4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 24, 2003 OP/ED 4SV 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 LOUIE MEIZLISH Editor in Chief AUBREY HENRETTY ZAC PESKOWITZ Editorial Page Editors Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. NOTABLE QUOTABLE Iraq is on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe" - UNICEF spokeswoman Wivina Belmonte, on the impending humanitarian crisis in Iraq, as quoted by MSNBC.com. SAM BUTLER Ti m SOBX UP'orn 2 assa-C o UCon y~'Od, ,, .S't 'as +Ve ar s telocor P x N dAEAAy AGtA Give intercession a chance JON SCHWARTZ Two SiDEs To EVERY SCHWXARTZ At a bar this past Thursday night, I ran into a friend who serves in Michigan's division of the Navy's R.O.T.C. Hav- ing spent the past day with mixed emotions of concern about the war and my brack- ets' miserable performances in the first day of the NCAA Tournament, I was interested in hearing his per- spective on the situation in Iraq. We spoke for a few minutes, his side of the conversation a mix of concern and confi- dence. Eventually, I asked him how he felt about the anti-war protests that had taken over our campus earlier in the day. Without even giving it a moment's thought, he responded in a manner that impressed me: "Isn't that what we fight for?" I told him that I disagreed and the conversation moved to how long it would take before Kansas is once again exposed as the ultimate tournament choke team. (My guess, for the record, is this weekend against the weakest Duke team in recent tournament history.) Looking back, I do respect his opinion. But it irks me that the anti-war community on this cam- pus is so determined to ignorantly dismiss the courageous actions taken by our troops, in this war and those that preceded it. I am not pro-war. I am not a conservative. I hope that President Bush's diplomatic fail- ures that made this war a necessity will be the death knell to his re-election hopes. These are beliefs I hold firmly. And rarely, if ever, do I feel the need to reject them in any way. Thursday, however, was one of those days. Watc'hing'as the bombs started falling Wednes- day night, I began to thank God and everything holy that we don't live in our parents' genera- tion; that graduating in a month does not mean that my draft card is on its way. I'm embar- rassed to think this way, and it only makes me respect our troops even more. A few weeks ago, a columnist on this page voiced what I consider to be a disgraceful opinion that our troops, who undertake actions that some don't support, should as a result not be supported themselves. Simply ludicrous. There are soldiers dying as we speak; kids our age, who probably are more like us than we can ever know. They're dying because they raised their hand and asked their country to count them. They did what the rest of us wouldn't. This isn't Vietnam, where hundreds of thousands of unwilling men were sent into the mess. These are patriots, who have vol- untarily taken an oath to fight for this coun- try, to fight for every one of us. My God, if you can't support that, what are you? Maybe this war could have been avoided, I'll never know for sure. But whether Saddam Hussein was removed by bombs or diplomacy, the one cer- tainty in this matter is that the world is a much safer place with a new Iraqi regime. Despite my disdain for our president's efforts in the past months, I have no trouble supporting that claim. The anti-war protesters on this campus, though, are too caught up in organizing their rallies and making their signs to examine the way that issues change. Being "anti-war" is not an excuse for opposing every single thing about every single war. When America wins this war and Saddam is deposed, these people will hopefully never know the dangers that they have been saved from. They'll never know what would have happeled if Bush had listened when they told him to make love, not war. It's disappointing that people get too caught up hating Bush, hating war or hating the idea of fighting at all to realize the justifications that do exist for this conflict. Moreover, having an anti-war rallying group does not automatically mean that the first day of a war demands protest to the highest degree. These people are trying too hard to do what their parents did when they protested. But this is purely ignorant. Look at the history books - with Vietnam, it wasn't really until 1970, years after the conflict started, that students began organizing en masse to end the war. It was only when it became completely clear that the war was hopeless and wrong. Why are we so unwill- ing to give this intercession a chance? Are we so desperate to live up to our parents? The 38,000 of us who chose the University to receive our education are among the luckiest peo- ple in the world. We have rights and abilities that people our age in Middle Eastern countries haven't even heard of. And as my friend astutely pointed out, one of those rights is the right to protest, the right to speak our minds against the actions taken by our government. So I say protest all you want. Show the people who make up our government what you think about them. But I can't accept doing it on the first day of a war. I can't accept doing it less than 24 hours after kids like us stationed across the world got the order that would forever change their lives. It's about respect, about putting yourself in that position. My friend, who is as close to that position as anyone I know found a positive reaction. He told me that that's what they fight for. But what would you say? Hopefully, that's a question you'll never have to answer. Schwartz can be reached atjlsz@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Cutting class will definitely not solve world's problems TO THE DAILY: In reading the viewpoint by Zac Peskowitz and Jess Piskor (Now is our time, 03/20/03) I came across the following sentence: "Moments spent in class today are moments wasted." I fully disagree with this statement. I am the first person in my family to go to college. My parents spend a great deal of money every month to be able to send me here. I also have to pay a fair share and have to work work study in one of the residence hall cafeterias to help with my monetary situation. A moment I don't spend in class, for which I pay a great deal, is a moments wasted. A moment that I could be learning, and making my future better. Some may not agree with the state of world affairs but to tell them to cut class is not making America a better place. I say moments spent in class today are moments that will help the United States in the future, with our fture leaders gain- ing knowledge to help this country in that future. MICHAEL PIOTROWSKI LSA sophomore Daily helps spread 'cheap propaganda' via campustruth.org ads TO THE DAILY: Thursday's ad regarding the "truth" about Israel and Palestine was incredibly insensitive to the complexity of the issue taking place in the holy land. I hope that people see it for what it is: cheap propaganda. Propaganda which the Daily has helped spread. It baffles me that the Daily would allow such things to be published. DIEoo SALCEDo Business student Ads offensive, inflammatory, 'do not depict truth' To THE DAILY: I would like to express my disappointment in an advertisement in Thurday's Daily. The advertisement was sponsored by campus- truth.org. I understand the constitutional con- straints on limiting the press, but I believe such ads are offensive and inflammatory. Moreover, they do not depict the "truth" or work to solve the conflict. I do not know whether the Daily exercises any discretion over its ads, but I would hope that such ads would be disallowed. It is an unfortunate reality that such messages will inherently be associated with the Daily. Such association will undermine the impartiality of the Daily and its coverage. YAMAN SHUKAIRY Law student VIEWPOINT All we got was a war BY AYMAR JEAN We needed an historical milestone, and all we got was a war. OK, the terrorist attacks of about a year and half ago were mind-boggling, world-changing, and undeniably significant. Living so close to New York, I knew as the day progressed that the events of that day would ring in my mind for as long as I should live. Yet, as time pro- gressed, the public knew that more historical milestones were on the way, that other dates and events would resonate as intensely as Sept. 11. On March 19, 2003, our war with Iraq began. The statement lacks the fervor and emotion evident in the statement "On December 7th, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor." Certainly, last Wednesday was an important date, one that will shape the course of history, but, in the years to come, will anyone except historians and political scientists remember it as such? Though it is hard to discount students' feel- ings of fear, anticipation and anger on March 19 and hard to predict their feelings in the future, it is undeniable that amid the student body and the nation there is a noticeable air of shock and disconnection. Misguided by the nrAonect of T N nostnonement and ill- haze, see the power of March 19? Of course, all the signs were there. Head- lines across the country underscored the words "imminent" and "war" as if they were inextri- cably linked. Political theorists familiar with Bush's disposition and mindful of the political problems with "backing down" predicted this outcome ever since the U.N. Security Council presentations began. Yet, President Bush took away our security blanket, eliminated the prospect of a vote and pushed the nation into war with only 48 hours notice. All over the nation, the people are feeling disconnected. In a recent New York Times report, Californians say that they particularly feel the unreality of this war. Of course, their geographical location provides one explana- tion, but the state has contributed more reservists and National Guard units than any other state. In Michigan, according to two Detroit Free Press staff writers, the concern for the war is intangible; it is a peripheral issue for the average citizen. Where is the ardency? It may be in the anti-war movement. Con- spicuously, most of those who are pro-war are silent, choosing to rally much less than those against the war, if at all. The anti-war rally on Thursday, here on campus, is evidence that people do care and have strong feelings about the war Yet this is anlle c amunsn known minority action anesthetizes the public; it per- petuates uncertainty and restrains zeal. Jaded by the peaceful and prosperous '90s, this nation grew accustomed to the separation between the state and the populace. Two years ago, these divorcees, the government and popu- lation, got remarried under the condition that the state would open the field of communica- tion and be more attentive to the populace's needs. Today, the United States is an unsure married couple, not on good terms and not on bad terms. Most disturbing is the ideological blandness of this war. Continually, ever since World War II, this country has searched for a purpose, a fervency or a sense of immediacy in its wars; wartime fervor shows the population and gov- ernment have the same goals and intentions. In Korea, these feelings were incomparable to those of World War II and muted by domestic prosperity. In Vietnam, it was nonexistent, except for the anti-war movement that took years to effect change. In the Persian Gulf, it was stymied by skepticism. After the events in New York, it seemed that maybe the War on Terror would incite that ever evasive feeling, and it did to some extent. But that war was more amorphous, since no particular country was responsible. Now, .with the opposing coun- trv defined the cnue has enm Inaieai flaws THE BOONDOCKS ARO}j~N M.( rRU )ER 01 i I _ _ .- -, - _1 -171- . I I N 1 T IA- --li T- I.rl n b