Borat not destined for greatness
Just a quick note to say bravo on the Borat piece [Friday] morning (“Cohen will never be able to top ‘Borat,'” Jan. 19 column by Jimmy Greenfield).
For some time I have been trying to articulate the sad reality to people who are lighting candles on the altar of Borat and declaring him one of the enduring comic talents of the millennium. You expressed in a few paragraphs what I have failed to do in endless and futile conversations on the subject.
Chuck Barris, Gallagher, Sam Kinison, Andrew Dice Clay, Borat … some people just don’t see the pattern.
Joseph Mirza, 45, Uptown
Healthy conversation
[Thursday’s] cover story caught my attention. I think revealing your sexual past to a partner is healthy for the relationship. I think it can only help one’s relationship. It’s not about the amount of people we have sex with; it’s about how embarrassed we are about it (“Sex score card,” Jan. 18 cover story).If you regret how many people you laid up with, then you shouldn’t have done it. I don’t regret my number (six). I’d tell a lady: “Tell your guy your number just to see what kind of a man he is.”
If he turns his nose up, then turn your back and never look back. [He is] shallow and foolish. As long as you respect yourself and have pride, no one can judge us for our actions.
Angela Ashley, 19, South Side
What’s your number?
Having worked in an HIV/STD prevention program for five years, I feel it is of the utmost importance that sexual history be discussed. Every time you have sex with a new partner, you’ve then effectively had sex with each previous partner they’ve had, and vice versa.
If you can’t be honest about something so simple, then why bother getting involved?
S. Shahbaz Shah, 24, Mayfair
Let it be
As a gay woman in her 50s, I would like to tell readers that what happens in the bedroom should stay in the bedroom.
I have shared my encounters with new relationships, and it only brings up questions like, “Am I a better lover?” I believe it only brings insecurities to your relationship.
Leave the old flame where you left it–that’s why they are the old flame, right?
Gladis Iglesias, 50, Lakeview
Trick question
From recent experience, I think this should never be discussed. My girlfriend is amazing, but after learning [her number of sexual partners], I have not been able to stop thinking about it.
Also, no one I know counts oral sex in those numbers. This means a person’s number may be one or two, but it is possible that they have had oral sex with hundreds of people, basically meaning it’s not an accurate way to judge someone’s relationship history.
Jack Reilly, 25, West suburbs
Feeling inspired
You always hear it, maybe in a movie, the “there comes a time in every man’s life when” speech. I think I just had my moment. [Barack] Obama, for the next two years, I am going to help you become president (“Barack ‘n’ roll,” Jan. 17 cover story).
You see, there comes a time in every man’s life when he has a chance to make history, to elect the first president with a very funny name.
President Kennedy famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” The significance of this historical moment could not be more real today. Government should be a place of inspiration, not fear. It should be a place of hope, not frustration. And most of all, it should be a place of trust and faith.
In my short lifetime, I cannot recall any politician that elicits such hope and inspiration from his audience as does Sen. Obama.
There will be endless debate of the senator’s strengths and weaknesses for undoubtedly the next two years, but I would like to make one simple point: Charisma is much more than just giving a good toast at a party. Charisma is the ability of a person to meet a complete stranger and elicit both a sense of friendship and comfort instantaneously.
So, with that understood, one of the fundamental roles of a president is to set an agenda for the country, and then petition for that agenda to all forms of public, private and foreign interests. Hopefully, one can begin to understand that charisma doesn’t just help win elections; it helps with governing as well.
There is a reason why comparisons of Obama are constantly being drawn to Kennedy. The reason is simple: These two leaders make me want to ask the question, “Mr. President, what can I do for my country?”
Jeff Geuder, 21, Lincoln Park
