To the editor:

It’s not America’s place to break and remake the world; how arrogant we are. I hear Bush and other neocons talking brightly about using our armies to “spread democracy,” and I shudder at the thought of the inevitable grand scale death and destruction that will follow. I marvel at their fervor as they advocate war and preach the gospel of America, downplaying the dangers, ethical problems and incalculable cost in lives and property while gushing about what good guys Americans are.

Many thousands of Iraqi people have died so far as a direct result of our invasion, but hey, Saddam can’t torment them anymore. And election day is fast approaching! Aren’t we grand?

Woodrow Wilson first vowed to “make the world safe for democracy,” and Bush is following his lead with a vengeance. Democracy must grow from within a society, however, it can never be imposed with guns and bombs and occupying armies. Neither Wilson nor his followers could see that these kinds of policies actually make the world less safe and certainly less just, peaceful and free.

The only way to make the world “safe for democracy” is to make sure that everybody gets fed. When we put down our weapons and start asking people what they and their families need to be healthy and secure in this world we all share, only then will we be on the way to making the world safe for democracy. Until then, it’s all smoke and mirrors to cover relentless capitalism and murderous imperialism.

Rhiannon Asher,

Lawrence