Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Letters to the Editor

To the editor:

Over the weekend of Oct. 19-21, my bicycle was vandalized. The previous Friday, I had firmly locked it and secured it in the Central Residential Area. I was going to ride it home after my last Monday class, hence why I left it there over the weekend. When I arrived at my bike on Monday, I was devastated to see that not only my brake coils were wrapped around my bike in a knot-like fashion (one of those tricky knots you just can’t uncoil), but also my handlebars were bent in a way that if I held them straight, my wheel was parallel to them. Needless to say it was not a great way to start off my week.

You see, it is not the bike that I am upset about; it is a material object that can be fixed, and I don’t gain happiness from material objects. What I am disappointed about is the fact that a person or group of people took time out of their lives to cause damage to something that wasn’t theirs with probably little to no thought of how it would affect me, the owner. And after they had handled (no pun intended) something that was not theirs, they simply walked away and moved on to the next moment of their lives. No second thoughts. No sympathy. No respect. Nothing.

Incidents like this really concern me for the future of society. In a country where the social aspect of people’s lives has been increasing in value, much in part due to massive growth in recent years of social networking sites, how are people going to be peaceful if there is a lack of respect and morals in one’s life?

I say this because there could have been a witness to my crime, or it could have been a group of alleged delinquents, yet not a single person stepped in and tried to stop their actions. What future do we have in a population that is silent? Are we just going to let bank robbers steal from ATM’s? Are we going to keep letting people be part of a relationship that includes domestic violence? I know those are far different and more severe scenarios than some petty bike damage, but if human beings cause trouble just to have 10 minutes of new entertainment in their lives and nobody speaks up for the good of humanity, then how can we have hope for the betterment of civilization?

Occurrences of destruction happen frequently in today’s society such. I should be thrilled that my bike was not stolen, because according to nationalbikeregistry.com, roughly 800,000 to 2 million bicycles are stolen per year. But the point is that in order to better the world, one must look at themselves to start. Every decision, every step, every action they take is a reflection upon themselves. So before you try to make your friends laugh in a way that could be harmful to others, stop and think for a second. Just ponder about how your choices could affect others, and hopefully you will make a fulfilling decision that will help make the future of this crazy world just a little less crazy.

Katie Sosnowski

 

To the editor:

According to various intelligence agencies, Iran could have nuclear armaments ready for use against Israel by early 2013. The devices could be nuclear bombs, or more likely, nuclear warheads on missiles.

Diplomacy by the United States and Western countries has been given a chance, but it has not worked to deter Iran’s nuclear program, and Iran continues to develop its nuclear weapons.

Israel cannot allow Iran, and its irrational leadership, to have nuclear weapons because two or three nuclear detonations could wipe out Israel. Therefore, Israel must strike Iran with a multi-pronged attack, and it will only have one opportunity to neutralize the Iranian nuclear threat.

Israel’s military will have to be on general alert for an Iranian counter strike using conventional weapons. It is doubtful any of the other countries in the Middle East will come to Iran’s aid.

Israel cannot count on the Obama administration to come to its aid. President Obama erroneously believes sanctions will work to halt Iran’s nuclear armaments program, and at the same time he warns Israel not to strike Iran. Obama, with his coddling of Arab countries, is not a friend of Israel.

Israel’s survival depends on military action against Iran.

 

Donald A. Moskowitz

Londonderry, NH

 

 

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