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Letters to the Editor: Quotes trivialized important event In your April 11 article by Myles Murphy reporting on "Children Crusade for Peace," you quote a four year-old child's "out of the mouths of babes"-esque characterization of President Bush, one which used words that, in most contexts of a civilized society, would be either prohibited (as in school) or seen as offensive or vulgar in many settings, including your newspaper's pages. You then spend a few more column inches exploring the source of this youngster's choice of words, quoting the mother along the way. Quite frankly, as one who may feel similarly in terms of political sentiment as expressed by this youngster, I was, however, deeply distressed and ashamed at the Tidings for its poor judgment in stooping to such reportage that, in effect, trivializes the sincere and undoubtedly thoughtful intentions of the organizers of the event. Whether intentional or not, the reporter and editors have done a tremendous disservice to the civil and informed dissenters of our current war-making activities. Where do we draw the line of respectful discourse when we, in effect, glorify name-calling? And we wonder and grieve over the eroding culture of respect in our society, be it in schools, homes or public places. If I were the parent of that child, I would feel embarrassed and outraged that The Tidings chose to print what was clearly an innocent and in-the-moment statement by that four-year-old when asked by the reporter. I would encourage the Tidings staff to consider the message it is trying to portray with such material and wonder if they would ever have published such a comment had it been uttered by an adult. David Young, Ashland Thanks for those larger signs I would like to express my appreciation to whomever is responsible for the large, easy to read signs in Ashland. Finding places, following directions, noticing and remembering street names, have become so much easier. This has actually removed a source of stress for me that I was hardly even aware of. Thanks so much! Peggy Elterman, Ashland Guest forum: Take a look at what's going on By Kevin Carr Ashland Concerning Michelle Christian's Guest Forum on April 8. Her sentiments are heartfelt, and I wish I could share them. I too am proud to be an American, because we often stand for democracy and peace and fair play in the world. But basic research shows that is not the case now. Concerning the current war Michelle is wrong on almost all counts. The reason that Iraq lacks water and sanitary conditions has nothing to do with Saddam Hussein. Iraq was one of the most developed middle eastern countries - until the first Gulf war. The former head of the U.N.'s Oil for Food program, interviewed recently on NPR, stated unequivocally that it was United States' consistent opposition that prevented the U.N. from being able to rebuild the water systems destroyed in the Gulf War. The lack of these water systems was a major cause of the deaths of 500,000 to a million Iraqis - many of them children. The CIA stated last year that Iraq posed little danger to the U.S. No credible link has been established between the Iraqis and Bin Laden's group. Contrast this with the incontrovertible fact that George Bush Sr. has business links with the bin Laden family - a fact which has not been highlighted by the media, but which certainly bears more scrutiny. It is crucial to note that Bush Sr., and now Bush Jr., advisers Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Perle have all advocated a war to establish a permanent U.S. military presence in the Middle East since the early 90s. This war was on their agenda - and 9/11 gave them the chance to bring good patriotic people like Ms. Christian in line to support what is essentially American Imperialism. This is why other countries do not support us - they can see clearly what is going on. Many good friends of America think we have gone crazy. My daughter is in Ireland right now, and is saddened to hear Irish people - who love America - refer to us as the new Nazis. They do this because they read, they study and they don't get their facts from a president and administration who does not tell the truth. I hope that good people like Michelle will look beyond the network news and the cheerleading propaganda, and do the research to understand what is really going on in this wonderful country - before it is too late to save it from those who would mislead the public for their own immoral purposes. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | 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 -