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Letters to the Editor: The business of waging war On the news they said America dropped 4,000 bombs on Iraq in four days. That's a lot of bombs. It seems like a lot of commotion without much gained. We might ask what company manufactures those bombs, and who its investors are. I heard the President is trying to do away with the dividend tax. The typical enlisted person in the Reserves, National Guard and active Armed Forces is uneducated, seeking income and occupational training, travel. They are not the wealthy elite. I guess, if they could afford to invest in the bomb-making company their lives might be considered worth more. What company makes our helicopters in Iraq that keep crashing? What company makes the bizarre gas masks the Pentagon employees are now forced to wear? What company will Rumsfeld contract with to guard our military installations better than our own trained soldiers? But more importantly, who are these companies' shareholders? We should demand to know. And, is it fair for them to want this war? A Vietnam vet told me that unless Congress formally declares war, it is merely a "military action" and American companies are within their legal rights to sell products to the enemy. Perhaps, there's an opportunity for Firestone's investors to recoup their losses, depending on how long this military action might be dragged on. Patti Morey Ashland *** Time for peace You have probably heard the saying you cannot experience joy without pain. Well, wouldn't that account also for having peace without war? Not necessarily, but I do know that our world has had enough war, and I think it's time for the peace. As a 12- year-old, my ancestors, dating back to five generations have had to suffer through wars. I don't want to have to be the one to continue this chain, as I'm sure many others feel the same way. What is peace though? Is it getting along with a peer, stopping a war or is it simply discontinuing supporting a violent TV show? I don't know, but I think it includes at least one of the above, at least. So maybe you could, as an individual, make your life more peaceful just by simply not watching a violent TV show, saying hi to a peer for no reason, or stopping a squall between your brother or sister. You have the right to make your life more peaceful whether that means writing letters to have your thoughts heard, participating in an action, stopping a fight, that's your decision of what you want to do. But I encourage you to make your life more peaceful, and urge others to make their lives more peaceful, at least we'll have a peaceful community. Abby Adams Ashland *** How much better off are we? By Bob Evoniuk Ashland I was struck by the image of the 2-year-old Iraqi girl that appeared on the front page of several newspapers this past Monday; her eyes were filled with terror and fear. I cannot imagine the trauma this war has brought to her young life, trauma she will most assuredly endure for the rest of her years. I cannot imagine the fear felt by a van full of women and children as they sped away from the war's carnage and towards the imagined safety behind coalition lines and the final brief horror they must have felt as bullets began to riddle their vehicle, killing ten and leaving the rest with a lifetime of sorrow and anguish. Fear pulled the trigger as well: Is this another suicide bomber? Another of the 4,000 promised by Saddam? If you have a son or daughter of military age, try to imagine what he or she could, or maybe soon will, be feeling when faced with entering a city of over 4,000,000 people who have, more than once, endured the destruction brought upon them by "coalition forces." Could it be more fear? Baghdad has been around for more than 12 centuries. I don't think our children will be met at the front gates with the keys to the city. Pay attention in the next few weeks to growing concerns and, yes, fears expressed in one way or another by Iraq's Arabic neighbors about our incursion into their territories. How will they react? Closer to home, how has fear governed our economy and do you feel a little pang of anxiety when we are faced with another "terror alert?" Former Gov. Bush (I cannot bring myself to call an unelected man my president) has thus far presided over and implemented policies that have cast a blanket of fear and negativity that is seeping to the core of our nation, sapping us of our optimism and collective ability to be the example for the rest of the world that we are capable of being. His unrelenting insistence that we are seeking out weapons of mass destruction has in itself become a weapon of mass destruction. And if this is all about oil (do ya think?) just imagine how far $75,000,000,000 of your tax dollars, and the figure requested by Bush to cover the costs of this war, could go towards gearing our economy to alternative sources of energy and socially responsible business practices. Let me pause here and cringe to think that any figure could cover the real costs of war. What I'm left with is this: I'm not better off than I was a couple of years ago. I would like to think that we have learned something from 9/11 other than a seek-and-destroy form of justice, justice based in fear. I want my children to be happy, not governed by anxiety. I want my children to understand how the myriad of cultures and countries on our planet interact and how the seeds of fear are sewn so they may have the opportunity to bridge the gaps that the current administration is intent on perpetuating. My most profound fear is that we will slip into a collective sense of hopelessness, that we do not implement the changes we are so capable of and that in the end, fear wins. Please, don't let it happen. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -