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| Fifth Column |
| Why do they hate us? |
| 2001-09-15 |
C. Alton Robertson is an emeritus associate professor at University of Redlands. I love this country. I am grateful for my freedoms and for the opportunities that citizenship has provided. I am proud of the many achievements we have made. But I also know that my government, acting on behalf of myself and all my fellow citizens, has perpetrated unspeakable acts of violence against the citizens of other states. Why were Palestinians celebrating in the streets of Jerusalem and in the putrid Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon on Tuesday? Why were people dancing in the streets in Tehran? Why did Chile have to go through 17 years of terrible oppression under Gen. Augusto Pinochet after our government instigated the coup that led to the death of the democratically elected president, Salvador Allende, in a country that had a history of 100 years of democracy? Why did we oust Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala? Why did we spend billions of dollars decimating the countryside of Nicaragua? Why were we bombing Cambodia? How long did we support apartheid in South Africa and keep oppressive regimes in office? The front page of this newspaper on Thursday screamed, "America: Stunned, Saddened and Now Ready for Revenge." Is revenge what the perpetrators of Tuesday's crimes seek? Will revenge in return solve anything? Of course, the perpetrators need to be identified and their supporters held accountable. But revenge, unbalanced by truth, will gain nothing but increased rage and further acts of revenge. Revenge, unaccompanied by self-examination, accomplishes little. There are other ways to right wrongs and to resolve conflict. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |