After reading Neil Visalvanich’s column titled “The Man Who Cried Terror” (Daily Nexus, Jan. 31), I am now convinced that our younger population is doomed, yet not in the same way that Mr. Visalvanich is predicting. Mr. Visalvanich, not only do I completely disagree with you personally, but you’ve just taken a stance that, quite frankly, is more ignorant than the “marijuana kills children” comment made a few weeks ago in this same newspaper.

If, in fact, this country is filled with sheep, do you actually believe it would be wise to wait until the wolf comes and eats them all? What will it take for Bush-haters to realize that this isn’t like a child touching a hot stove? You don’t get a second chance with terrorism today. Not only have countries like Russia misplaced nuclear warheads over the past two decades, but also terrorist groups like al-Qaeda have been given opportunities to buy those same bombs through black markets all over the world. Do you really want President Bush to be proven right, so in 10 years your kids can go to school with radiation suits on? The amount of knowledge that terrorist groups can obtain these days is absolutely ridiculous, especially considering the widespread use of the Internet, so why bash a man who wants to end terrorist education? In my mind, President Bush is the leader of a movement that needs to continue, strictly because I want a safe America, as well as a safe world.

To make your opinion even more ridiculous, you point out that Bush is forcing a fix of the Social Security program on our fair citizens, but with no real crisis evident. For this comment, you should be slapped. How can you say that Social Security isn’t a crisis? Are you that preoccupied with the life you have now to not look into the future and say to yourself, “Fuck, I need to start working now?” The failure of Social Security is not only a crisis – it’s simply inevitable, due to the gross overspending in the past 50 years. It’s not like Bush is in his 12th term at this point; other presidents have brought our attention to the same topic. If you seriously cannot grasp the problems resulting from the ignorance of our younger population, then you, sir, must be one of those idiots driving around Isla Vista with old stickers that read “Beat Bush Again!” Peel off your sticker and wait another four years; just because your candidate lost doesn’t mean you have to be a sore loser.

If you want to criticize our president’s actions, please don’t bring national security into your argument. I want to live in a place where I can walk outside and not see a bus blow up or a 100-story building come crashing to the ground. Since 9/11, I have been privileged to live this way, so don’t tell the students here at UCSB that Bush is fooling us all by injecting fear into the hearts of Americans. That’s just stupid. In today’s world, foreign relations have changed dramatically, so much that a new policy like the PATRIOT Act needs to be incorporated. I’m sorry that our government has yet to convict any terrorists, but did you ever think that maybe they know what they’re doing?

You’re a student at a university that’s conveniently situated on a postcard; stop complaining about our intentions in Iraq and the never-ending fight to stop terrorism. Every time you do that, you’re disrespecting the troops that are fighting so hard overseas. I have numerous family members in Iraq as I write this article, so as a loving and caring individual, as well as an American, I fully support their work. You need to be proud to be an American; by second-guessing our president, you’re showing me a problem that’s so evident in this town: misguided liberalism. Next time, think about our country’s situation before you write such an opinionated article. You, as a student, can’t change the world, but our president can. Trust in the fact that you’re safe and never take it for granted.

Christopher Rice is a senior English major.