In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, The Lantern online poll asked “What immediate action should the United States take in response to terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C., and New York City?” Judging by the list of previous polls — including favorite beverages and favorite team color —Lantern pollsters don’t take themselves too seriously.
But the Sept. 18 poll is of a different nature, asking students to voice their opinions about weighty issues of global concern. Among the options are two different types of military action, extradition of criminal suspects to the United States, economic sanctions and two concluding categories: “Nothing” and “I don’t know.” How about “none of the above” or “other”?
Absent from the list is a non-violent course of action through the United Nations Security Council, a subject widely discussed among peace activists and international law theorists. In the Sept. 21 editorial, Lantern writers opined, “We must raise the standard of living and civility throughout the entire world, spreading our democratic tradition and rule by law to people of every class and creed.” Lofty sentiments — but they contradict the multiple choices given in the poll.
How about a peaceful response that does not involve further violence, United States unilateralism or greater deprivation of people in the Third World? I hope that the OSU academic community will rise above the nationalist and bellicose voices of mainstream media, and I urge Lantern writers and readers to widen the scope of dialogue by discussing nonviolent alternatives.
Susan Freeman Graduate Student History
