Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

Matthew Dulin        Ray Hafner       Geronimo Rodriguez
         Shaun Salnave          Cara Sarelli

War would affect everyone

On Wednesday, various organizations asked the Houston City Council to promote peace in the form of an anti-war petition containing signatures by more than 2,100 Houstonians. 

Members of the Houston Coalition for Justice Not War submitted the petition, along with a document stating opposition to war in Iraq.

Immediately, council members began to bicker over whether it was their job to deal with national issues such as the dangling threat of war against Iraq. 

Council member Michael Berry reportedly doubted "whether (the council) should be advising the White House or Congress," while council member Carolyn Alvarado brought up that the Council had previously accepted draft resolutions on national matters.

But it's worth noting that similar resolutions have already passed in 43 U.S. cities, including Washington D.C., Detroit, Mich. and Chicago, Ill. 

It was probably this fact that most influenced Mayor Lee P. Brown to accept the petition for review.

Still, the mayor has roughly four million constituents, and it's hard to say if action should be taken based on such a small number as 2,000 signatures. 

UH has more than 35,000 students. The Daily Cougar has published a fair share of Opinion columns both for and against the war. From this one could conclude that at least a sizeable percentage of students at the University are against war in Iraq.

For those students, now is the time to express your opinion. If you are against the pending war in Iraq and would like the petition to be passed on to Congress, write to Mayor Brown to tell him so. 

The Web site for HCJNW defines the group as a coalition of those "who advocate for public policies based on the promotion of true social justice, respect for human life and world peace."

For more information about what the group is about and how to get involved, visit www.houstonjusticenotwar.org/index.htm. 

And remember -- no matter what side of the political fence you are on -- now is not the time to be apathetic. 

The potential war in Iraq affects everyone in America. It would affect us personally. It would affect us professionally and financially. And it would determine our country's future.