Mesa Legend - ARCHIVES - Vol. 39, Issue 7

			ARCHIVES - Vol. 39, Issue 7
Volume 39, Issue 7. Today is .

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Volume 39, Issue 7
December 4, 2001

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Letter to the editor

Bush is lesser of two evils
I would like to respond to Justin Lambright’s comments in the Oct. 30 issue of the Legend. First, let me say that I am not a Bush supporter. I do agree with you that evil is a religious concept and not a political stance, and that Bush is equally evil in the eyes of Osama bin Laden as bin Laden is evil in Bush’s eyes.

I think different terminology would be preferred. That is where our agreements end.

I don’t see anti-Islam and anti-Arab sentiment being perpetuated. I think the greater majority of the American public is intelligent enough to realize that the views and beliefs of Osama and his friends do not truly represent the views and beliefs of true Muslims or the Islamic faith. Only ignorant, prejudice bigots, like white supremacists, think otherwise.

I don’t believe any war is holy and I, too, am concerned about people in general dying but I am a realist as well. You need to realize that by not responding to the attacks with a show of military force, we only invite more attacks like Sept. 11.

This point was proven back in the eighties when Libya was financing the terrorist bombings overseas in Europe of U.S. embassies as well as night clubs frequented by U.S. military personnel. After we sent in F-16s to bomb the Libyan capitol of Tripoli, the terrorist bombings stopped.

To say that bin Laden is not the nicest man in the world is a gross understatement. It has already been proven that the money trail for financing the attacks on Sept. 11 leads right to bin Laden’s bank accounts.

If you don’t like President Bush, you can stand on the steps of the White House and yell, "I hate George W. Bush." You can do the same thing in Afghanistan. If you don’t like their political leaders you can stand in front of their capital building and yell, "I hate George W. Bush."

I think that your comparison between the execution of 150 death row inmates and the thousands that died on Sept. 11 is ludicrous. First, put aside the whole moral issue of whether or not the death penalty is right or wrong.

Now consider this, those 150 people executed were found guilty, by a jury of their peers, of murder and sentenced to death and executed by law. They probably spent 15 years on death row going through the appeals process before they were executed. They knew what was coming and there was no surprise for them. Here in Arizona, we’ve had as many as seven or more inmates executed in one year. Does that make Governor Hall an evil person?

You tell me, Mr. Lambright, what were the people in the World Trade Center guilty of? Showing up to work on time? The fact is— they were innocent everyday people just like you and me.

They weren’t active duty military fighting in combat. They were ordinary people at work trying to provide for their families.

You said, "Bin Laden doesn’t like America and he lets it be known." Only his method of telling the world was to kill thousands of innocent people unexpectedly and without warning.

So yes, in my opinion, that does make it "The Crime of the Millennium."

To answer your last question Mr. Lambright, in my opinion, President Bush is the lesser of two evils. That is my final answer.

Colin Stewert III
Electronics Technology