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Letters to the Editor: Proud of country, leaders, troops I am so proud of my country, its leaders and especially the soldiers who have freed the Iraqi people. I mourn for those who have died defending this country. Last Saturday, near the Plaza, I saw an idiot wearing camouflage and painted with a "death's" face wearing a sign that said "Baby Killer." All of the peace creeps like him are so very lucky to live here instead of somewhere like Iraq or North Korea, where they wouldn't last three minutes. I say shame on all of you. The U.S. military is an institution to be looked up to. Men, women, African, Asian and Hispanic Americans, non-citizens, Jews, Catholics and Christians, are all fighting side by side with Brits, Poles and Aussies. These people are willing to die if necessary to protect a way of life and give hope to those less fortunate. Thank God to live in America. Chris Thompson, Ashland Draft could take us off war course I much appreciate Jill Iles alerting me to the Rangel-Hollings National Service Act and an especial thanks for including the Web site following the letter. I think many of us would feel that such a draft force would lessen the chance for our leaders to plunge recklessly into war, as such a force would be comprised, not mainly - as now - of the poor and unemployed, but by the sons and daughters of all of us (perhaps excepting the rich and well connected). Thus more of us would have a vital stake in the decisions taken by people, most of whom never served in the armed forces. Don Reynolds, Ashland Guest forum: The silence of anti-war protesters By Jerry Reger Ashland Where were you, oh peace protesters and flag-burners when, for decades, Saddam Hussein and his band of thugs were systematically visiting unspeakable horrors upon thousands of Iraqis? Your silence was deafening. You protest that violence should be avoided at all cost just as long as no one is directing violence against you. You piously shout that all men and women on the planet should live in peace while conveniently ignoring the fact that there are seriously evil people out there who not only welcome your passive position, they'll probably help finance it. It's people like you who enable the vicious. You certainly are no threat to them. It may come as a complete shock to you that the earth is a jungle first, and humans are just another species. If you think that the natural scheme of things is all fuzzy with love and peace try convincing the still living, kicking, and screaming meal of the lion on the Serengeti. Try convincing the families of the victims who have disappeared into the Baghdad regime torture facilities. There is an ancient Chinese curse that says, "May you live in interesting times." Well, boys and girls, we live in interesting times. Every once in a while an evil human steps onto the stage of life and perpetrates some real live nasty activity against other humans. When that happens three choices present themselves: 1) Turn a blind eye and wish it wasn't so; 2) Step up to the plate and do something about it; or 3) Let the people in category two take care of business while doing whatever possible to give aid and comfort to the enemy in the form of protests. There are always more brains in the bunkhouse than there are in the front office. Debate before a conflict is healthy and necessary, but once the decision has been made to take action, and the fighting starts, the support of the folks on the pointy end of the stick takes precedence over any prior differences of opinion. At last count there are 121 confirmed people that have given the ultimate sacrifice in the liberation of the Iraqi people and probably many more than that seriously injured. Whatever your position is on whether or not we should be there is secondary to the moral position of supporting the people in the fight. We can all sit around and complain about the details later. Any activity that doesn't support our people in harm's way is at best irresponsible, and at its worst, beneficial to our enemies. To every single flag-burner and pious protester I say this: There exists an American flag prominently displayed on a flagpole at my house. I get down on my knees and pray that one, or all, of you politically ignorant, morally bankrupt, selectively sensitive, myopic excuses for humanity, show up and attempt to burn that one. 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 -