|
||||
  
 
 |
Peace rally allows voices to be heard By
Matt Stephens LOGAN -- Concerned citizens young and old gathered Wednesday evening to protest President Bush's insistence on a pre-emptive first strike on Iraq without sufficient support from American citizens, the United Nations, or Congress. Ted Pease, head of the journalism and communication department at Utah State University, said he was astounded at the number of people who showed up for the peace rally. "This is not a university function, and look at the turnout," Pease said of the crowd, estimated at about 250. "I would have thought, with this being little conservative Logan, that there would have been about four people here. The turnout is great." Mae Coover, one of the driving forces behind the rally, wrote in a guest column published in The Herald Journal Tuesday, "It has long been obvious that the strength of our democracy is enhanced when minority voices have a forum. We soon realized that our obligation as citizens was to create a place for a wider range of ideas and opinions to be aired and discussed." "I am thrilled that we have this opportunity to make our feelings known and I hope our politicians pay attention," said Nancy Williams, a USU journalism professor who attended the rally. Williams suggested that going to war is premature. "There is not one person who believes that Saddam Hussein is not an evil man," she said, "but we have to find some way to get what we want without war." Abed Khalil, from Pakistan, said, "It is a great thing to see Americans understand the politics and international issues that face the world. I am here to support the cause of peace." Williams gave her support to a similar cause. She said all other alternatives need to be exhausted before we go to war and face potentially catastrophic consequences. Others at the peace rally echoed similar sentiments. "Instead of the world's greatest country, we have become the world's greatest bully," said Thad Box, a veteran who spoke at the rally. Pease, the final speaker, said nothing good can come out a unilateral U.S. attack on Iraq. It will do nothing to deter the terrorists, he said. "The only good thing to come out of a war with Iraq would be to benefit George W. Bush in shifting attention away from domestic issues such as education, corporate theft and the economy," Pease said. "Caring people can no longer stand passively on the sideline and watch."
|
Archived Months:
January
1999 January
2000 January
2001 |
||