If we had complete faith in the government we might not question their actions. We might be rallying around banners and portraits of George Bush and cursing the foreign devils. We might be joining other patriots flooding the towns and burning the flag of our enemy. It might be a scene similar to the ones we see nightly on the news in Arabic countries.

But we do not. We are not as easily convinced that what the government tells us is the solemn truth. We look at other factors. We look at the fact that defense spending has been cut. We see that American troops in this multinational effort far outnumber those of other nations.

We hear that the Army Reserve has been alerted. And we listen as military officials on television state that the reason the reserve has been called is because there are not as many soldiers in the regular Army as there used to be because of defense cuts.

Could it be possible that the Pentagon would like to increase their budget? Could it be possible that they are using our desire for gas and heating oil mixed with a little demagoguery (the need to use civilian soldiers) to increase their budget? Also, if we go to war, can we trust them to be honest about what they’re doing? Will they lie about body counts? Will they lie about their missions? Will they turn us against each other about the “need” to fight a war? What have they done in the past?

Second, consider that before the House is a bill (H.R. 4330). This is an incentive for college students to volunteer to participate in social, economic, and environmental needs in exchange for government-funded college aid. It is the peace equivalent to ROTC. It is a major step toward global peace. Will it be swept away in the furor of defense spending?…

I am just as enraged as the next person over the fact that once again Americans have been taken hostage by a Moslem leader. But I am not convinced that the answer is to send thousands of Americans to their deaths. War is wrong.

I am reminded of a movie in which Jimmy Stewart described the Civil War. “The politicians will talk about the need of it,” he said. “The old men will talk about the glory of it, and the soldiers just want to go home. Who’s winning? The undertakers.”

Not much has changed since then, has it? When will we learn? Jeff Davis Searsport