Flyer showed the reality of war

While reading The Oracle on Nov. 12, I came across Mr. Weiland’s letter “Contradiction made in protest flyer.” Now, Mr. Weiland, I can see how you would be appalled by a flyer with U.S. service men and women in the scope of a rifle, but that is the reality of war, it isn’t a nice thing. People are going to die and lives will be destroyed. That is why the anti-war protesters would include the picture: so that people don’t just get that one-sided view of war pushed by our conservative media, that war is the only option left.

The picture is a last ditch stunt by the protesters to grab the attention of the brainwashed American public, who will agree with anything some obnoxious, uninformed, right-wing conservative reporter would say, for example, Bill O’Reilly.

Mr. Weiland, you bring up the good point that the Iraq government used chemical weapons on its own people. Well, sorry to be the one to tell you about this, but we did too. We used even nuclear weapons on our own men and women. I am sorry to hear you feel as though these anti-war protesters are taking their liberties for granted, but in actuality they are engaging in their liberties by protesting, as well as questioning our so-called leadership.

I would hope that the rest of the American public could step back and look at what our government is doing, or better yet, why our government is doing these things. These protesters are not just handing out flyers so you can pass judgment. It is so you can see another group’s point of view and maybe open your mind to what is happening.

Please remember there is not one thing wrong with questioning the actions of our government; that is what democracy is all about.

Jim Thomas is a senior majoring in environmental science and policy.

United States not as benevolent as it seems

Since WWII, the United States of America has been, “the greatest purveyor of violence on Earth,” to quote a former attorney general. This is not a matter of perception or viewpoint, this is a matter of truth, on which our whole existence abides. From bombing Cambodia, to invading Vietnam to the Cuba embargo, to giving Israel weapons, to supporting acts of genocide over all of Central America, the United States has been involved in what U.N. condemnations call, “excessive use of force and violation of international treaties.”

Not a terrorist nation? All this can be proven on a home computer.

We have the benefit of living in America. For if we didn’t, we would be subject to America’s foreign policy. That is why we dissenters stay instead of leave, as so many blindly patriotic people chant. Also, the doctrinal meaning of the word “patriot” is a person who protects citizens from the government. Point being Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams and James Madison are the anti-thesis to loyalists.

War with Iraq is about oil, plain and simple. For example, if Iraqi oil was on the market, prices would plummet, causing billions of dollars in losses for American business ventures. Iraq has 1/10 the resources it had before the Gulf War. My question: Where’s Osama? Or did that fall in the memory hole, too?

The citizens of this nation need to wake up, start organizing and take back the power, which is so unbalanced.

Corporations run everything. Our government sends troops to places all over the world to protect factories and the like, and to keep Third World countries from “setting a good example of modernization in a single generation.” Independence in the Third World haunts the U.S. elite. It’s just a coincidence that 82 percent of people think the government works mainly for corporations, right?

Tyler Tolbert is a senior majoring in studio art.

Performing Arts puts on a good show

I attended the Friday night performance of Honk!, the musical comedy produced by USF’s schools of theatre and dance.

This is an outstanding production with engaging performances by the cast, great costumes, set design and instrumental support.

We are certainly fortunate to have an opportunity to enjoy an evening of theatre at USF. I urge the university community to attend Honk! and to support the many other events of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Cynthia Cohen, is a professor for the College of Business

War is getting closer, protest now or never

I don’t personally think that war is good for America, but I also realize that when an ultimatum is given, there is no turning back. You could say that Bush feels he has the support of the American people, based on the election results. The Republicans control both houses and the presidency, so they have the mandate to lead this nation. It would truly be a shame if they get us in a war for the wrong reasons.

Oil is no reason to go to war, and I think Hussein has no intention of using weapons of mass destruction against the United States. The same cannot be said of his intentions toward Israel.

The Israeli lobby in Washington knows this, and it is somehow manipulating the situation, as I too would do if I were in its shoes. The security of Israel is fragile at best, and the regime change in Iraq would help ease the tensions Israelis feel from their Arab neighbors.

Americans who are against the war need to start writing and calling their congressmen and senators, voicing their discontent.

President Bush has fooled a lot of people who thought that he was dumb. His intellect is shining through, as the politicians have discovered. If he felt that there was a large contingent against war, then I am willing to bet that he would look at other options. After all, he is a politician, and his agenda is clear.

Dwight Smith is a junior majoring in sociology.