To the editor:

The representation of international news is pivotal for our society today. In our country, we are living in a time where the information fed to our citizens by the mass media has rationalized lies from the Bush administration, enabling our nation to go to war. It is through retrospect that we have seen these lies unfold and it should be NOW that, as citizens of this great nation, we should learn from our mistakes and take responsibility to be a critical and educated nation.

Our government has had a constant impacting influence on Latin American countries. We have fought wars, overthrown dictators, built a canal, imposed embargoes and, more recently, taken a part in clearing the debt from three Latin American nations: Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua. Our influence is endless.

It is our responsibility as citizens of the world and more importantly as citizens of this powerful nation to demand concrete news on Latin America.

Your paper must be held accountable. It is unfortunate that it is here where the Lawrence Journal-World is insufficiently informing our community of the ongoing struggles in Latin America. I urge you to make a more definite commitment to make it a regularity of your paper to inform on the ongoing conflicts in Latin America: the problems in Bolivia, the rise of indigenous movements, our constant friction with Cuba. I hope you take me up and play a crucial part in making us better-educated citizens.

Ana Maria Wilde,

Lawrence