Dear Editor,

Texas tower, airliner hijackings to Cuba, JFK assassination, Waco, Columbine, Paducah, Bosnia, Idi Amin, OJ, Somalia, Ho Chi Minh, Paul Pot, Viet Nam, Contras, Noriega, Jack Ruby, Keating, Jonestown, Hale Bop, Sukarno, Locherby, The Shah of Iran, Watergate, etc. are some of the infamous and infamies that we remember since 1960. Such tragedies have turned to farce, yet we still need our collective “fix.” Thanks Enron, Florida voters, Whitewater, Monica, Paula, et. al.

We live for the moment, awaiting the “eternal present” in an event we can all understand. Pearl Harbor was one; it was strategic. It’s unclear what to make on the attack on The Trade Towers. Were the strikes tactical or strategic? It stops everyone. The best that can be made of this is “Let’s roll.” It begs the question, “Where?” Iraq is becoming the answer. The day after Pearl Harbor it was crystal clear: In present perfect tense Roosevelt concluded his Dec. 8 speech to congress asking for war: “A state of war has existed between the United States and the Empire of Japan.” Congress concurred.

Because of the murkiness of today’s motive, we need insight and a leap of faith. It’s a common purpose, it’s the light we await. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation took the fighting in the Civil War from a war about “states’ rights” to a war about freeing people. This is what justified such a war. We await a “higher cause.” Oil is already being divided up out of cooperating and noncooperating nations in the rush to crush Saddam. Booty of war! Booty of war!

There is the term “regime change.” “Regime” has two interpretations. One is a form of government, the other is a government in power.

Knowing today’s weak thinking and strong whining, “regime change” means getting rid of Saddam and putting a puppet in. We need this to guarantee our investment in the war. A “higher cause” cannot exist with the likes of loud talk radio and late-night gadflies. A gadfly’s “higher cause” is “ratings.”

We need people who can resurrect autonomous governments in Islamic countries. We get the cost of “The Towers” back in oil, but to ensure against a reoccurrence, we need faith beyond retribution. That’s the way all successful wars are concluded. General Grant allowed the defeated southerners to return home with their horses. MacArthur rebuilt Japan. Marshall refurbished Europe. It’s in such acts of humanity we all understand. Priceless.

Pray that George W. Bush finds the men, women and motive to guide us to a “higher cause.” Those who tout their patriotism by bullying reasoned opinions are ultimately leaders in the pack of the summer soldiers and sunshine patriots. Unfolding events will change the tune and resolve of these phony pipers. Pray for more than a “regime change.” We need to do more than to await our next horrible news “fix”; we need sobriety. We need a higher cause.

Fred Stewart

Glenwood Springs