First-Year Weighs in On Issues of War and Peace

To the Editors:

I would first like to start this short tract by saying that above all, I value the righteous and inexorable energy that Oberlin students put in to thinking about and acting upon issues that run the gamut from world hunger to the globalization issue and anything in between. I also would like to point out the fact that I am but a freshman at this college and I do not profess in any way to have intimate knowledge of the motives of a vast majority of people that I know precious little about. However, I must take issue with that I perceive of the general tenor of a few on this campus on certain issues related to the grisly, tragic and previously unimaginable attacks of last week.
First of all, I am deeply troubled by what I have seen as an attitude against the “war” that is purportedly on the horizon. I do not, in any way, support the purposeful killing of any innocent civilians simply because of our anger at the dastardly acts of a few. However, I do not presently wish for the community of Oberlin College to give the federal government an unnecessary vote of no confidence through organized protests, teach-ins and massive marches through the town of Oberlin. We do know that the Congress has appropriated money for military action and the cleanup of New York and Washington, but what we do not know is the shape of the action against whatever enemy we may face, be it a government, a terrorist organization, or a marriage between the two, and such a lack of knowledge intellectually prohibits us from condemning outright the actions of this government. And for those who believe that military action is wrong, it must be considered that the military can peform acts much more precise and humane than carpet bombing. The moment in which I condemn this government will come with time; if three months, six months and even longer come and the U.S. appears to be following a short-sighted policy, then I shall be in agreement.
From the moment that George Bush decided to run for president, I have tried to warn others of his irresponsibility and his abhorrent politics through protest and general disdain. But no matter how virulently people may disagree with me and/or dislike Mr. Bush, as of now, the President, along with the rest of the government, is our new best friend, protector and rescuer in these difficult times, and this truth should be as clear as day.
I hope that instead of letting our moral division on these issues of great import bring us down as a campus, we make sure that we stand together on what we find important like our love of this country, our sympathy for those who have died and (I hate to be corny) the strength that we find in our collective righteousnous. I do not mean the righteousness found in any sense of military superiority, but the righteousness to believe that we can come back from the ashes of this tragedy and to not be afraid to walk a higher moral plane than those who wish death upon us.
Late last Tuesday night, the day of the attacks, I couldn’t sleep, so I took a walk around Tappan Square. As I was about to head to my dorm, I walked by the famous monument to the fallen Oberlin students in the Boxer Rebellion. But what I had not noticed before on the monument was the epigraph by the Chinese poet Du Fu, which read “I am grieved by the war and have not slept/Who has the strength to right Heaven and Earth?” Astonished by the fit and the sagacity of this quote, I set off back to my dorm both impressed and puzzled as to what the right answer was.
So in closing, whatever the answer may be, let them try to right heaven and earth, and let’s not try to tear them down just yet.
–Jim Kennerly
College first-year