FORUM
Protest politics of Persian Gulf war, not soldiers
Soldiers hope for peaceful settlement
By Joy Pope
With Jan. 15 encroaching. I
am becoming increasingly con
cerned about the attitude of this
new generation of anti-war ac
tivism. I am particularly ad
dressing those activists who
have taken it upon themselves
to correspond their anti-war po
sitions directly with the sol
diers sitting in the desert, trem
bling with the fear of death and
the sadness of lives left behind.
My brother is one of these
soldiers.
Commentary
I support the anti-war move
ment wholeheartedly when it
comes to protesting the reasons
behind this conflict and the
corrupt actions and individuals
associated with the U.S gov
ernment. On Jan. 15. I will be
out there protesting along with
all of you who think this con
flict is unwarranted and poorly
handled.
However, my anger will nev
er be directed at the soldiers,
and 1 plead for this same senti
ment from my fellow war pro
testers.
The image of the American
soldier has been badly tainted
by Hollywood's portrayal of the
Vietnam conflict. I am disap
pointed to see how easily this
image has been swallowed by
my generation. To think that
everv soldier sweating out his
or her tear in tin- desert is un
educated or negligent or even
more patriotic than human is a
grave mistake
1 ask you, the ones who
choose to so carelessly question
the soldiers' intellect or reason
ing. to travel out of narrow
mindedness to rural America
and see for yourselves the pos
sibilities available to men and
women who can't afford col
lege. who come from broken
families, or who desire a
chance to see and experience
the world. These men and
women are intelligent enough
to leave oppression for oppor
tunity The soldiers who desire
blood are certainly in the mi
nority
It is up to us to stop the anti
soldier propaganda before it
gets out of hand as it did with
Vietnam. Wo can’t just sit in
our trendy little pubs and
smoke our French cigarettes,
out of the cold and in the com
fort of our friends, and wait for
an organized chance to spit on
our soldiers. We can’t disre
gard the pain felt by the fami
lies saying goodbye to their
sons and daughters, husbands
and wives to their lives.
childhoods and futures
1 would be so impressed by
an intelligent anti-war move
men! that could protest the hor
ror going on in politics and
philosophy while respecting
the sacrific e and the loss felt so
deeply by our soldiers and their
families, (.ain't we voice our op
position and our sympathy in
the same breath? If it is a hu
manitarian issue we are protest
ing, can't we protest in a hu
manitarian manner?
I will certainly lie there with
you to protest on )an. 15. To
gether we can voice our con
cern and troublesome thoughts
about the politics behind this
possible war. There will lie one
fundamental difference be
tween you and me. however.
When it's over and |an. IB
comes around, you can go back
to your pubs and smokes and
forget about the pain involved
in this war until the next time
someone is bold enough to
stage a protest. But when the
Hith rolls around for me, and
all the days after until this situ
ation is settled. I must listen to
the news, watch for the mail
and swallow my pain ev
erythin the telephone rings,
dreading the possibilities
Jay Popo is <t Rugune resident
GOD Bless
America
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