I became disheartened and distressed by Walter Simpson's opinion piece "Resisting the Call to War" in Friday's Spectrum. What will it take for people to respond and defend our country, our way of life? Why do our actions have to be retaliatory? Were we not just attacked and are not more attacks on our home imminent in the future? Wouldn't our so-called "retaliation" then be an act to defend ourselves, to pursue justice? "A cowardly Congress?" These people are making moves to protect us! What are we supposed to do, offer a "compassionate hand" to fanatical Islamic militants as they continue to plot and carry out mass murders? They will cut off that hand and then, as we propose more philosophical arguments about what to do, they will kill more innocent people. Will more "peace vigils" really keep terrorists from killing our families, friends, and our way of life?
Furthermore, Simpson tries to justify the attacks on our country by saying that we have simply created the monster ourselves. Of course this is true, but do you really think this was what we wanted? Do we really believe that 6,000 Americans deserved to die because we couldn't predict the future? You know what they say about hindsight and 20/20. Finally, Simpson mentions that it is much more likely that they hate us for our foreign policy. Maybe their fanatical religious beliefs and convictions have something to do with it. They were driven by their religious beliefs. They persecute individuals with other beliefs, deface their monuments, call the United States the "great devil" and issue holy wars. Maybe we should start talking about the dangerous role of religion in government and in conducting national policy, as with the Taliban, and worry less about criticizing a nation that is defending the way of life for you and I. As for me, I will wave my flag, sing "God Bless America," and support our troops as they risk their lives to protect us. This American is not "loyally" dissenting.
Matt Aboudara
UB Student
