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opinion
Don't let violent
images sway you
We are all living in a state of fear since the attacks on Sept.
11. And talks of retaliation and retribution help to alleviate
some of those fears. We want those responsible to be punished.
It is essential to exercise your right and privilege as an American
to form an opinion of your own.
Seeking out and punishing those will be no easy task. The reality
is that Osama bin Laden will hide out in a cave or within a
vast network of terrorists. And innocent people in Afghanistan
will be die because of the militant views of one man.
Bin Laden may not care if innocent people live or die, but we
need to. Especially in light of the devastating loss of over
6,000 of our own.
Don't be swayed by the images you see on television. Remember
to take some of the international coverage on television with
a grain of salt. I know it is hard to believe that people would
actually be celebrating the execution of such heinous terrorist
attacks that took so many civilian lives.
But many of those shown dancing in the streets live in a country
where the media is controlled by the government. Those people
know only what a select few officials decide they should know.
I spent the summer in Zimbabwe, a small country in the southern
tip of Africa. The media in Zimbabwe are owned and monopolized
by a few corrupt government officials, who use United States
aid dollars to fund their political machines.
They use extremely manipulative propaganda to sway public opinion
and villianize the United States. They portray the United States
as the root of most of the social and economic problems that
Zimbabweans have - because the people of Zimbabwe know what
their government wants them to know.
So bin Laden and his terrorist network planned and executed
a plan to kill and destroy Americans and their pride on Sept.
11. But are we really any better to plan out and execute a plan
of our own? A plan that will likely involve murdering just as
many innocent people? We should approach this situation as we
would if we were seeking someone on American soil. We wouldn't
destroy an entire city to catch one man.
With the wounds of WWII Japanese internment camps still fresh,
we still have the bitter taste of ignorance and intolerance
in our American mouths. Being uneducated and uninformed breeds
ignorance. And ignorance breeds fear. And fear breeds hate.
Don't let the images on television decide for you. Talk to people
and do your own research. Then decide for yourself. We can make
informed and educated decisions. And war may not be the answer.
Many ask if justice is even feasible without war. For the sake
of humanity, I sure hope so.
Pam Brashear is a journalism major at Cal State Long Beach.
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