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Opinion
Smoky Mountain News
War-weary Americans don’t want to get involved in Syria
BY DOUG WINGEIER G UEST COLUMNIST t doesn’t seem to matter which political party a president belongs to: if he wants to go to war he’ll find a way, regardless of what the American people may want. We are tired of war — civilian and military deaths, billions drained away from domestic needs, lives disrupted, families separated, futures ruined. One president falsely claimed weapons of mass destruction. Now another wishes to rain death on Syrians in retaliation for the use of chemical weapons. Fortunately, though, this time he has agreed to seek Congressional approval. So we must urge our representatives not to grant it. Here are some reasons we can use to persuade them to refrain from military action: 1. A U.S. attack would both cause Syrians to rally around President Assad and also motivate extremists from other countries to enlist in his cause, thereby strengthening his hand and swelling his forces. 2. It’s not yet known for sure who is responsible for the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack. While it’s likely that it was the Assad regime, it is also possible that the opposition could
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New attempt to help domestic abuse victims To the Editor: Domestic abuse, according to statistics, has increased. Although the exact reasons cannot be pinpointed, the latest analysis points to the possible presence of a “warrior/bully” gene which can manifest all the time or just activate when the person gets under excess stress. And, of course, one of the causes of excess stress is fear of economic loss. This may explain why recession can bring out the worst in anyone with this gene. However it may be, abuse — whether committed by a male or a female — is ugly and potentially lethal. A new project is beginning, called AWAY TO GO. The aim of this program is to help relocate abused spouses, as well as children and abused elderly, to other counties within the state and also to other states. This program would be a victim protection program, similar to the well-known witness protection program. The idea for this project was that of Haywood resident Preston Tinsley. To speak about this program, he can be reached at 828.646.8667. If there is no answer, leave a clear message with your name and phone number and he will call you back. The program is in a fledgling state, as there are many facets to consider, such as means of transportation, job training provision in the new location, temporary shelter until housing can be found, food, clothing and medical supplies needed until a means of income is established and, of course, notification of protective police agencies in the new location, as well as help from police agencies and the sheriff ’s office in Haywood County. Domestic violence is against the law and victims have the right to take legal action to
have done it to win international sympathy and outside military support. 3. A U.S. attack would only intensify the cycle of violence. As Gandhi put it, “An eye for an eye makes us both blind.” A military intervention would lengthen and worsen the alreadyatrocious violence. 4. Unless authorized by Congress, a military strike would violate the Constitution and the War Powers Act, which stipulate that only Congress can declare war. It would also violate international law, as no such action has been authorized by the United Nations Security Council. 5. The latest poll I’ve seen shows 60 percent of the American people opposed to military intervention in Syria, with only 9 percent supporting. 6. What would be the targets? To hit chemical weapons stockpiles would release deadly poisons into the air, killing thousands more. And it would be impossible to destroy all the planes, missiles, and mortars that could be used to deliver them. 7. U.S. intervention on the side of the opposition could easily benefit the terrorist groups fighting with them, thereby
end the abuse. The U.S. Department of Justice defines domestic violence as “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain control over another intimate partner.” If you, or anyone you know needs immediate assistance, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800.799.7233 (SAFE). The many forms of abuse defined are: • Physical abuse includes hitting, biting, slapping, battering, shoving, punching, burning, cutting and pinching and pulling hair. • Sexual abuse is any coercion of a victim into having sexual contact without the victim’s consent. • Emotional abuse is just as serious and involves deflating a victim’s sense of self-worth by constant criticism, name-calling, injuring a person’s relationship with his/her children. • Psychological abuse involves an attempt to invoke fear through intimidation, verbal threats to physically hurt him/herself, the victim, the children, family, friends or pets. It also includes destruction of property and preventing the victim from going to work or school • Also in the abuse category are stalking and cyberstalking. Stalking involves continuous spying, watching, following, sending gifts, collecting information about a victim, making phone calls, leaving written messages, showing up at a victim’s home or workplace. Cyberstalking refers to any online action or unwanted repeated emailing. • Dating violence is actually considered another form of domestic violence. North Carolina law also protects disabled adults and disabled elderly, both male and female. Abuse is not exclusive to Haywood County. It exists in every state and nationally and internationally. JoAnna Swanson Waynesville
bringing to power a regime even more despicable than that of Assad. 8. U.S. involvement could transform the conflict from a nasty civil war to an international conflagration, spreading to nearby countries like Iran, Lebanon and Israel. And once thus engaged, how would we exit? 9. The term “smart bombs” is an oxymoron. Many civilians would lose their lives — women, children, the elderly and infirm. Having caused so much “collateral damage” in Iraq and Afghanistan, can we afford another black eye in world public opinion — and another deep wound to our soul? 10. No, the wiser — and in the long run much more effective path — is that of diplomacy. It may be less flashy and dramatic, but what is needed at this point are peace talks, involving both the current belligerent parties, and also their backers like the U.S. and Russia. This time around for a change, let’s try flexing our negotiating muscles instead of our military ones. After the fiascos in Iraq and Afghanistan, can’t we learn a better way? (Doug Wingeier is a retired seminary professor and United Methodist minister who lives at Lake Junaluska.)
Gov. McCrory, GOP have Wrong priorities turned business loose causing problems To the Editor: We live in the greatest country the modern world has ever known. Our president has not been able to energize our economy and has passed thousands of new regulations that hinder rather than promote employment. The most disadvantaged people — which includes the poor and many minority groups that elected him — have been hurt the most by these regulations. Many liberal newspapers have given this president a pass on his handling of the economy. The entire world needs a thriving U.S. When our economy is booming, we are world’s greatest market for the world’s goods. For many years people around the world have depended on the U.S. to buy their goods and services to bolster their economies. Under this president, the United States’ economy has let them down. However, in North Carolina Gov. McCrory and the Republicans have revamped our tax rules to encourage manufacturers to return to our state. Many Carolinians have been out of work for two years or more. With these revised tax laws in North Carolina we can attract new industries to move to our state and help our unemployed men and women find jobs. This should also help our young college graduates find jobs in their home state. It now appears our tax revenues will actually be going up because businesses are starting to expand. Watch our state grow for the next four years. Our young entrepreneurs have been turned loose. It is too bad the president did not try and do the same thing in the USA when he was elected. Jim Mueller Glenville
To the Editor: The 50th anniversary of the “March on Washington” and Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech have been recently observed. King hoped to see a generation of black Americans who would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” For the past 40-odd years we have indulged a system called affirmative action, which demands a person be evaluated by skin color. We have added equal opportunity to the mix, so now we have affirmative action based on gender as well as race. As we celebrate King’s vision, the dreams, hopes and aspirations of white male Americans — for my two sons, my three grandsons and 10 great grandsons — are substantially over, or greatly inhibited, or even seriously imperiled. I naively allowed my own career to be halted early and abruptly by Jackson County Schools and WCU because of my lack of appreciation of changes in the workforce. For 50 years we’ve been mesmerized by King’s words, and now we’re equally enthralled with more euphemistic drivel of liberal origin such as diversity, social justice, and (my favorite), multiculturalism. In 50 years of strengthening the weak by weakening the strong all we’ve accomplished is to trade one model of discrimination for another. A French writer, Charles Louis de Secondat, (1689-1755), stated: “There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.” Would that our leaders could even begin to grasp such a passionate and straightforward warning, much less heed it. David L. Snell Dillsboro