ine
COMMENEÍRK
2, 2004
T he C lackamas P rint • 5
rime to rekindle the fire of patriotism
Cory Price
E ditor - in -C hief
9/11/01. l;ivc numbers, one
; that has changed America for-
r, but what happened to our
iotism?
The year following the 9/11
•grist Wattacks sparked a
funding influx of patriotism in
erica. < People stuck flags on
r cars land flew them above
r homes. Where has that loyal-
;one?BThe stickers have faded
the flags that flew so proudly
wadded into a ball and put into
age. Patriotism has dwindled
/n tola mere speck of dust in
erica.
'low is a time like no other to
together and support our
>ps. Instead, there are protests
riots against soldiers’ placc-
ltsinEraq. But everyone needs
ealize that those soldiers over-
i are there by choice.
vlaybe «people don’t support
r country because they lack the
wlcdgeito understand the defi-
:>n of patriotism. Well, here it
compliments of Dictionary,
n: “IBve of and devotion to
’s coimtry.”
am t»re that people love their
country, but we lack the devotion,
which is defined as “ardent, often
selfless affection and dedication,,
as to a person or principle.”
How many people are truly
selfless? Our soldiers overseas are the
few in this country who put their own
plans aside for love of country.
The
standard,
everyday
American has no understanding
what our soldiers do for us and
how much we neglect them. For
example, how many people got
together on Monday for a barbe
cue? Many, but few Americans
actually took the time , to realize
what this national holiday really
stands for.
Monday was Memorial Day.
It was created after the Civil War
on May 5, 1868,'to honor those
who died in the war. In the pres
ent time, we have barbecues to
celebrate a day off. There is no
honoring or remembering the
fallen .troops. It is just another
excuse to have a beer and do
nothing.
Americans, wake up and real
ize how easy we have it! Our
lives are not guided by fear, but
instead by free choice. This is a
great honor and a gift we all
enjoy a little too much. Wc take
advantage of this pleasure and
spat, in the faces of those who
died protecting our freedom.
Instead of protesting a war,
thank a veteran. When war cov
erage is shown on the news, stop
and realize how easy life is for us
at home.
Stop and look at a flag.
Imagine every thread on the flag
is one soldier who died for our
freedom. Millions of threads are
intricately woven together to
form a larger image.
Take each of the soldiers who
have died, weave them together
and we get patriotism. Instead of
standing up against war, we need
to stand and' salute our soldiers.
Aarriage is about love.- 'Terrorism' not as clear as if seems
lon't sign away rights
*This article contains racial slurs with
the intent to inform, not to insult.
Mary Jean Williams
<’«e according to their nature, a
right that heterosexuals have
Liken for granted.
A usually reserved acquain-.
The fact is, sexual minorities:
ice flashed across the street to . have been marrying and raising:
g me Sown. “Would you like families all along. And with our
' sign this?” he asked, pfekeht- civil union laws, they enjoy many
I the “Defense of Marriage” of i he same marital protections.
rition.s What could 1 say?
Our freedom to marry is closely
I might appear to him to be intertwined with the great
j model of a “Defense of \mcrtcan < oticepls of lite, hbtrty
and the pursuit of happiness.
irriagc” supporter,
So what is to be
< I am het (C
gained by quibbling
»sexual, happily
over the mere use of a.
irried ' and live a
• nSl^vati v e,
word? The right to
ristiati lifestyle.
legally call commit-
iwevcr, this peti-
ted gay relation
ships “marriages?”
n debases what
Heterosexuals
ikes
marriage
have no right to
:aningful
Us
define other people’s
The “Defense
irriagc’lpcti-
and Mr? Smith, I presume?” relationships/
n
defines
This
petition
image''jbased on a sex act amounts to name-calling. It is
rween a|man and a woman. It analogous to working women
pliek'/that only heterosexuals having .once been called “girls”
capable of marital love. It and black men having once
ores all the higher attributes been called “boys.” - It is to
it make marriages worth hav-i deny that gays and lesbians are
such as partnership, commit- fully mature, fully capable of:
:nt and a passionate bond.
»arital joy.
Not only docs the “man and
I faced my ■ acquaintance, a
¡man” definition debase mar- man 1 like and trust and said, “I
^c, it also defies nature, which can’t sign this petition. Fve seen
es usjnore than just hetero“- the joy of gay people getting
;ualssi:i|\ccf>rding to Dr. Priva married and I can’t stand in their
poor,¡Assistant Professor of way.” My acquaintance looked at
ercultural Communication at. the ground and withdrew like a
rtland* State University there gentieman.
: actually eight genders,
Our world needs more marital
aong 'them arc: hermaphro- love. Please don’t sign the mis
CS, bisexuals and people who named “Defense of Marriage”
gctieficallv one gender with petition.
: physiology of another.
>plc “of all sexual natures
Maryjean W'iidams
■erve the right to marry some-
is a student at CCC.
C ontributing W riter
Joe Clement
C ontributing W riter
At some point in our educa
tion, usually high school history,
we arc given some kind of lesson
on the nature of propaganda. In
high school, this is most often
taught to be a tool, used in times
of war, to dehumanize the enemy
as to gain support for the cause.
In the Vietnam War, it was
reducing any semi-East Asian per
sona to “chink” or “gook.”
Possibly the most memorable is
the propagandist Red Scare of the
1950s, with the “godless commu
nists.” Now in the on-going strug
gle in the near Fast, anyone of
noticeable Arab decent is a “sand
nigger.”
In all occurrences of such
dehumanizing slurs and preju
dices, the motive is making the
enemy into something easier to
hate; and makes it easier to forget
they arc just as human as you or I.
It is in this new age of war that a
new and subtler form of this
dehumanizing propaganda is surg
ing through the American vernac
ular: “terrorism”—properly in the
hypothetical realm of the quota
tion mark. Because you sec,
America has degenerated the war
that portions'of the Islamic world
have been waging with the
Western world into nothing more
than a school-yard bully syndrome
which wc call “terrorism.” In
doing so, it has created a fictitious
scheme in which to justify further
U.S. involvement in the Middle
East, and the “War on Terror.”
For the past millennia, hun
dreds of thousands (millions even)
have been sacrificed for the pur
pose of Holy War—the divine
oxymoron. In all of the blood
shed, all atrocities have been com
mitted with one sole purpose, to
take human life. Nowhere in the
thousand-some odd years of
Middle Eastern conflict has there
been a movement we could prop
erly call terrorism—one perpe
trated purely to cause psycho
logical .trauma.
The word “terrorism” itself is
misleading and even insulting to
anyone of mediocre intellect. If
wc consider the connotations that
pop culture puts behind “war on
terror” and “terrorism,” wc have a
method of psychological warfare
with the explicit aim of not neces
sarily taking life, but causing strife.
Even the most radical of Jihadists
should like to think themselves as
honorable, that they arc taking
lives-and not just scaring people in
the name of Allah. If we look at
the attacks since 9/11, where do
wc find acts of “terrorism?” They
weren’t playing around, they
weren’t out to terrorize a nation;
they wanted to take lives.
If 1 must make my statement
explicit, it is simply to remember
that this is war, not some school
yard scare; employing such base
terms as “terrorism” is juvenile,
and insults not only the enemy, but
us as well.
Joe Clement is a student at CCC.
Random act of white space
Brought to you by The Clackamas Print