of the tensions of the

Cold War between Capitalism

and Communism, the United

States Vs. the U.S.S.R., was

born a “Third Way.” This

Third Way was a recognition

of the dangers of both Capi-

talism and Communism and

attempted to blend the two

together. The Roman Catho-

lic Church responded to the

abuses of the West and the

East by encouraging this in

what became the Catholic

Worker Movement popular-

ized by the likes of Dorthy

Day and Peter Maurin. The an-

swer, as the Church saw it, lied

in a Third Way. This Third Way

is original “Socialism,” which is

not nearly half of what modern

Americans claim it to be. This

Socialism, rightly understood, is

a middle way, a cooperative

combination of both Capitalism

and Communism.

Third Way Socialism, through

its opposition of pure Capitalism

and Communism avoids the dan-

gerous extremes of both. Early

twentieth century French phi-

losopher Emmanuel Mounier

(1905-1950) understood, So-

cialism as, “The abolition of

the proletarian condition; the

supersession of the anarchic

economy of profit by an econ-

omy directed to the fulfillment

of the totality of personal

needs; the socialization, with-

out state monopoly, of those

sectors of industry which oth-

erwise foster economic chaos;

the development of co-

operative life; the rehabilita-

tion of labour; the promotion,

in rejection of all paternalist Continued on page 6

“To persuade and reproach” “To persuade and reproach” “To persuade and reproach” “To persuade and reproach” - Socrates, The Apology

Vol. XI, Iss. V

November 3, 2009

The Third Way

St. Clare, pray for us! Page 2

House gases. Is this greenhouse

effect really convincing enough for

America to change its energy pol-

icy? Immigration! Should we

have open borders and people

who can swamp our social ser-

vices? And don’t even get me

started on our country’s monetary

policy. I am truly humbled by how

much debt is on our books. Who

will take our money when it may

be worth almost nothing? Wake

up people…our future is being de-

cided: NOW!

Enjoy!

The times they are a chang-

ing. Get involved because Amer-

ica as we know is facing incredi-

ble challenges that will affect us…

yes, us, the people who will be

living here and trying to raise chil-

dren with strong families in what

should be a strong America. Pay

attention to this National Health

care debate. Form an opin-

ion. Because if you don’t it will

just happen to you and it will

probably be very expensive or…

dare I say it? Life threaten-

ing ? The same thing for Green

Staff:

Fasting. Going to an extra Mass. Praying (yet another) Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet. Praying outside abortion clinics. Going to D.C. in the rain and cold to march against abortion. Sound familiar? As a student on this campus, I’m aware of the atti-tudes towards the pro-life fight and just between you and me I’m a big proponent of this movement. In my sociology class the other week the topic of abortion came up, as does just about anything else under the sun, and my fel-low sociologists-to-be brought up a good point: is pro-life lim-ited to simply fighting abortion? It seems that while we on cam-pus are doing an excellent job remembering the unborn and

fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves, we seem to have placed those who made it out alive on the back burner. Granted, abortion is an ex-ceptionally important issue, and I cannot push for a pro-life na-tion hard enough, but there are other issues that are just as tragic as abortion. I can’t help but begin to notice and feel that while we know there are other issues, we don’t quite realize it. Pro-life entails protecting life, or as John Paul II said in Evan-gelium Vitae, “the sacred value of human life from its very be-ginning until its end.” He does-n’t say as soon as they are born we can simply dismiss them and move on. We are called to pro

Continued on page 5

Michael J. Ruszala (M.R.) Amanda LaMuro (A.L.) Tony Leccecce (T.L.)

Emilyn Haremza (E.H.) Daniel Romeyn Davis (D.D.) Maria Cecilia Rocha (M.C.R.)

Copy Editor

Caitlin Garrett (C.G.)

Layout Editor: Rosalie Doudna (R.D.)

Business Manager:

Charles Pobee-Mensah (C.P.M.)

Editor in Chief: Gillian LaMuro (G.L.)

** Please note that the views held in the individual articles do not necessarily express the views

of the whole staff. **

~Mission Statement~ The Gadfly is an attempt to “bite the sleeping horse” in the spirit

of Socrates. It is a student publi-cation whose purpose is to facili-tate discussion concerning cam-pus and cultural issues as they

pertain to students of Franciscan University. It aims to be a forum for open, well-thought out, and honest discussion towards the

end of knowing and loving truth in its most robust sense.

Dr. John White Advisor Extraordinaire

Advisor:

Interested in joining our staff? Email us at

notestothegadfly@gmail.com

Noble Patrons of this Fine Establish-

Pro-Life or Pro-Embryo?

St. Martha, pray for us! Page 3

Professor Quotes

of the Week:

When I think

shoes, I think

stilettos.

- Dr. Sunyoger

Since high school, party politics

has always been a hidden interest

of mine. Having gone to a very lib-

eral high school, I always felt lucky

to have some background in the

ways of the extreme Left. Oddi-

ties, such as learning the Soviet

National Anthem, were among

things that many of my peers

would do, just to for the heck of it.

So, coming to Franciscan was a

complete 180 (or π) from what I

was used to. PRO-LIFE I had never

considered my self a Democrat. I

felt that my high school back-

ground and my Catholic faith had

always pointed me to the political

category of Independent. There

was, however, one thing I knew

for sure: I could never, ever, call

my self a Republican. The word,

"Republican," would make my

stomach turn. I knew party politics

was wrong and I felt that the Re-

publican Party lived up to the

phrase, “Dance with the one’s

who brung ya’” more then any

other party. I saw it as the party of

old white men who drank scotch

and made decisions based on dol-

lar signs rather than on a sound

political philosophy. As of matter

of fact, I had always thought their

“philosophy” was absurd. Growing

up in California I saw the need for

high taxes, hand outs for the poor,

gun control, extreme environ-

mental laws, and immigration am-

nesty as necessary artifacts of life.

I recall being very frustrated when

I would hear people on campus

equate the Catholic faith and the

Republican Party as being one of

the same. I saw these people as

ignorant and unable to see past

the self-interest that came as a

product of their ignorance. Many

things made me look down upon

my peers, such as seeing people

dressing up in camouflage, talking

about guns, using the word

"illegal" in reference to all Hispan-

ics, and using the word “socialist”

to attack any idea they weren’t in

agreement with. Then one day things changed.

Barack Obama became president

and I desperately didn’t want that.

During the 2008 elections, I re-

ceived a lot of heat from my peers

about my decision to vote in Cali-

fornia. PRO-LIFE I was told that my

vote here in Ohio was "worth

more" because of its swing state

status; this was something that

infuriated me. I felt I had an obli-

gation to vote at home because

that is my home. PRO-LIFE I also

felt that I had to vote for the per-

son whom I felt would do the best

job. My decision was to write in a

candidate. So, for the 2008 presi-

dential election I wrote in the

name of Larry Koether, the father

of Jacob Koether. Later that year, I started to experi-

ence several things that I had

never experienced before: the

first was sweet tea, then visiting

the south, followed by shooting an

array of guns, buying cowboy

boots, and finally spending a large

amount of time away from Califor-

nia. At this point, I knew my politi-

cal view had changed. I realized I

Continued on page 6

My Conversion to Becoming a Republican Like what you

read? Frustrated? Email us your responses:

NOTESTO

THEGADFLY

@GMAIL.COM

St. Radegunde, pray for us! Page 4

We find ourselves in a unique laboratory here at Franciscan University—a microcosm and magnification of the Christian

confrontation with secular culture

Continued from page 1

type responsible enough to actu-ally devote the time and energy to regularly write articles about campus issues without even be-ing paid to do so. Three are in FUSA, one is an RA, another works three jobs while going to school. The Gadfly staff are very active in campus life, are com-mitted to the faith, and bring some experience with them to talk about. Myth Number Three: “The Gadfly isn't worth the paper it's printed on.” Well, first of all I want to establish the value of the paper the Gadfly is printed on. Unlike some publications, the Gadfly is printed in an easy to read and portable format – you can just grab a copy, and slip it into your folder, and go. Quality paper is used in the printing of the Gadfly – no scraps! Secondly, professors and faculty seem to think the content in the Gadfly is also worthwhile. Next time you go see your professor for advis-ing, you'll be likely to see a copy of the Gadfly sitting on their desk. In fact, a number of profes-sors have commented positively on various Gadfly articles, friars have positively quoted them in

homilies and ministry, and RA's and RD's have used them in Res Life programs. In fact, at least one professor even used an article as material in class. If you break down tuition, classes are about $25 each – so clearly Gadfly arti-cles can be worth a lot more than the paper they're written on! Myth Number Four: “There have been some silly articles in the Gadfly, so all Gadfly articles are therefore outlandish and not worth your while.” Oh! Oh! Logical fallacy of over-generalization! That's why the Gadfly is here to bite! Look, the Gadfly is one of the few venues available for real campus discus-sion on whatever you want to talk about. It's not overly restrictive or specialized. It's a place for the insights of the classroom to meet and enlighten campus life. That's what it means for me – the Gad-fly makes me think and apply what I study and experience to real life and real readers. In fact, I see my articles as an organic whole aimed at growing into a more fully adequate Catholic worldview. Myth Number Five: “The Gadfly is nothing but baseless and whiny opinions.” Actually

many writers base their analysis on Catholic principles or at least common experience. There are definitely some people on staff with philosophy background, and they know that simply venting opinions doesn't get you very far. My own articles have largely been an application of principles from St. Thomas, Pope Benedict, and the teachings of Vatican II. C.P.M. likewise roots much of his argument in Christian sources. “Ask Emmie”... well, Emmie doesn't need sources be-cause she's Emmie! But don't be prejudiced – actually read the Gadfly. Several years ago, yours truly used to belong to a Face-book group called “Students con-cerned about the Gadfly,” until realizing that the Gadfly is made up of people who can and do change and grow. I joined the Gadfly just over a year ago and it's been great. Maybe you should look into it too. In conclusion, don't be led astray by the mass of unreflected public opinion. Read the Gadfly for yourself! ~M.J.R.

The Classics?!

“Seeming not won, yet won she was at length

In such wars women use but half their strength.”

Sestiad II, Hero and Leander, Christopher Marlowe

St. John, pray for us! Page 5

Continued form page 2

tect life; age, race, location, occupation, political prefer-ences or hair color don’t free us from this! So yes to getting rid of abortion, but remember to say yes to the homeless, the elderly, those in prison and the poor. Another aspect of pro-life that some do not fully recog-nize is what we take in. I re-member growing up my mother curbing what I listened to and watched, saying repeat-edly “you are what you take in”. Well, being the wise 11-year-old I was, I did as I was told, but kinda shrugged it off, thinking it was just a mom-thing. However, when I hit junior high and went to a dance, I was disgusted to the music I was hearing: what’s this with a window? and they did what with a wall? Needless to say, I was and am not a pro-ponent of rap music. How can something that is degrading to women be pro-life? Imagine my surprise when I heard it at the first formal I attended here. We have to be careful what we take in ladies and gents: the

broadest sense and that my friend isn’t a burden; it’s a beautiful gift. This doesn’t mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that I want us all to become Puri-tans! It is impossible or at least very hard to try and defend life on all sides in big ways, so I urge you to find your calling to a special area; for some its praying outside the abortion clinic; for some its collecting coats for the homeless in Steu-benville; for others still its vis-iting those who have no one else. Remember: “We can do no great things, only small things with great love” says Mother Teresa. Pursue your calling, but just remember that even the smallest things con-tribute to the pro-life move-ment. This means not forget-ting those outside the womb as well as inside.

- C.G.

music we listen to, the movies we watch, the way we dress-they all affect our image as Christians. These things begin to seep in to our heads and we begin accepting them as norms. Remember, John Paul II says it in EV “whatever vio-lates the integrity of the human person…” is opposed to life. I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine discuss-ing the government’s role in this ordeal. He’s an advocate of the Church dealing with these social issues rather than the government getting in-volved. Despite my socialist tendencies, I am going to agree with him on this one (although it’d be great if there was a law against abortion and euthana-sia). The Church is responsible for the homeless, the poor, the elderly and dying, and those in prison and not the govern-ment? Well if you agree, then great!! And you know what is even better-the fact that you are the Church and no, I don’t mean the physical building where Fr. Dan says Mass. We are called to be pro-life in the

Pop Culture Seminar Quote:

Dr. Edward Morbius: “Guilty! Guilty! My evil self

is at that door, and I have no power to stop it!”

- Forbidden Planet (1956)

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us! Page 6

also be evil, or at least gravely

mistaken. I do not claim to

know the “right” answer to the

divide between Capitalism and

Communism; however, I always

value an open mind. After

looking into this issue you, the

reader, may remain a firm Capi-

talist or Communist - that’s fine,

that’s your free opinion. How-

ever, I ask you to consider the

effects of both Capitalism and

Communism, and after that, to

look into what we call this Third

Way.

-

Continued form page 1

compromises, of the worker to

full personality; the priority of

labour over capital; the aboli-

tion of class distinctions

founded upon the division of

labour or of wealth; (and) the

priority of personal responsibil-

ity over the anonymous

organization.” (Personalism -

1950, Pg. 104). When one

looks at this description of So-

cialism, he sees that it is not the

“redistribution of wealth,” nor

the dominance of state industry

that Americans, fear so

much. Rather, as Mounier

rightly understood, this Social-

ism is the blending of Capital-

ism and Communism in order

to achieve a just worker-

oriented economic system.

I understand that Americans

are engrained, by birth, with

this rigid fear and hatred of al-

leged “Socialism.” However,

this automatic rejection, I be-

lieve, is no more than an injus-

tice to true academic honesty

and integrity. There is no

movement closer to, or more

influenced by Catholic Social

Teaching, than this Third Way

Socialism. In America we are

far too often told that Socialism

is the same as Communism and

as such is evil. This American

“enlightenment” leads us to a

full-bodied embracing of “Free

market Capitalism.” However,

as even a basic insight displays,

Capitalism cannot work without

two things: 1) the exploitation

of the worker, and 2) a stiff reli-

ance on man’s greed. Both of

these side affects, or values, of

Capitalism must be understood

as undeniable evils. Following,

any such economic system built

upon these pillars must itself

so fired up that I wanted to burn

tires and let the smoke rise to our

Republican leaders. I wanted to go

up the poor people and say, “I

can’t believe my tax dollars are

going to you! Ladle your own

damn soup and get a job!” Becom-

ing a Republican was so liberating,

I knew that I could defend LIFE

and have a right over the land God

gave us. Thank you George W.

Bush, I now drive a Ford.

-Jacob Mendoza

Continued from page 3

agreed more with the Republican

Party than I did with the Democ-

rats. PRO-LIFE I realized I liked

rednecks. However, I didn’t have

the nerve to admit to my self that

I was conservative because that

word still left a bad taste in my

mouth. Then, one day I was set

free. I was given the gift of true

liberation; I was able to profess

myself as a Republican. It occurred

on household retreat. My broth-

ers told me how the states they

were from didn’t have firework

laws, how everyone spoke English,

and how poor people were en-

couraged to find jobs. It got some-

thing in me going. The next morn-

ing, as we were cleaning up, I

picked up a pile of trash, threw it

out into the woods, and yelled,

“Republican!" At that point I got

all fired up and started littering all

over the place, taking my rightful

place as user of the land. On the

drive home I would shift into neu-

tral, push the accelerator, and

yell, “Republican!” I knew the

more gas I burned, the more the

oil companies profits would in-

crease. The adrenaline in me was

Coming soon: Coming soon: Coming soon: Coming soon:

A debate between the Editor of the Gadfly and Sterling White,

“Humorist” for the Troubadour.

Only the Brave Will Survive!

St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us!

Jesus Christ. Most people how-ever, find it very difficult to find a balance between their spiritual life, and the rest of their life. Peo-ple who seem to have an over-exaggerated spiritual life are usu-ally using the spiritual side of their life to fill a void they have in the rest of it, and this isn’t healthy. So I would tread very carefully with this girl, there’s obviously more going on than you think. It’s really important to be supportive of other people’s be-liefs, but if it makes you uncom-fortable and is effecting the rela-tionship, there’s obviously a prob-lem here. But don’t take it person-ally, I’m sure she really does care about you. You’re going to have to talk with her about how you feel but be sure to remain very sensitive to her feelings. It sounds like her problem isn’t with you, but with herself. Emmie Is your love life suffering? Do you have questions about romance that stumps even your most savvy and experienced friends? Then, please, for your own good, con-tact Emmie at

eharemza001@student.franciscan.edu

Dear Emmie, I am dating a guy and we've only been together for about a month. But he keeps wanting to talk about marriage and kids and even NFP! NFP, Emmie! I like this guy, but do we have to talk about all this stuff now? I don't even know how he feels about Hawai-ian pizza, but I know he wants to have five kids by 35. Help!

Dear Too Much Too Soon, Ok this might be tough, but RUN - don’t walk - RUN from this man immediately. What does your gut tell you? Does your gut tell you that this relationship is a good idea? I don’t think it does, or you wouldn’t be writing me. This guy doesn’t want you, he wants a relationship. He wants a mold YOU can fit into. He want a girlfriend, we wants a wife, but he doesn’t want you. For him, any girl will do. Relationships take time. You don’t even know what kind of pizza he likes, but he wants to talk about the possibility of marriage with you! Sounds like he wants you to invest a lot emo-tionally, but he’s not willing to do the same. And let me give you a little tip, if this guy really thought you might be his future wife he’d

be smart enough to keep his mouth shut for the first month terrified he might screw it up! Don’t date some-body who is interested in the social label, date somebody who is inter-ested in you. And here’s a wild tip - the next time a man has been dating you for only a month and he wants to discuss your future plans with you Uterus - RUN!

Dear Emmie, I really like my girlfriend and I to-tally respect all of her beliefs, but sometimes she is really a nun. She does not like me to listen to rap mu-sic or rock music. She wants me to go to daily Mass with her at 6 and yells at me if I don't. She wants me to join her brother household. She yells at me for using "bad" lan-guage. She wants me to grow out my hair. She says we can't hold hands, let alone kiss, and she frowns on hugs. Does she even like me? I think I am a pretty good boy-friend, I just don't understand why she has to be so weird about these things. Tired of the Sister Act Dear Tired of the Sister Act, Spirituality is about balance. In fact, the most balanced human ever to walk the face of the earth was

Dear Emmie,

Page 7

Captain Li Shang sets down this definition of masculin-ity: “You must be swift as a coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire, mysteri-ous as the dark side of the moon.” Masculinity, then, is something ingrained in na-ture. We can see it all around us, in rivers and typhoons and fires and even on the moon! So, let’s look around us a little more and see what nature has to say about men. Look at the animal king-dom. Have you ever noticed that the male animal is always more striking than the female? Pea-cocks, robins, ducks, geese—but more than birds—lions, moose (moosen?), stags, all much better looking than their female coun-terparts. In the words of Frank Wildhorn, in his representation of The Scarlet Pimpernel, “Someone has to strike a pose and bear the weight of well-tailored clothes… Each species has a sex that’s fated to be highly decorated, that is why the Lord created men.” That’s right, men. You’re officially on the hook, so to speak. God created you to to stand out amongst the human race, to “uphold the ban-ner of beauty!”

Aren’t men feeling left out? I mean, at this campus, women’s dress is such a huge deal – we have modest fashion shows and articles about high heels and what they mean for womanhood – but what about men? Poor guys, walking around, having no idea how to dress or what to wear to accentuate their masculinity, and we women are too wrapped up in our own out-fits to lend a helping hand. Some men may try to infer guidelines for dress from the arti-cle about high heels published last week. In this case, I expect many men to be roaming about campus in sports coats, dress shoes and ties. If more women compliment you because you are wearing it, that means you should wear it all the time, right? Wrong! Confused? Read on. Don’t dress according to what gets you complimented or treated like you’re special, but dress ac-cording to the guidelines of true masculinity. Men and women, you may be shocked when you realize what it means to dress like a man. I’ll admit, I was shocked when I first realized it too. But hopefully you will follow my logical approach to men’s dress and soon be in agreement that there is only one way that a man should dress to fulfill his manli-ness.

That Damned Elusive Style

notestothegadfly@gmail.com

Dark sports coats and pat-terned ties are nice and clean cut, to be sure, but do they really bring beauty to the world? I think not. Here are the guidelines, al-though it is up to personal taste to interpret them from theoretical ideas into actual clothing: Colors. I mean Bright-with-a-capital-B colors. High collars. Ruffles at the neck. Embroidery on the la-pels. Pantaloons. Vests. Short-waisted coats with long tails. Shiny buttons. Top hats. Walking sticks. Well-polished shoes or boots, buckles optional. Men, don’t be intimidated by these standards, but be grateful that the Lord has created you to bring beauty to the world. Look to the men of The Scarlet Pim-pernel or any Jane Austen novel for inspiration. A man should not be scared to accept his role as head of the household or of the family, and this means setting an example in purity, love, and styl-ishness. Although in the outside world, many women try to usurp the role of fashionista for them-selves, it is God’s gift to man to be both fashionable and dashing, daring and unique, bold and beautiful, swift, strong, and mys-terious.

-Jessica Kelley

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