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2____________ WedNEsdAy, O cto I jer 10, 2001 Letters______________ Opinion Freedom, a new reason to stand tall, proud ; On Sept. 11, 2001, Americans g weip struck down with terror and pain, but as the tragedy gripped our hearts and the death toll rose, Americans discovered a new rea- son to stand tall and proud and a renewed reason to fight: freedom. Our forefathers fought hard for this great nation. They struggled to free us from fear of tyranny and persecution while enabling our rights to speak freely, to assemble and to bear arms. Many know of the Civil War and World War I and II, where Americans fought to free those who those who could not wage their own war because they were too afraid of an enemy too great. Today, we find our selves faced with the same great burden. Today, we will not only be fighting for the freedoms of all Americans and their way of life, but also for those who cannot stand with us, those who were silenced when the mighty towers fell. I am proud, proud because as an American and as a woman, I have the right to learn, to speak, to write, and most importantly to live. As for the terrorists, I am saddened that the regime they consider themselves a part of, the Taliban, has managed to skewer their beliefs and made them fol low its beliefs rather than their own. I am sad because many died for their cause, but I am glad, for many more will live. You see, I don’t hate the Taliban or al-Qaida. I pity them. I pity them because each person involved in these groups strongly believed what they were doing was right. They believed in their cause and in the people they followed. I blame their leaders for forcing their views on people that wanted a strong hand to guide them to righteousness, but in return only found a hand of Say It Loud & Proud! SalenaDeLaCruz Opinion Editor destruction. As President Bush stated in his address to the nation on the tragic day of Sept. 11, “America was tar geted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shin ing.” I think he about sums up the reason for attacks in this one statement. Many people in many countries see America as the “Land of the Free,” and many can only dream of some day making it here and raising their children in a nation they consider a far better one than their own. I welcome ev eryone of all races, colors, creeds and religions to join us and unite for freedom and peace. Now, the peace I refer to is one that may only come, about-once we show the terrorists we will not sit idly by while our families are used in sick, twisted plans of vengeance. We will fight back, heads held high, shouting for freedom, not only for ourselves, but also for those that have been silenced through death or fear. Terrorists, I would not want to be you right now for you are not fully aware of fight you have brought upon yourself. On Sept. 11, 2001, you chose the wrong country and the wrong people. The military will stand against you with guns and bombs, yes. But you have yet to see us the people, and our resolve, for we will be standing closely behind with heads held high and flags pointed towards the sky. You have not broken us, merely strengthened our resolve. For here in the United States, we are one. We stand united. We are Americans. We are one country, one cause. All signed letters to the editor should be 500 words or less and will be considered for publication if submitted by 1 pm the Friday prior to publication. Letters to the Editor arc subject to editing. We reserve the ¡right to not publish any letter. Check out our world Welcome to the 2001-2002 school year and welcome to a new edition of The Clackamas Print. I hope all of you had a nice sum mer vacation and are ready for a productive and rewarding year ahead. Our goal here at 77ie Print is to provide you the best news, infor mation and entertainment this col lege offers. We know you are a very diverse student body and we hope to reach all of you. We also want to in form you about what is going on outside of this cam pus, in our neighborhood, our community and our world. The re cent events of Sept. 11 have im pacted all of our lives and we feel it’s important to keep you posted on how this is affecting you as a student and our college. This year, we have a strong group of editors, writers and pho tographers whose number one job it is to dig deep into all the dark corners of the campus, find the hews and get it out to all of you. However, it is impossible for us to know everything that’s going on at Clackamas, so if you feel there is something we should know or write about, drop by Barlow 104 and let us know. By entertaining you with our opinion, feature, arts & entertain ment and sports sections, we hope to keep you from getting bored. We want to hear all your com ments, good or bad. Write us a “Letter to the Editor.” Our general e-mail address is cccprint@clackamas.cc.or.us. All letters must be under 500 words, signed, and delivered to 77ze Print office (B 104) by Friday 1 p.m.,prefer Take a risk! Maggie Jirasek ably on a 3 -1/2” floppy disk and saved as Word 6.0/95. All letters are consid ered for publication, although we re serve the right to edit letters for clarity and brevity; If you are a writer, artist or photog rapher and want your work published, you may submit that for consideration as well. This is the student newspa per, your newspaper, and if there is something you don’t like about us, or if you have any suggestions, don’t hesitate to stop by in our office and tell us so. We promise we won’t bite! We are students just like you are and we have deadlines to keep as well. We do our best and work as hard as possible to produce a quality news paper I Wish the best to all of you and I hope you have a wonderful year. America at a crossroads: where do we go from here JOELSHEMPERT Contributing Writer On Sept. 11, 2001, the world was forever changed, or so goes popular opinion. In fact the world at large remained funda mentally unaltered, while the United States was initiated into a global cycle of bloodshed and suffering—and it is we for once who must cope with and come to an understanding of this calam ity. As we watched our own die on live television in the collaps ing towers of the World Trade Center, the tragedy of their deaths was felt by each of us. Did we feel such an empathic pang on Aug.l when a suicide bomber unleashed his final mes sage on a Sbarro eatery in Jerusalem, killing 14 people and hurling bodies as far as across the street? Or when Israeli heli copters fired missiles into a Pal estinian office building nine days earlier, killing eight, includ ing two children hit by debris? "It is time to practice such virtues as love, compassion and understanding ” -Joel Shempert Do we grieve for Macedonia, or Ireland, or Iraq or, yes, Af ghanistan? For the truth is that this disaster or/the East Coast is not the first tremor. Indeed, it is the latest and largest link in a long chain of deadly quakes that has shaken the rest of the world and now returned home. In the wake of the “Attack on America,” it may be easy to for get that others go through such carnage daily, sometimes di rectly or indirectly at our hands. And now that we have begun to reap; that grim harvest, we are faced with a choice—every one of us. For lest we forget, ours is a government of the people; we all bear the responsibility for this country’s virtue and vice. And so, I propose that it is not our vice but our virtue that should be celebrated. It may well be that al-Qaida, or the Taliban, or any number of other bogeymen, must be stopped, even destroyed. It may well be that America must go to war. Perhaps. But such an action, to be a truly virtuous response to this horror, must be unstained Editor-in-Chief: by the bigotry, malice, and ideo logical isolationism that already are creeping across our land. It is time to practice such vir tues as love, compassion arid understanding. It is time to re alize, that many people have been given reason to hate the United States—and to begin to truly understand those reasons; It is time to recognize, as a people, that we have often played a sin ister role on the international stage—and to- maybe, just maybe, finally begin to atone for those sins. It is time to recog nize that being a great nation bears great responsibility with its power—and to exercise that power to love. Patriotism is a wonderful thing. Pride in our identity, and in the ideals that founded our country, is essential to our na tional well-being. But if with this Webmaster: Luke Mahan Maggie Jirasek (x2447) Staff: 19600 S. M o I a II a A vi . OxrqoK City. Oitqon 97045 (505) 657-6958 txt 2509 C C C P R Ì N I @ C I A C k A M A $ . C C . O R . U S Opinion Editor/Production Coordinator Salcna De La Cruz Copy Editor: Allison Gcrfin Sports Editor: Elena Boryska Managin Editor: Lies] Muggli News Editor * Frank Jordan Photo Editor: Mike Pollock Business Manager: Daisy Bain (x2578) Isaiah Creel Jesse Gurzynski Erinn Lcrtcn Christina McFarland Daniel Merys Elisabeth Meyer Nick Barron Ben Walker Leah Bocringa Secretary: JoAnne Gale Advisor: Patty Mamula (x2310) patriotism comes the exclusion! of respect and concern for oth-1 ers, then I want no part of it.I Whether it is the persecution of! Arab-Americans, or ignorance! and intolerance toward Arabs! abroad, a patriotism tempered! with hate is as great an evil as! that which struck on Sept. 11.1 A patriotism expressed in ven! geance and eagerness to kill is! merely evil clothed in a differ ! ent name. Sometimes a tragedy is the first! necessary step on the road to al greater good. If we as Americans,! as human beings, can grow to! ward love instead of hate, then! perhaps this could be such a trag-l edy. I do not hold out hope foil an end to war—not today, or to! morrow, or even in this general tion. But the first step must bel taken, and once it is, who can sayl * where the long road may lead? I The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, professional manner. The opinions expressed in The Clackamas Print do not necessarily reflect those of the student body, college administration, its fac ulty, or The Clackamas Print advertisers. Products and services advertised in The Clackamas Print are not neccesarily endorsed by anyone associated with The Clackamas Print. The advertising rate is $4.75 per col umn inch. The Clackamas Print is a weekl) publication and is distributed every Wednes day except during Finals week. The Clackama Print Copyright 2001.
