Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

Matthew Dulin        Ray Hafner       Geronimo Rodriguez
         Shaun Salnave          Cara Sarelli

So long, soldiers

As country leaders are sneering at one another, hoping their prepared statements will be earmarked in history, U.S. reserves are packing their fatigues and snapshots of loved ones.

Some leaders mouth off about how time is running, others plead for diplomacy, but whatever the troops are saying is drowned by the dying whirl of choppers.

No excuses, no questions; they suit up and prepare to defend their country.

All this points to war. So where are the protests? Why arenit there any peace protests? Do Americans have to wait for to see what smallpox used as warfare can do to our soldiers to rise up and shout for peaceful resolutions?

Even on campus, some students balk at the idea of protesting war. Sure there have been a few rallys and protests, but this University (if not all) needs more students to interact about war issues and voice their opinions — hostile or not.

Think itis hard now to convince Americans that their fellow brothers and sisters will be dying in the name of oil, just wait and see how hard itill be for President Bush to pull out after the first American casualty is recorded.

Americans talk about war issues without actually confronting them. Just as Bush is harping about Saddam Hussein, hoping to convince the world of just how close the Iraqi leader is to being the devil with a beret, we just talk about war while waiting in line at Starbucks.

Think about how much more we could accomplish by forming bonds with one another based on our ideals before the first deadly disease is spread throughout the masses.

For those against Bush and his father, think about how ridiculous it is to wait for the United States to formally declare war before we actually begin denying we even have a leader.

For the rest, now is the time to convince the rest of the world that this war is different and is worth fighting. Donit wait for postwar books — governments will filter them for 20 years or so before truths begin to surface -- to decide why the war was fought; make the case now.

Perhaps the saddest thing about war is that those making the decisions donit have to beg their soldiers to ship out.

Almost as if the good guys are dispensable, when presidents make the call, thousands of soldiers promptly step up to endanger their lives.

So why will it take live footage of nuclear warfare to get the rest of us on our feet?
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