1991_02 The Daily Collegian February 1991

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War victory,
domestic loss
•Oil war in times of financial
crisis is unwise, alternative
energy programs, sanctions
better solution to Gulf troubles
By Richelle Noroyan
a
'ne of Pete Wilson's first actions as governor of California
was to cut the education budget. During the 1980's, the Reagan
Administration cut federal support for city budgets by 75
percent which resulted in less money for public transportation.
enme fighting and education.
For the past 11 years, the Reagan and Bush administrations
have told the American population that there was not enough
money for programs that invested in people, but suddenly this
country feels wealthy enough to fight a multi-billion dollar
war in the Middle East
We may feel that we're winning the war in the Gulf, but
we're losing important battles at home. George Bush said he
wanted to be the education president, the environmental
president, and the kindler and gentler president. So far he has
failed to be any of these things, and instead we have President
Globo-Cop.
The United States is not only at war in the Persian Gulf, but
is fighting a war against a damaging recession within its own
borders. When will Gearge Bush finally take notice of problems
in his own country?
Before the war started, the majority of Democrats in
Congress believed sanctions were the best way to respond to
Saddam Hussein's "aggression." The United States responded
with sanctions and an Olympic Boycott when the Soviet Union
attacked Afghanistan.
When China attacked Tibet we turned the other cheek, and
we could have cared less about naked aggression from Isreal
and Syria when they attacked Lebanon. Obviously oil has
made a difference in this situation, but with the Cold War over
and the United States Military Industrial Complex looking for
new ways to keep up production, perhaps there is more to this
war than oil.
Perhaps this war is also about keeping the status-quo. With
this war, talk about the Cold War Peace dividend is no longer
present in newspaper headlines. Talk of providing health care,
improving education, and the environment are issues that were
ignored by the Reagan Administration, and are now being
ignored by the Bush Administration. It is true when George
Bush says this war is not only about oil, it is also about hiding
from important problems.
This war could have easily been prevented. Our country's
refusal to find alternative energy sources and its willingness to
arm dictators like Manuel Noriega and Saddam Hussein are
huge flaws in American public and foreign policy.
During his presidency, Jimmy Carter warned America that if
it did not find alternative energy sources, this country would,
in the near future, be fighting a war in the Persian Gulf. Many
people laughed when Carter placed solar heating panels on the
White House roof to promote ideas of research into alternative
energy sources. His solar panels were the perfect perscription
for oil hungry America, but the day Ronald Reagan moved in,
the solar panels came down and all hopes of finding alternative
energy sources came down with those solar panels.
Saddam Hussein would not be where he is today without
America's help. Our country did not call Saddam a "naked
aggressor" when he attacked Iran. Ronald Reagan and George
Bush did not call Saddam a "Hitler" when he gassed his own
people. Instead of responding with disgust at these actions, the
United States responded by allowing U.S. Military Industries
to sell their weaponry to Iraq.
Now that the war is a reality, anti-war activists should turn
their attention to doing everything they can for the troops.
Disgust for this war should not be directed toward the brave
men and women fighting in the Gulf, but for the policy that
put them there. Let us not make the same mistake America
made when it came to the treatment of soldiers returning home
from Vietnam.
Some anti-war activists blamed the rank and file soldier for
Vietnam while pro-Vietnam War advocates ignored the needs
See WAR page 3
A Quesnoti of ^rA£JAT'<W
Of lr Levy
n'9'i
The Collegian intended to run a submission from the Bulldog
Republicans opposite that of the University Democrats by Richelle
Naroyan. However, because the Bulldog Republicans response was
received too late to meet production deadlines, it will appear Monday as a
letter to the editor.
Letters to the Editor
• Turning a
bad situation
'tip'sy-turvy
While not your usual
"Letter to the Editor," I felt
the following account of a
true story would be of
interest to readers. In a
time when CSUF and other
campuses are undergoing
similar struggles dealing
with sexism, racism, and
the entire us vs. them
mentality, perhaps we all
need a little bit of what
Lacy has.
I'mnotsure how Lacy and
I became friends since we
seem to be almost total
opposites. I hate toexcercise
and she is an athlete at the
national       level.       My
grandmother says 1 am "good,
solid German stock" and Lacy's
heritage is African-American. I
have worked full-time and
attended school part-time since
I was sixteen, while Lucy will
be pursuing her doctorate in
psychology next year and just
barely started working at the
University Student Union
Information Desk. We were at
lunch when she told me the
story of her second day working
there.
"This guy came in in wearing
mechanic-like overalls asking
about a concert. I couldn't find
the information right away and
couldn't reach anyone to help
me. I told him I was sorry 1
wasn't more helpful. So he said
Thanks for the information'
kind of sarcastically and left me
50 cents."
"Whatr I interrupted. "What
a jerk! What an idiot! Who does
he think he is?" 1 went on
this way for quite some time
and finally ended with "Did
you throw it at him?"
"No" she said.
"Well, what did you do?"
"I found a cup, wrote TIPS
on it, put the money inside
and set it on the counter."
When I finished laughing.
Lacy continued, "Theperson
who took the next shift came
in. She saw the cup on the
counter and then turned to
me with a puzzled look."
I watched my friend as she
repeated her answer with
back straight and head held
high.
"Yup, I got a tip today,"
Lacy told her replacement
proudly.
M. Susan Vasquez
Post-Graduate Student