STAY INFORMED: Draw an opinion
by Dusti Moran
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

A couple of months ago, when my Mass Media and Society professor asked my 30-plus classmates about their media intake, I wasn't really surprised to find that few watched the nightly news and even fewer picked up a newspaper on a weekly basis. This is pretty much the norm, even among communication majors.

So, I was pleasantly surprised this past week when a discussion about the war in Iraq arose. This discussion, meant to last only a few minutes, turned into a half-a-class session on students' stances on the war.

I was amazed to hear that in a matter of weeks, people who knew very little about our country's foreign affairs policies now had something to say about the United States' presence in Iraq.

I myself have taken up the challenge to be aware of what has happened in the past and how it affects where we, the United States, are today. Don't get me wrong, I don't know it all. A couple of months ago I would have had a hard time finding where Iraq is on a map. But, I decided for my own sake that I needed to know what was going on with the United Nations and Iraq.

I encourage everyone to learn and form an educated opinion. Whether you disagree or agree with the military action taking place in Iraq, if you have good reasons for your opinion, you should be commended and respected for being informed. The worst possible thing you can do is take an uneducated stance.

The thing that I most love about being an American is our freedom to be educated about all the good and bad things in our country's past and present. We are fortunate to have multiple news sources at our disposal.

Unfortunately, many people take advantage of the various ways we are able to receive information.

Imagine yourself in a country where all newspapers, radio and television stations are owned by the government. If you are able to have access to the Internet, it is most likely very limited. Every bit of information you receive is filtered by a dictator, making it impossible to acquire facts and take an informed stance on something as important as a war fought by your own country. You would not be allowed to take an independent stance and share it with others. Anyone caught speaking out against a leader like Saddam Hussein would be brutally tortured and forced to die a slow, painful death.

Whether you are opposed to the war or in agreement with it, be happy that you are able to live in a country where its citizens have access to a vast amount of information. Be even happier that you can make your decision heard without fear of punishment or death. Some say those who speak out in disapproval of a war in Iraq are unpatriotic. I strongly disagree. Being able to speak out about something you disagree with is what makes our country great. Being patriotic is knowing all the facts and making a personal decision you can openly share with others.

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