Where I Stand — Brooke Paulson: War divides students

Saturday, Jan. 1, 2005 | 3:26 a.m.

Everyone has heard adults share their opinions about teenagers being apathetic in our society. It seems that these adults have been gravely mistaken, and -- if they are in need of any proof -- they can find it at the Sun Youth Forum.

This forum is organized for students to passionately debate controversial issues in our world today. The group I am representing contained some of the brightest young adults I have ever met.

The moderator opened the floor to choose what our first topic of discussion would be. Not surprisingly, the first topic was whether or not the United States should be engaged in war with Iraq. This being a very hot topic, hands shot up quickly across the room. After only minutes of debating, students took a stand and the room was divided.

Students backing the war in Iraq supported their opinions well. There was a general fear from these students about the threat Saddam Hussein posed. After all, there were reports that this country did contain weapons of mass destruction, and why should America, the strongest nation, sit back and not try to prevent another attack such as Sept. 11, 2001?

There may not have been any massive weapons found in Iraq that could have been a threat to the United States, but these students argued that the Iraqis had 14 years to hide them. Will it take another terrorist attack to prove to the American citizens that Saddam is a threat?

Saddam, the leader of Iraq, refused to listen to orders delivered by the United Nations, and therefore was obviously trying to hide something by not following the rules. Saddam himself is a considerable terrorist who has killed an enormous amount of people, and he needed to be taken out of power.

Students took a stand in saying that there are many countries that need to be given the same amount of help, but it is just not probable to help all countries. It is necessary in some cases to pick the most threatening. The overall standpoint from many of the students in support of this war was that they did not want to be afraid anymore, and if America does not help Iraq, who will?

While a large number of students shared their support for the war, many students also stood in opposition. They argued the fact that no weapons of mass destruction were found, and America was not attacked by Iraq, rather Osama bin Laden attacked us. Students who opposed the war stressed the cold fact of how many soldiers died in this war, and we as Americans still do not know the reason why.

These students wondered that if we are in the country to catch Saddam, then why are we still in the country, even after he is caught? And if America is in Iraq to better the country, then why are we there when a majority of the Iraqi citizens do not want us there?

The students against the war challenged the war supporters to decide which man was a bigger threat, bin Laden or Saddam? The students opposed to the war then pointed out that America has taken most troops out of Afghanistan and placed them in Iraq.

There was confusion why America is allowed to pick and choose what country it wants to help, and this time it was Iraq. Conveniently, Iraq has a large supply of oil, and it was said by these students that America picks targets that will help it.

This topic, overall, was black and white in the sense of being for or against the war. However, there were students who did not necessarily support America being in Iraq, but they felt the need to support the troops.

These students wanted it to be known that the motive might not be 100 percent correct, but it is important to make sure the troops know they are fighting for something and that we, as Americans, support them completely. These same students also felt that if war was really needed, America should have waited to gain more support from other countries.

Being a very religious person, it was hard for me to accept the fact that going to war was right. However, after much thought and consideration, I realized that in certain times, war is needed. If it weren't for war, we probably would be ruled by England, or under the rule of Hitler, or under Japanese control. In this specific time in our country, I believe war was needed. Saddam did pose a threat to the entire world, and our country was the only leader to step forward and accept the challenge.

Before this debate, many students stood strong on one point of view. After speaking with members from my group, it was apparent that students looked at this topic with more of an open mind due to the points made in discussion.

It was a debate not won by one side or the other, but a debate that caused each person to look at this issue from a different point of view.