Dear Editor:
I attended the peace march for Palestine in Chicago on April 6. Five thousand people from different ethnic backgrounds and age groups, including many children, joined this march. I am not Muslim or Arabic, however, I joined this march to support peace. I do not agree with the recent social bandwagon for supporting war against terrorism. "War against terrorism" is a convenient excuse to attack nations which have different religions, ethnicities, or political systems. It is just another war created by people of power and wealth who want to further advance their economic and political control over other nations. As a result, many innocent people have been killed and considered collateral damage, heroes, or terrorists.
I disagree with the idea that war or any type of violent action is the necessary justice for crimes committed. Please consider this, with any type of violence, it is almost impossible to predict the outcome. Think about the tragedy of Sept. 11, and the subsequent thousands of deaths of innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Palestine, or Israel resulting from violent retaliations. All of these are equally disturbing. I do not support war. War only creates thousands (if not millions) of innocent deaths, economic disparity and desperation and hatred among people.
Humans create war, therefore, we are the ones who are obligated to end this cycle of mass destruction. I hope the human race will soon end this cycle of violence with humanity rather than the threat of death imposed by either military or terrorist actions. Compassionate understanding of the differences between countries, cultures and religions is the first step for humans peacefully sharing this world, and peace is only possible when individuals start respecting each other regardless of our race, religion, or economic hierarchy.
Yuki Kobiyama
graduate student, plant biology
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
