Editor,
I read Brian Ramirez's letter in Wedneday's Daily Lobo with great interest, but I couldn't decide whether to agree or disagree.
His claims and accusations didn't seem to be supported by cause and effect reasoning based on relevant events or conditions. You weren't able to present a viable argument for your opinion, let alone convince me that it was worth agreeing to.
If you really are a philosophy major, then go to class and pay attention! You might learn some really cool stuff.
For instance, you might learn about "facts" - what they are, why they're important and how to find them.
You might learn about "logic" and how it's used to link facts to establish "truth."
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You might learn how to examine all relevant facts in an objective way in order to reach a conclusion that is consistent with reality.
This might help you learn how to distinguish truth from innuendo, rumor and prejudiced-based rancor.
You might even learn that opinion should be based on fact and not the other way around. Ultimately, and most importantly, you might learn to think for yourself, thus enabling you to avoid being swayed by someone who's opinion is not based on fact, logic or truth. This was apparently the case with those who flew jet planes into buildings last month and, I suspect, is the case with you.
One thing is clear from your letter. If I ever have to participate in another war, and I, again, get ordered to advance through another minefield, I want you and as many like-minded individuals as you can muster to be with me. Better yet, I would want you guys to walk about 50 meters in front of me, arrayed in a nice, tight checker board formation taking little baby steps and pausing about every 5th step to jump up and down (because, contrary to popular belief, the older most mines get, the harder they are to detonate). But don't worry, you guys will be OK.
While you're considering this, you should also visualize a world in which a group of gullible, narrow-minded, self-righteous zealots haven't judged our country, condemned us all to death and subsequently killed several thousand of our countrymen, as well as hundreds of people from many other nations.
This might have alleviated the very sad but inevitable death of civilians caught in the crossfire of a war caused by irrational people who forced nations to exercise their prerogative of self-defense in order to protect their own civilians.
Do you see the irony here? Probably not.
Good luck with your studies.
Jim Cormier
MBA student, former infantry soldier and realist
