Unfortunately, America Can Rely on its Allies
June 22, 2002
By Amy-Louise Lane

I am disgusted with the way that America's allies are responding to Bush's arrogant stance towards the "War on Terrorism."

I am a student in Leeds, England and have recently found it harder and harder to find someone who actually knows Bush's objectives or even has a coherent arguement as to why we should be standing by this act of lunacy. Even teachers have been misinformed or told to simply ignore pupil's comments and questions.

I myself have been branded a disruptive pupil for questioning Bush's motives and 'unpatriotic' for believing that we shouldn't be standing by his acts of brutality. I have been banned from accessing your website from school and have been threatened with removal from the school system altogether.

Now whenever anyone tries to access this (or many other Democratic sites) a warning is displayed. You can, however access any Republican website that you so choose.

Why? You may well ask. I posed that question to our school's regulator. I got a detention for "insolence." I'll assume he just didn't want to answer...

Even our wonderfully unbiased, objective news services no longer broadcast the full truth about events in America and the middle-east and I believe that programmes are being aired with a conservative-slant.

People who oppose Bush are being portrayed by the media as unpatriotic, marxist thugs who prefer to rely on the welfare states instead of their own work. I resent this immensely.

All Democrats are being tarred with the same brush and nobody seems able to speak out against the system. I always thought that students were the reactionary group, the people who would defend their rights against political bigotry; but everywhere I look I see stagnation of the system.

I used to believe that we had freedom of speech and of the press in our country; but I was obviously wrong. I used to believe that the education system should be unbiased and should benefit all pupils, whatever their political persuasion. I was obviously wrong.

Teachers are openly praising Bush and atrributing all problems to the Clinton administration. This is what happens in our schools, this is what I receive every day of my life.

And in the midst of all this, we tell Afghanistan what it is like to be a democratic nation. Does this not seem a little ironic?