Joel Tagert

Last December, two or three thousand peace activists gathered at the Martin Luther King statue in City Park and marched down Colfax to the front steps of the Capital.  Leading the march were some representatives of the American Indian Movement playing a large drum and singing in their native tongue.  Just a little ways behind followed a substantial Black Bloc group.  The rest of the long line stretched for a few blocks further, with musicians scattered throughout the crowd.

I like music, I particularly like to sing and play during a march.  I had brought a drum and a rattle so I could join in.  At first, i was near the head of the line, by the AIM members.  I loved the deeply spiritual sound of their music, but I found it difficult to participate because I felt I might be interfering rather than contributing; and in any case, I didn’t know the words.  So, I dropped back a bit to where the Black Bloc kids were.

Hey, I thought.  Here’s something I can join in with.  If they’re drumming on five-gallon buckets, they can’t be too concerned about your musicianship.  They had a vibrant. youthful energy.  They were chanting:  “Global, Mobil, Exxon, Shell:  Take your war and go to hell!”  Or:  “We ain’t gonna take no more.  We’re fired up!”  But as I walked, I noticed something curious.  While the Black Bloc-ers were chanting loudly, the people around them were not joining in.  If anything, they seemed to be edging away.

Reflecting on this, I think the problem was that their chants were overtly angry and phrased negatively.  While anger is an understandable reaction to injustice; if it is not tempered by a clear, positive vision, its expression will only alienate those one wishes to persuade, and divide those one wishes to unite.  Those marching around the Black Bloc were uncertain.  Clearly, these young people were against the war; but what were they advocating for?

So I dropped back further, and still further, until, finally, I saw something remarkable.  Two men were marching together.  One had a tuba over his shoulder; the other had a snare drum strapped around his waist.  They were playing enthusiastically.  People around them were smiling, bobbing their heads in time to the music.  As I watched, two more drummers joined them.  I followed suit.  Now we were a little impromptu band marching for peace.  The tuba player paused and sang to a merry rhythm, “All we are saying is:  give peace a chance!”

Hey!  That sounded great!  I started singing along.  Before we knew it, the crowd around us was singing, laughing, and dancing.  We did other chants:  “power to the peaceful!”  “There ain’t no power like the power of the people cause the power of the people don’t stop!”

The peace movement will not achieve its aims so long as it remains re-active rather than pro-active.  Negative slogans allow the earmongers to define the public dialogue.  We must instead embrace a positive vision expressed positively.

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José Rocha

Blame it on America!  Why not?  Who are they to bully other nations around?  From containing fly zones, reinforcing weapons inspections, and even going as far as to threaten to go to war with Iraq unless our demands are met.  It’s almost as if America were playing policeman to this nation— and who knows how many others.  After all, America is a Democracy, that believes in freedom and the people’s right to choose.  Some even go as far to call America another “Nazi Germany”, strutting around the world fixing what ever they choose.

But whether or not America does these things, the world may view America as tyrannous.  Time and time again, immigrants from not just Southern America, but all over the world, wash up on the shores of American soil, by the hundreds and even the thousands.  People like these have gone as far as attempting death to escape the land in which they live in order to escape poverty or politically unjust societies. They risk both life and limb to obtain the American life of opportunity.  Even as our nation is greatly threatened by terrorism and our economy is in recovery; they still come.  All to be a part of this nation  A nation so many love to hate.

And when parts of the world from Somalia to Ethiopia, have people living in disease stricken lands, starving to death by the millions; who is there to help?  America dips inside of its budget to supply military assets to render aid and supplies to those people in need.  America, with their superpower ability, dips into their government funds to render help for those in need of it.  America is known for their consistent ability to jump first on these issues.

Who, for example stoop up when nations like Iraq knowingly used chemical and biological weapons on their own people and surrounding neighbors; even deciding to invade Kuwait?  Who took the stand in putting a stop to this aggression?  And who took a stand during the cold war against the threat of invading communist governments?  From Vietnam to Korea, the aid stretches to so many more as well.  And who has provided funds to numerous nations in financial need for the past century?  Millions and millions, still never to be paid back.  The point is that the list of these types of actions stretches far beyond the scope of a few pages.

Yet, so many are so quick to judge the mistakes that America has made, as well as criticizing every next move they make.  But, those critics often fail to give credit to the great things America has done for this world.  The “Lone Ranger”, judged or criticized, still stands alone.  America stands up for starving and suffering nations.  Always the first to dip into its wallet, as if it were the worlds “sugar daddy”.  Always the first to speak out and face up to tyranny, unilaterally or not.  Taking one step at a time, it takes on each battle to make this world a better place.  Many might say that America is just bulling its way around, trying to fix the world the way it wants to.  I say that America is saving those parts of the world where no one else is brave enough to.  It is like a responsibility that no one else cares to take on.

And now, America is taking on another battle with Iraq.   A nation that admitted to obtaining weapons of mass destruction and who has knowingly used them before (Read your newspapers!), deliberately violating not only your well being, but all of humanity’s.  America, taking a stand, once again.  The “Lone Ranger” United States, with or without the help of others, dives head first into the firing pit called nuclear, chemical and biological warfare. 

America, who stands up against the unjust here, and everywhere.  America, in all of its splendor and courage, still criticized and judged.  Yet the criticism and judgement is to be expected.  Especially in this democracy, and especially when you’re the strongest nation in the world.  What we should be asking ourselves is where is the support?  Where is the patriotism? 

As part of such a nation; do we not owe a little support?  I say, we owe a whole hell of a lot!  There is a firing pit of hatred, tyranny, aggression, terrorism and inhumanity in this world that threatens our well being every day.  Once again, America dives headfirst into the firing pit of such things.  Never would I want to be a part of any other nation, but this bold United States of America.  And if this nation is willing to dive head first once again, as a damn proud American, I say, throw me in first.
God Bless America!

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Letters to the Editor
America did not start this war

Dear Editor:

This letter is to all the anti-war, so-called peaceful folks here at the Auraria Campus.  Where were you when your oh-so-favorite President Clinton was bombing Aspirin factories in the Sudan and SAM sites in southern   Iraq?  Where were you when he sent troops into Somalia and refused to give them the proper supplies to complete their mission and then pulls them out after they where massacred?  Watch “Black Hawk Down” and maybe you’ll learn something!  The Metropolitan’s headline “War unpopular in Denver” is complete BULLS***.  A recent polls say 67% of Americans support talking Saddam out.
These anti-war people have no clue as to what this evil man (Saddam) will do to America if he is not taken out NOW!!!  It seems as though they have forgotten that  AMERICA DID NOT START THIS WAR!!! We were at peace and all we got was 9-11.  It also makes me sick that if you are a member of the military, you are a “baby killer” and a “murderer” when the real murderer is in Iraq.  For heavens sake, the man kills his own people.  President Bush is a great man and he doesn’t hide behind the military to save his ass, unlike that lying, adulterous, liberal scumbag Clinton.  God Bless the military and all those who serve and protect this nation and freedom and God Bless the United States of America!

-Danielle Robinson
Metro State, Sophomore

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Letters to the Editor
Please promote albino squirrel rights

Dear Metropolitan,

My name is Dustin Ballard and I am president of the Albino Squirrel Preservation Society.  We are an International organization of college students dedicated to promoting albino squirrel rights worldwide.  The reason I’m writing is because we feel that the albino squirrels of Colorado are vastly unrepresented.  We would desperately like to change this.  If any of your readers are interested in registering a chapter of our club at Metropolitan State College please visit: albinosquirrel.com.  Thank you very much.

-Dustin Ballard
ASPS International President
dustin@albinosquirrel.com

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The Gadfly
Brian P. Reed
Opinion Editor

Du muBr dein Leben ändern.
—Rilke
Archaïscher Torso Apollos

I am not, nor purport, nor wish, nor aspire to be a journalist (a posit, I’m sure, many of you already knew, hoped or I had hoped inferred).  What I do, here ( at the paper), is fill up this section very much like many “journalism” majors also do while attending classes at Metro.

Having been in the newspaper business for several years, I know of very few people for whom I have greater contempt than “journalism” majors who rely solely on the mistakes of other’s for personal aggrandization.  (It’s like, you know, criticizing America for doing something, even though the only reason you can criticize it is because of it.)  Rather than shoving your pathetic little heads in the sand, get involved.  That is, PUT UP OR SHUT UP!

Your tiny, weak-kneed, pansy-brained self should have little or nothing to say about anything.  My guess is that you would be denied a job at the “Thrifty Penny.”
Are your heads so far up your ass that you idiots really think your going to get a job in the “real” world without experience?  “:Come on,” (said the cat to the mouse), “I’ve got a piece of a bridge in the desert overlooking a lagoon that I’ll sell to you.”

Have you ever considered what goes into the production—from beginning to end—of a newspaper?  Or, more likely, do you think there is some special “fairy dust” (swaying you, nonchalantly towards IBM) that we sprinkle on our computers on a weekly basis to make our baby?

Even more interesting, I find, is that the professors in your department do not require at least 14 weeks of work (and I mean bleeding) to be completed at “The Metropolitan,” or something substantially greater, prior to graduating.

In retrospect, I have known many  business professors who could not run an espresso stand to save themselves from caffeine deprivation let alone success and, as a result, chose to work at the college level.  I pray this is not also true for journalism professors.
Anyway, what comes around goes around.  I guess, in the end, it does not matter.

When you graduate with your “degree” in journalism and put your resume without any experience in the industry, it will be the people I see every day hiring you.  The jokes, then, will be both you and on you.
p.s.  Kill Saddam Hussein!

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