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Change People should better appreciate rapid change in their community Several weeks ago, ABC's Primetime Li\e had a report on the "Mailing of America." The reporter decried the replacement of the old Comiskey Park in Chicago by a newer baseball stadium. The chnw fiirthpr HpcpriVvH tinw fact_fnr?H franphicpc anH malic havp taken away the colorful local character of America. This assertion makes some sense, but to resist change completely is somewhat silly. Eventually, old buildings have to be replaced. A stadium, for example, has a limited life before it becomes too decrepit to maintain. While this may offend those with fond memories of a location, it is inevitable for things to change. A building as large as the old Comiskey Park cannot be maintained as a shrine for White Sox fanatics. For all the nasty comments about "progress," it is progress that separates us from the | lower animals. No other creature on Earth has the ability to im- J prove its own living conditions so consistently. Here on campus, an older doim was cleared to make room for * Gambrell Hall. The area around Carolina Coliseum used to be an impoverished area before the construction of the coliseum and more recently the Koger Center. USC is improved by the new changes. We have a grand new engineering building. A new home for the journalism school is to be constructed within the next several years. It is changes like those listed above that allow more people to get an education at USC and increase the prestige of the university. Careless destruction of historical sites should be avoided, but i the necessary replacement of older buildings should not be resisted. As for the growth of franchise companies, they have not driven competent independents out of business. If a local diner folds because of the construction of a new McDonald's, is it the fault of McDonald's Corporation or of the fiscally irresponsible diner? Change is not a bad thing, just as a stagnant maintenance of the status quo is no virtue. <=>199/ The Gamecock News: 777-7726 Advertising: 777-4249 Kathy Blackwell Robyn Thompson Editor in Chief Managing Editor Jennifer Jablonski David Bowden Copy Desk Chief Viewpoint Editor Lucy Soto Kathy Heberger News Editor Carolina Life Editor Steve Johnson Renee Meyer Sports Editor Photography Editor Aaron Sheinin Tige Watts Assistant News Editor Assistant News Editor Octavia Wright Patrick Vbllegas Assistant Carolina Life Editor Assistant Sports Editor Chris Silvestri Julie Bouchillon Assistant Copy Desk Chief Assistant Photography Editor Eric Glenn Wayne Williams Darkroom Lab Technician Comics Editor Ed Bonza Erik Collins Director of Student Media Faculty Adviser Laura s. Day Ray Burgos Production Manager Assistant Production Manager Renee Gibson Kyle Berry Advertising Manager Assistant Advertising Manager Carolyn Griffin Business Manager Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should be, at maximum, 250 to 300 words long. The writer must include full name, professional title if a USC employee or South Carolina resident, or year and major if a student. An address and phone number are required with all letters sent. The Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters for style, possible libel or in case of space limitations. The newspaper will not withhold names under any circumstance. i 3 Students miss point of war To the editor: I can't take it another minute. For the past two issues, I have read articles crying about the war in the gulf and proclaiming that peace and love are the only solutions to a happy, Utopian world. Wake up people! in your attempt to oversimplify world affairs, you have missed almost every point to why we have engaged in combat. The effects of lost lives and casualities are the only elements you understand. Kuwait is not Mozambique as pointed out by Mr. Cohn and Mr. McPherson. It happens to be located in an area that is vital to the pnrirp u/r?r1H nnt nnlv hprancp of its vast resources, but because of its geographic location. You bleeding hearts have probably never heard of a concept called "balance of power." If Hussein is allowed to acquire Kuwait, he won't be happy. No differently than the appeasement of Germany prior to World War II, Iraq will only want more. This would create a nation with massive military power, not to mention a monopoly on major resources. This in turn would cause the U.S. and many other nations to face a much more aggressive opponent. Talk about losing American lives, it could even result in having to defend our homeland. Have you ever heard of prevention, gentlemen? Granted, lives will be lost. I don't favor death. I have many friends serving in the Middle East, but it comes to this: 1,000 lives will be lost now, 100,000 in five years. If Hussein acquires nuclear capability, this prediction could very well be reality. Their letter gave the impression that President Bush woke up one morning and decided to go fight a war. What rock did you crawl from under? You must have been in a vacuum prior to Jan. 16. This opposition is not U.S. only, it is practically a world coalition. The U.N. has supported and condoned the action, as well as the U.S. Congress. As for Ms. Peebles' comments on the president not being willing to put his life on the line: have you ever wondered why our president has to have a Secret Service? Could it be perhaps that he puts his life on the line every day? Our last two presidents had nearly successful attempts made on their lives. Mr. Bush volunteered for his job; he wasn't drafted. Mr. Bush also proudly served in the Navy as a pilot. He has always been willing to put his life on the line when asked. As for the ridiculous notion of our leaders fighting a war, the stupidity in this is so obvious it hardly warrants a response. I sup pose it we lose our experts in world affairs by putting them on the front lines we can replace them with art, interdisciplinary and engineering experts such as yourselves. I'm sure that will be an improvement. Concerning your claims about the U.S.'s unbridled, inhumane treatment of the Iraqi people, it has been stated time and again that only military targets are the emphasis of our strikes. While innocent civilians have been killed, it has never been the aim of the coalition's strategy, unlike Iraq's aggression against the citizens of Israel and Saudi Arabia. -3 c SKI ~; If Hussein is even remotely concerned with the terrible hardships < of his people, he has the power to stop it. He has decided their fate, i not the coalition against him. , As for you '90s flower children,' 1 I suppose you think that by giving 1 the world a Coke, holding hands < and singing a song you will create * a haven of peace and love where 1 all will live in happiness. It sounds a lot like a commune to me. I conclude with a quote by John Stuart Mill: "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more imnortant than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." William D. Wimsatt International studies senior Letter writer too intellectual To the editor: It's a kind of Catch-22. Once again, I feel compelled to respond to Spiros Papleacos, specifically, to his Feb. 6 letter in The Gamecock. But the catch is, by responding, I am playing into his hands. Spiros, I now realize that, although it is what I believe, I was perhaps hasty in trying to put into perspective the question of American blacks and IQ scores. I am not even sure that when you write your letters to the editor that you even have a point. Basically, Spiros, you use a lot of big words, but you really don't have that much to say. As for your hang-up about the roots of civilization, if it doesn't bother you one way or the other, wny do you keep bringing it up/ You claim not to have an "absolute assertation." I can believe it And, by the way, although I tend to carry around a set of fundamental beliefs, I am not "shrill" in my ideology. I just don't encase it in a lot of mumbo-jumbo academic jargon. You may not recall, Spiros, but I have had the dubious pleasure of meeting you in person. You seem to thrive on academia. All those books are great, Spiros, but how is it that you are using (or misusing) your knowledge? I am well aware that this letter is value-laden, but I thought I'd make the most of my last letter dedicated to our "favorite," Spiros Papleacos. Grace Vale McFarland Counselor education graduate student War is good to fight, die in To the editor: In response to Hope C. Peebles' letter which was published on Wednesday, Feb. 6: Hope, I would like to pose a question to you and the rest of this campus: "Where would this nation be without war?" I must contend that war is not the most reasonable solution to some of America's past and present dilemmas. But, if you do recall it was the Revolutionary War that gave the that people are literally being slaughtered daily. Perhaps, so far, the casualities dealt our servicemen and women have been light Tell that to the child whose father just arrived home in a bag. Tell that to the military wife who just received a call that her husband is now a POW. The real atrocity in this war is the tremendous amount of innocent blood being shed, not only Iraqi, but Kuwaiti, Saudi, Israeli, and the like. No one cares that the United States is practicing widespread genocide on the Iraqi nation, especially not Mr. Saunders. I, like Gamecock columnist Dennis Shealy, could never fight for such an unjust war machine, cutting down harmless Arabs with the vicious brutality of Adolf Hitler. I am not saying that Saddam Hussein may not be an evil man. I feel wholeheartedly so; however, I am afraid that I do not believe that ? 13 Colonies their independence. 1 On Dec. 6, 1941 the United States < was attacked by the Japanese for t no probable cause or reason (actu- < ally it was Dec. 7, ed.). Recall Hitler's obsessed crusade I to rule all of Europe. If he would have been stopped in the beginning I as we are trying to do with Sad- i dam Hussein, many lives would < koxro Knnn cnoraH / ua*v/ uwii opaivAi. ' How can you sit there and say, *= "I cannot see how any person can find enough hatred that drives one w to war." Rather, it is the defending v of our freedom as a nation. Many } mpn anH n/nmpn havp conrifioA/1 ^ their lives on foreign lands to de- c fend this nation's freedom along 1 with all its privileges. In reference to the absurd quote from the protest you attended, "If t George Bush feels the need to ? prove he's a man, then let him go ? out on the front line." For your in- s formation, George Bush served as ? a fi(rht??r nilnt in WWII nrnuino t *+ ^nui. in t TT ii, pivyTin^, and defending more than his i manhood. s I I am grieved to see this nation I in a state of turmoil and war. Even though the president has claimed t that the draft will not be reinstated 2 in this war, it disturbs me to think I that maybe one day I will be r draffpA nr wnrcp vpf mv rhildrpn S If this time should one day c come, I will go whether supporting I or rejecting the reasoning for the 2 war, as many have done before I me, including the president, in hopes that maybe one day your children will have the same rights and freedoms that so many of us take for granted. John J. DeWane English junior War shouldn't be glamorized To the editor: I am almost ashamed to admit that I am actually from the same department as public relations se c c i ...i iiiui ot;uti oaunucis, wiiu is icsponsible for the hideous letter to the editor "War has to be in tough times" which ran Feb. 8. I was insulted by Mr. Saunders biting comments not only to Miss Peebles, anti-war protesters, but Arab people as a whole; however, I was most insulted by his ignorance about the war and misguided far-fetched viewpoints. The problem I see with this tabloid TV war is that it is far too clean. Too many Americans, like Mr. Saunders, seem not to care rresiueni r>usn in no way warns a war. Wrong." Who the hell are you, Mikki Dane's illegitamate (sic) son? How do you know what goes on inside of George Bush's mind? I guess this letter is really directed at the Gamecock staff for printing such lame trash ? day in and day out. It is quite disconcerting when you pick up The Gamecock three times a week and the only person who makes any sense is Gary Larson. William B. Holland Finance senior Michael S. Alexander Chemistry senior i? judJ:?wi ; . VIr. Hussein could pose any more a threat to U.S. foreign policy han that of gnat-like Panamanian lictator Manuel Noriega boastfully 'declaring war" on the United States. Even military analysts admit to the fact that in some way or another all wars are fought for jconomic reasons. Should we not question a war based on our own treed? Ask yourself, would the United States be in the Middle East this ery moment if Kuwait's chief ex>ort were brocolli? Would we have nvaded South African shores deades ago to liberate the black man f the white apartheid minority vere sitting on millions of barrels >f bubbling crude? Ladies and gentlemen, the war o liberate the oil of the aristocratic ;overnment of Kuwait from the peat satan Saddam has begun. I uggest that if you are willing to ;ive your life so the folks back lome don't have to reach so far nto their pockets at the gas pump, ;ign up today. Uncle Sam is not )icky. But as for me, no thanks. '11 walk. And to Mr. Saunders, if you ruly feel that this war is just, why ire you sitting idle upon your rear? Sprhanc Unrip ^am rrnilrl finrl a nore productive way for you to ipend your time? The government an always use a few more naive )ublic relations graduates to lie md propagandize to the American X)pulace. Kipp Shives Ad/PR freshman Paper 4nice,' yet also 'lame' To the editor: This letter is regarding the Viewpoint section of the Feb. 8 Gamecock. First of all regarding the pictorials (political cartoons? editorials?, ed.) ? nice, but a bit rhetorical. Secondly, to the anonymous author of the "Apathy" article, if you want to see someone get passionate about something, play a joke on your colleague Dennis Shealy by telling him the government has reinstated the draft and they are going to start by picking cry-baby, coward college students, and just sit back and watch him run pas sionately for Canada. Speaking of Dennis Shealy, it is quite obvious from the first column of your letter that you, sir, have been watching too many war movies. Or could I be wrong and actually you know so much about the graphic details of war from your three tours in Vietnam? Also, I for one do not think you are a coward. A coward is someone who in the face of a possible (minutely, in this case) impending danger, begin to spaz out and . . . wait a minute. I was wrong; you are a coward. I would also like to direct a question at Mr. Erik Smith who states in his letter to the editor, icrk ;j i. n i_ ?