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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2001)
Opinion _____________ L WedNEsdAy, NovEMbER 14, 2001 Tir e CT ac I camas P rint Embrace America’s diversity ince the Declaration of In cussions of these actions. Mus dependence was penned, lims are not the culprits, not any people have looked to the more than Caucasians, Hispan United States for liberty and free ics, or African-Americans. Have dom, but since the terrorist at tacks of Sept. 11, the people of the United States have been find ing new av Salena De La Cruz enues for their Opinion Editor rage. People of different colors who appear to be of Muslim ori we not learned from our previ gin have been openly harassed ous mistakes such as the Salem and attacked for the color of their Witch Trials, where so many skin and the obscure possibility were wrongly accused. that they had something to do I pity the people who are ha with these attacks. rassing and attacking people We need to stop the hate. who just wanted a chance at free Granted, the people that flew the dom and liberty. These are our planes killing thousands of brothers and sisters. How dare people and injuring so many were you make yourself judge, jury filled with hatred, though they and executioner for people that believed it to be for a greater have not been found guilty by a good or God. I am sorry so many court of our great nation. lives were lost and so many more I have heard so many reported affected. But to place blame attacks that I shudder at the where it does not belong only thought. I am of Mexican de fans the flames of further reper scent and my skin is brown in S Say It Loud & Proud! color. Will I be subject to such attacks next? Though I was born and raised in Oregon, I sometimes wonder. When will I or someone I love be ha rassed or hurt because of their skin color? When will it all end? The only way I ever see this happening is when people realize that you cut us open we’d all bleed the same. My friend’s sister mar ried a French-Arab and he is Muslim. Her grandmother called her dad after the attacks and said if she didn’t leave her husband they would basically disown her. Family is suppose to be there for you and if they won’t, then who will? It’s that kind of bigotry that is fanning these flames. I pray that my American brothers and sisters will unite against this hatred and demand it to stop. I am only one voice, but one voice with a cause. One voice can turn so many others by just opening their ears. If you see someone being harassed or attacked, speak out. You could be the one voice that is heard. Belief: an idea worth fighting for JOELSHEMPERT an American destroyer. We are unwilling to accept or under Contributing Writer stand war on the behalf of It is a commonly held dictum anyone’s beliefs—except our that ideologies and dogmas are own. the cause of wars, oppression It is perhaps the veil of secu and suffering in general. To be rity (recently shattered), the long lieve in something, years of particularly some shelter thing religious, is in from many creasingly associated life-and- "Belief is a posi- with cruelty and evil, death d iffi- tive thing, some until belief itself is c u 11 i e s, suspect. that make thing to go to Our nation is even us ask, ward..." now waging war on a “why Joel Shempert people whose beliefs would Contributing Writer stand in stark con people trast to the majority of kill?” The ours. There seems to late be very little effort in songwriter the general public to understand Rich Mullins once wrote, “I these people. A national agnos wasn’t too sold on the idea that ticism instead reigns: “Why disbelief in war would bring would anyone want to harm about peace...I could easily America?” is the baffled, shoul imagine wanting to fight another der-shrugging slogan of our human being. I could imagine leaders and their parrots in the hunger and I could imagine (or, more honestly, I would remem media and populace. The label of fanatic or madman ber) greed. I could imagine rage rolls easily off our lips, while we over injustice and I could imag forget that our national history, ine honest (even if mistaken) beginning with its founding, is fear...I can imagine, remember predicated upon that very power and even presently see a lot of of human conviction. But we are things that would make someone not charitable enough to extend want to fight another person. that right to others. Leave aside And worse, I suspect that a for a moment the despicability of world emptied of these things slaying civilians on commercial would be no more peaceful—it aircraft; we have no tolerance or would just be more dead.” If a thing is worth having, then understanding for even purely military acts of resistance, such it is worth fighting for, even at as last year’s “terrorist” attack on times dying for. This may be the yi 77 - - basis of war but is also the foun dation for the best things that have been established in this or any civilization. It may also one day be the pavement on the road to long sought-after peace. Mullins continues, “The person who doesn’t believe in gravity is no more apt to fly than the per son who does believe in it. Chances are, the person who be lieves in gravity...is more likely to discover the secret of flight than the one who denies the re ality of weight.” Belief in a positive thing, some thing to go toward, is worth more than the most powerful of denials and refutations. Once a foundation of belief is secure, the greatest of waves may not batter it down. We as a culture, however, do not understand this force of con viction. Our “beliefs” are heart felt, even vehement, but they are shadowy and even malleable. We do not understand the cur rent of ideas, or the viewpoints of others, especially not of oth ers overseas, in lands vilified by the press and warred against by the state. We do not understand the Muslim religiously or the Middle-Easterner politically—do not even understand him enough to disagree. We once took up arms, once gave up our lives, for an ideal. Until we understand this convic tion in others, we will never be at peace, with them, or with our selves. 7 All you want and more... The CI ac I camas P rint T error T racking 11/12/01 NEW YORK-A plane crashes into a suburban area with more than 260 people on board. Terrorism has not been ruled out. Investigations con tinue. 11/10/01 WASHINGTON-Airline passen gers welcome troops, but hope for more security at airports. NEW YORK-Charges to be dropped against firefighters in volved in clash with police at Ground Zero. WASHINGTON-Polls: Support for military action remains high; few want suspension of military action during Ramadan. WASHINGTON-Veterans groups ride wave of patriotism in wake of terrorist attacks to boost member ship. - , AFGHANISTAN-Bin Laden claims to have nuclear weapons in inter view with Pakistani newspaper. FRANCE-French agents detain five in anti-terrorist sweep. AFGHANISTAN-Taliban acknowl edge they lost key city of Mazar-e- Sharif to opposition. AFGHANISTAN-The Taliban ac knowledged Saturday that they lost the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, and an opposition commander said an attack on the capital, Kabul, would start within days. WASHINGTON-Secretary 6f State Powell suggests turning Kabul into an "open city." AFGHANISTAN-Northern Alli ance is able to oust the ruling mili tia from Kabul, Secretary of State Colin Powell said. NEW YORK-Woman charged with helping hijackers establish resi dency pleads guilty to unrelated charge. NEW YORK-Czech Prime Minis ter says terrorist Atta contacted Iraqi agent about a bomb plot in Europe. NEW YORK-Official count of dead and missing from terrorist attacks confirmed. NEW YORK-Judge orders tests at post office, but refuses to close nearby distribution center. NEW YORK-A federal judge or dered anthrax testing-at a huge Manhattan post office. NEW YORK-New Jersey finds an thrax at four more post offices linked to Hamilton processing center. NEW YORK-Four New Jersey post offices were closed for clean ing after tests found traces of an thrax in mail-sorting areas of the buildings. Information compiled from KATU sources as well as The Oregonian. Do you want to go head to head with one of our writers? Bring it on! Send your xcprint@clackamas.cc.or.h ^^^^£gvords or s\ 104 with it saved o
