The following include several letters we could not fit
in the print
version of the magazine.
Other Voices
 As
a lifelong overachiever whose naiveté prompted an early interest
in utopian society; as an actor who became a U.S. Marine and then a human
relationist; and as patriot who fled his country in order to work with
other expatriates among the people of the Philippines; I was profoundly
moved, if not enlightened, by the two articles in the 2001/4 issue of
the Ithaca College Quarterly concerning anger and hatred toward
the "American Way" ("Why
Do They Hate Us" by Asma Barlas and "Let’s
Get Serious" by Claudia Montague Wheatley ’80).
Yes, one could rebut certain passages or come up with some opposing arguments,
but to do so would dilute the premise postulated, and thus discredit the
authors’ commendable reporting. When challenged with the options of "loving
or leaving" my country during the Vietnam War, I chose the former and
returned to active duty as an Army audiologist. (At the time, I was working
as a civilian audiologist following an earlier four-year deployment as
a Marine infantry officer.)
I never regretted that decision, but subsequent to my retirement, I became
dismayed with the collective attitudes of many of my agenda-oriented U.S.
contemporaries.
Here in the Philippines, my abilities are accepted and the consequences
of my efforts are welcomed with a genuine appreciation. Not so, it seems,
in the United States, where one has to reinvent oneself and employ tactics
that are artificial as well as demeaning. (As a matter of interest, many
of the expatriates here exhibit similar behavior.)
I intend to return to the United States sometime during the next two
years because, despite its flaws, it is still the greatest country in
the world. And from one who has visited much of that world, let me say
that it has been my privilege to have witnessed and admired the differences
of those with whom I have had contact: "Treat each other as individuals,
and then celebrate the distinctions."
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jerry Bearce ’58
Baguio City, Philippines
I have read the Quarterly articles on the September 11 tragedy
(2001/4) and ensuing letters. Thank you for including so many of both.
Feeling prompted to give my opinion, I welcome others to disagree (or
agree!). The debate on freedom of speech is timely for me, as I believe
I am being persecuted for my minority Christian religious point of view.
Persecuted is not too strong a word. I am an Irish Catholic "Yankee" in
the Southern Bible Belt. "Threatened" would be a gentler word, but "persecution"
says it. I believe we live in a time when our civil rights are endangered,
not only by erosion, but also eradication.
The September 11 attacks scared us. We wonder what will happen next?
I personally have seen quite a few changes in this area leading up to
those attacks. I live in heavily military southeastern Virginia. It is
natural to want to close ranks and present a united front. As our country
becomes more pluralistic in demographics, however, I think we need to
understand as many points of view as possible, even if we disagree with
them. This understanding takes work and reflection, yes, but sometimes
it’s just a matter of exposure --- allowing ourselves to listen to those
who are strangers to us. Also, to understand takes critical questioning,
in order to find good answers to solve problems --- answers that are more
about consensus than majority suppression of minorities.
When I read an article in a paper or magazine, I am more likely to question
the point of view of the writer before accepting what’s written as fact.
(An aside: wouldn’t it be great if all news stories about catastrophes
were followed by paragraphs saying what one can do to help?)
Critical questioning and communication skills should be requirements
for life! I thank Ithaca College faculty as well as those at New England
Conservatory and at Loyola University, which I attended. We can open ourselves
to other viewpoints, as the one article by Marty Brownstein ("Piercing
the Fog of War") pointed out excellently, by accessing a variety of
print, Internet, and cable news, as well as talking to people of differing
views.
What bigger problem can we have than a war (on terrorism) that has hit
our own soil? Keeping space open for clear-headed and open hearted debate
is needed more than ever. I give thanks to God, and my Constitution writers,
and my stars and stripes, that we still have freedom of speech in this
country, and the freedoms which so much depend on that right ---
freedom of privacy, freedom to assemble, freedom to publish, and ultimately
freedom from fear (terror). As Benjamin Franklin said (I paraphrase):
if we give up one civil or human right, we may as well chuck ’em all.
Beth O’Neil Ohlhorst ’71
Newport News, Virginia
I am a Jewish Ithaca College alumnus. I have read and reread the article
written by Asma Barlas called "Why Do They Hate Us?" and find that I am
disturbed by this article. I am also angered by it.
What bothers me is that it shows that Asma Barlas has some anti-Semitic
views. What also bothers me is that some of the facts aren’t correct.
For instance, Barlas mentions ". . . U.S. support for Israeli brutalities
against Palestinians" and racism currently experienced by Muslims. I presume,
although it isn’t mentioned, that the racism currently experienced by
Muslims that she is referring to is that discussed at the Durban conference
last summer, where it was mentioned, "Zionism is racism."
Well, to get a better understanding of this situation, one must ask just
who is a "Palestinian"? The origin of the word refers to the Philistines
and to the Romans when they wanted to designate the five Jewish nation-states.
The Palestinian Charter of 1968 states that the Palestinians are Arabs.
It also states that the Balfour Declaration and whatever came before it
should be ignored. Thus this charter decided to ignore history. So those
who say that Palestinians are just Arabs are racists since they refuse
to recognize others, such as those that came across the Agean Sea to be
Palestinians. Thus those like Yasar Arafat who call Israel a racist state
are racists themselves. So how can Asma Barlas say they are exposed to
racism when she is promoting racism?
As to the remark about Jewish Palestinian brutalities, what about the
brutalities to Jewish Palestinians: for example the terrorist attack of
Munich 1972 at the Olympic Games, the attack on the Achille Lauro, the
many attacks on Israelis as they travel on buses, the attack last June
at the Dolphinarium disco in Tel Aviv, the attack on kids and civilians
at the Sbaro restaurant in Jerusalem? Asma Barlas doesn’t mention these
brutalities.
I think that it is important to understand why they hate us. But this
doesn’t justify the writing of this article that promotes this hatred.
Perry Temchin ’79
Greenwich, Connecticut
Thank you for having the integrity to print Asma Barlas’s essay "Why
Do They Hate Us?"
Columns in the Ithaca Journal and Ithacan and letters in
the Ithaca College Quarterly have attacked Barlas. I do not see
what is difficult to understand about the points that Barlas and others
have repeatedly made. American government policies generate and support
oppression in the world, often anti-democratic and sometimes heinous.
This is absolutely indisputable; if you don’t understand this, you should
read more widely and enlarge your circle of friends.
Whether you can justify the policies or not, this oppression makes the
oppressed people angry, and some of them are capable of acting on this
anger. What could be simpler? The fact that some other American government
policies are beneficent, while important to keep in mind, does not change
this basic relationship.
But more to the point here, Barlas’s essay is reasonably well documented
(for a short essay) and full of facts that underlie her points of opinion,
and it samples a breadth of sources defending her point.
In my post-September 11 experience, criticism of the U.S. response correlates
with the degree to which a person reads foreign news or discusses history
and politics with friends and colleagues from outside the United States.
In other words, the "kill the messenger" syndrome is a product of angry,
nationalistic blindness on our part, supported by lazy and uncritical
journalism designed to appeal to American self-pity. This selective blindness
is emotional in nature --- perhaps understandable, but ultimately immature
and wrong.
One of Barlas’s attackers used the simile of a murderer. Such a simile
may help to clarify the situation. If, say, a child is abused by an adult
for years while this adult tells the child and others that she or he is
imagining things, and finally this child tries to kill that adult, indeed
I would in some way understand the motivation although I could not condone
the act. I also realize that if I were a personal friend or relative of
the abusive adult, I might have been less likely to believe the child’s
stories of abuse and take action to halt it, thus making the murder more
likely to occur.
The only solution to this potential tragedy is to recognize the abuse,
regardless of your personal interests, and stop it before somebody gets
killed. We are personally responsible for our actions as a nation. It
is irresponsible and immature of us to delude ourselves by refusing to
listen to other voices or to take responsibility for our government’s
actions.
If your child misbehaves, you correct the child because you love her
or him, and address the root causes of the misbehavior so that it will
not recur. Our country deserves no less from us.
Thomas Cleland
Freeville, New York
As a parent of a first year student at Ithaca College, I have been very
impressed by what I perceive to be the College’s rich intellectual climate
created by a lively and diverse exchange of ideas in a variety of settings.
It was with disappointment that I read the article in the Ithacan
(January 31) about some hostile reactions to the fall issue of the Ithaca
College Quarterly.
I thought that the ICQ did an outstanding job of integrating articles
that focused on the terrible human tragedy of 9/11, told in compelling
personal terms, with thoughtful and critical analyses of the broader issues
involved. The piece by Asma Barlas was particularly noteworthy, and I
have shared it with others since then.
Both my husband and I were very impressed with what we felt was a professional
and balanced treatment of 9/11 in the Quarterly. We felt proud
that our son had chosen a college that reflects what education in a democracy
should encourage --- thoughtful dialogue encompassing a wide range of
ideas and perspectives. We hope you will continue this important commitment
in the future.
Nancy Schniedewind
New Paltz, New York
I read your last two issues with great interest. In the wake of September
11, I welcomed your reflections on our nation’s tragedy.
The article by Professor Asma Barlas was particularly gripping. I was
surprised to see such a storm of negative feedback regarding it in your
first issue of 2002. Many readers appeared to be either offended by the
Barlas article or in disagreement with her arguments. Nonetheless, her
article is of great significance, and we have much to learn from it.
It does not matter if we believe that United States policies encourage
terrorist attacks or not. All that matters is that there are people
in the world who steadfastly believe it. It is these fervent beliefs that
led the hijackers to give up their own lives in order to attack our country.
Professor Barlas has given us a window into the mind-set of a group of
people that we desperately need to understand. We cannot protect the United
States from future attacks by burying our heads in the sand and pretending
that our worldview is the only one, or by insisting that it is more valid
than somebody else’s point of view. We must accept that this negative
view of the United States exists before we can hope to address our security
needs.
Understanding what threatens us is certainly the most effective way of
defending our nation.
Steven Ronai ’94
Deer Park, New York
The Ithaca College Quarterly welcomes letters from our readers.
We do our best to print all letters submitted, subject to space limitations,
but this is the last issue in which we will print responses to articles
or essays in our 2001/no. 4 issue. Letters may be edited for space,
clarity, or style.
Please send your letter to the Ithaca College Quarterly, Ithaca
College, Office of College Relations, 231 Alumni Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850-7044;
via fax to 607-274-1490; or via e-mail to mstephens@ithaca.edu.
Do not forget to include your full name, address, daytime telephone number,
e-mail address, and class year (if applicable).
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