Conflicted groups need to practice golden rule

I am probably not the only one who is tired of watching republican and democratic students go back and forth with insults. This conduct makes it easy to ignore real issues and the messages being conveyed, especially when there are common goals. I think it is safe to say that everyone is working to make their own lives more efficient and better than previous generations.

One of these goals is to make sure our own children's lives are better than our own. We are educating ourselves and learning life lessons here at the UA, no matter the department, in order to create a better future for our children. We all need to work harder to get along and make compromises when need be.

Americans and Arizonans alike would be better off if we behaved the way we teach our children to behave. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. That is one of the first lessons we learn; it's the golden rule! Why don't people put this into practice? It is hypocritical of us to preach to our children, act the opposite, and then sit and wonder why children are turning to drugs, alcohol and sexual encounters younger and younger.

It is time to band together, as clichéd as it sounds, and fight for freedom and the right to live how we see fit.

Jennifer Porter
political science senior

Spread of democracy won't eliminate terrorism

Jonathan Riches, in his column, "The path to peace," discusses the wonderful theory and truism called "The Democratic Peace Theory." This theory, Riches claims, is that the quickest route to world peace is through the spread of democratic states, because these states respect their own people and their neighbors. That theory just warmed my tired old heart. In fact, it almost made me want to dust off my old Cat Stevens album, "Peace Train."

This theory, while appealing, is fundamentally flawed. It is fallacious and factually incorrect to believe that democratic nations do not and cannot produce terrorists. The victims of the Oklahoma City bombing know that better than anyone. Unfortunately, that was a sad example of what a just few individuals can accomplish with limited resources.

What is even more unfortunate is that the current administration has (now) based its entire foreign policy on the precept that democratic nations do not produce terrorists. And Riches is dutifully in lockstep with the administration's new march.

Riches has said before that most Americans still do not understand the nature of the war on terror or the character of the enemy we face. (Riches, "Misconceptions reward terrorism," Jan. 25). He continued: al-Qaida is interested in neither protests nor dialogue. It is interested in achieving its agenda and achieving it through murder. And it will continue to murder until it perceives victory or until it is defeated.

So now, in what appears to be a total about-face, Riches claims that with democracy, peace will spread like wild lilies. And those who live in democratic countries will not engage in terrorist acts.

Well played. I would just like to congratulate Riches for his dutiful, unwavering loyalty to this administration and his ceaseless efforts to make sense of our foreign policy and of the ridiculous logic it is based upon.

Riches mentions that there has never been a war between democracies. He then says, "Take a moment to absorb that remarkable fact." I did. And what I found remarkable is how, once again, Riches has demonstrated that he never ceases to suckle off the administration's hind teat for material for his columns.

Joel DeConcini
third-year law student

UAPD does good job with limited resources

In response to Mr. Stanek's Feb. 7 letter, "UAPD needs to be more present on campus," I must point out the University of Arizona Police Department does a fantastic job in fulfilling their mission to "provide a secure atmosphere conducive to the education, research, employment and daily community lifestyles" at the UA. Just like every other department on campus, however, they are limited by budget concerns as well as other restraints that Mr. Stanek does not appear to be aware of. For example, because of budget concerns, the UAPD can only field three officers for the average night shift. But, with staffing like this, it is easy to be surprised when the UAPD is able to use some excellent tips from a student on his cell phone to catch three car thieves and recover a huge amount of stolen property.

I hope that Mr. Stanek doesn't believe everything that he sees on television. The popular show "CSI" is far from factual. In fact, the requirements that UAPD makes of its four detectives and detective sergeant is far beyond that of a department even such as Tucson Police. Most detectives at municipal departments have crime scene units that respond to a call only to collect evidence while detectives need only worry about putting the evidence together and doing the required legwork. UAPD has no such crime scene units and must perform the necessary work without a dedicated unit.

Mr. Stanek and I do agree on one thing, however; the UA is taken advantage of in many cases by the diversion system, where people who are arrested are given the opportunity of avoiding the courts and being adjudicated through the Dean of Students office. Maybe "kick them out of school" is harsh, but I can agree with its sentiments.

Most importantly, the next time you see a uniformed UAPD officer, say "hi" or give them a wave - they're putting their life on the line for you and your education every day.

Aaron Klassen
linguistics senior

McKale should be dominated by students

Keith Bardel hit the nail on the head when he wrote about the "Swan and Sunrise" fans at McKale Center.

My last year there, 1987-88, was when we went to our first Final Four, and one of the last seasons during which McKale was dominated with loud and rowdy students. As I watch from my home in Dallas today, you could almost hear a pin drop, even though games have sold out for years. Places like Stanford and UCLA, as Mr. Bardel points out, are as loud as Duke, and they and the Blue Devils play in front of a fraction of the capacity of McKale's 14,500 seats.

We had a taste of what it used to be like during the huge game against Washington a few weeks ago. Sadly, they couldn't sustain it long enough to extend our winning streak to 39 over perennial conference doormat, Washington State. Perhaps if more students had been in the building, and the usual crowd kept at bay at the early-bird specials in Tucson, the players might have responded a little better than they did.

Ray Rafidi
alumnus

Mall preachers bring important messages

I am writing in response to Damion LeeNatali's column, "Fallacies from the Religious Right." LeeNatali has the technical skills as a good writer, but his aversion toward anything that lines up a biblical belief system doesn't allow him to write what really happened in any given event.

I know the speaker he wrote about, and he only wrote half of the message he preaches - the half that LeeNatali dwells on supports his opinion, but he left out the other half that blows his opinion away. He talked about how my friend condemns immorality (i.e., saying it is wrong) yet he did not write of how my friend preaches salvation and new life.

LeeNatali is right that Christianity is a narrow road, but Christ said that as well. He also said that wide is the road that leads to destruction. I do not care if people think I'm right or wrong, I care about the truth. Shouldn't everyone take a look at religion and say, "I don't care what everyone thinks, I want to know the truth"?

Jesus Christ preached that those who want to live life in sin and self-acclaim will be sentenced to the lake of fire on judgment day. Not because God takes pleasure in condemning people, but because He is righteous and cannot be in the presence of sin. Jesus Christ came to earth to die on a cross so that we could be forgiven and go to heaven. If you think Christianity's God is unreasonable, you are the one who is closed-minded because you wish to live life as you please and do not want to find the truth. I ask you this, if there were tons of evidence that Jesus Christ rose again and truly was who He said He was (God), would you believe in Him? I already know what the answer to that question would be, because there is overwhelming evidence for Christ's resurrection.

"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Acts 16:31.

Peter Habegger
Christian