Editorials
Viewpoint
Focus: War in the gulf
Like it or not, the war has bec(xne the focus of thought,
discussion and protest The war has also brought sympathy,
support and concern. Whatever the position, along with it,
comes a lot of emotions.
This wedc The Pendulum is running a pro-con debate on
the validity of the war in the gulf. It is located on this page.
The Pendulum welcomes any comments, opinions or letters
about the war. Deadlines for copy are Mondays at 5 p.m.
Elon has three students and two alumni in Saudi Arabia.
The Pendulum has included their names and addresses on page 4.
Also included are the addresses for any soldi^ in the gulf. Please
write and s»id support to our tioops.
Where were you when war broke out? Find out where some
of Elcxi's students were at the time on page 4.
Frankly Speaking /y
Ilf wa? SHm^o
S'X yWliE WEBkS
Februaiy 7,1991
Page
©CREATIVE MEDIA SERVICES Box 5955 Berkeley, Ca. 94705
The Pendiiluin
Editor: Kelly Potter
Managing Editor: Heather Whitehouse
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Office: 102 Williamson Ave., Elon College, N.C., 27244. News:
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The Pendulum, founded in 1974, is jmhlished by Elon College students eadt Thursday
during regular school terms. The Pendulum welcomes your opinions, with letters
limited to about 250 words, if possible. Letters must be signed and a phone number
given for verification. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Monday.
The views of war
Bush: ’We cannot hesitate’
Presidential letter
College students:
to
Pro
If armed men invaded a home
in this country, killed those in
their way, stole what they wanted
and then announced the house was
now theirs - - no-one would
hesitate about what must be done.
And that is why we cannot
hesitate about what must be done
halfway around the world: in
Kuwait
There is much in the modem
world that is subject to doubts or
questions - - washed in shades of
gray. But not the brutal aggression
of Saddam Hussein against a
peaceful, sovereign nation and its
people. It’s black and white. The
facts are clear. The choice
unambiguous.
Right vs. wrong.
The terror Saddam Hussein
has imposed upon Kuwait violates
every principle of human decency.
Listen to what Amnesty
International has documented.
This article by Pres.
George Bush w^as sent to 450
college nev^spapers in the
country in January, shortly
before the war began.
"Widespread abuses of human
rights have been perpetrated by
Iraqi forces...arbitrary arrest and
detention without trial of
thousands...widespread
torture...imposition of the death
penalty and the extrajudicial
execution of hundreds of unarmed
civilians, including children."
Including children. There's no
horror that could make this a more
obvious conflict of good vs. evil.
The man who used chemical
warfare (mi his own people - - once
again including children - - now
oversees public hangings of
dissenters. And daily his troops
commit atrocities against Kuwaiti
citizens.
TTiis brutality has reverberated
throughout the entire world. If we
do not follow the dictates of our
inner moral compass and stand up
for human life, then his
lawlessness will threaten the peace
and democracy of the emerging
New World Order we now see:
this long dreamed-of vision we've
all worked toward for so long.
A year after the joyous dawn
of freedom s light in Eastern
Europe, a dark evil has descended
in another part of the world. But
we have the chance - - and we have
the obligation - - to stop ruthless
aggression.
I have been in war. I have
known the terror of combat And
I tell you this with all my heart I
don’t want there to be war ever
again. I am determined to do
absolutely everything possible in
the search for a peaceful resolution
to this crisis - - but only if the
peace is genuine, if it rests on
See Pro, Page 11
'War is a crime against humanity'
So there can be no mistake,
let me begin with a statement of
my biases. I believe that war is a
crime against humanity and a
violation of my Christian-based
moral principles. I further believe
that conflict should be dealt with
as actively as possible in a non
violent manner. I believe that
violence does not resolve a
conflict, it only delays the
resolution. This last statement is a
key one, so let me illustrate it
with a "mental experiment".
Imagine that you are in a
conversation over which pizza
shop has the most authentic "New
York style" pie. Your opponent
becomes more and more insistent
that you don't know crust from
shoe leather. You become more
and more certain that your
opponent doesn't know oregano
from parsley.
Your conversation has
become a loud, heated argument
(conflict). One of you waves your
hand and the other interprets it as
an insult on his/her family tree.
Con
Jim Pickens is a profes
sor in the Department of
Psychology and is faculty
advisor to Elon Students for
Peace and Justice.
Blows are exchanged, lips are
bloodied, eyes are blackened, hair
is pulled , and knuckles are
bruised. One is the victor, the
other the conquered.
Do you now agree on the
original issue, or has your pizza
preference been forgotten and
someone's "ego" been damaged?
Hasn't the violence itself
increased the level and nature of
the conflict?
This is an invented scenario,
but it is based on studies of the
effects of violence on conflict
resolution from the interpersonal
level to the international. Studies
also point out that similar
situations in which participants
avoid violence and use other
strategies are more successful in
resolving the conflict at hand.
How could the pizza fight
have been resolved? You could
have suggested that you pick some
neutral people, with experience in
eating New York style pizza, and
ask them their opinions. The shop
with the strongest support is
declared the winner and you and
your friend can discuss
professional water polo with
confidence in each other's conflict
resolving skills.
What does this have to do
with the Persian Gulf War? Well,
now that Saddam Hussein's
violence toward Kuwait has b^n
answered with George Bush’s
violence toward Iraq we seem to
forget that non-violent solutions
were possible and still exist, but
we have not tried them. Hussein
has been cast in the mold of
enemy"- he is the personification
of evil and insanity. We are the
embodiment of all that is good.
See Con, Page H