The failure of war
John Payne’s recent letter asked those who opposed the war how we now felt about the liberation of the Iraqi people, and to acknowledge that Bush had been right all along [Mailbag, April 29]. Nobody with a heart can deny feeling joy and relief for the end (if there is an end) to their terrible suffering. However, I believe Bush and his war cabinet are not victors in this endeavor, but failures of the first order.
I’ll not address the many reasons given for going to war, or the truth of them (others can do that better than I), and in time they will all come to light. But Bush failed because war itself is a failure! It is a failure of the human consciousness to take the next step forward to find a better solution. It takes no thought at all or spiritual courage to do what had been done before—over and over again in the history of man. But to find the answer that is there waiting to be found (as are all answers to the human condition) takes a depth of character and stature, and a degree of spiritual awareness that President Bush and many world leaders sadly lack.
Mr. Payne scorned the efforts of the war protestors, but do not be too fast to do that, sir. I’m desperately afraid that the cost of “liberating the Iraqi people” may be the loss of democracy as we know it in this country. As the Iraqis gain a degree of freedom over there, quietly and insidiously it is being lost in America (the Patriot Act, for example). We should hold dear the right to question those in authority and the consequences of their actions, without being criticized or scorned.
How do I feel, Mr. Payne? Desperately sad, and not a little scared for the future of this country.
Alma Cunningham
North Garden
Left behind?
In Jon Sutz’s column “Search and destroy” [AfterThought, April 8], the author states: “…The ‘far left’ in America—with whom [Ted] Rall aligns himself—cheered president Clinton on to initiate wars in Haiti and Kosovo.” I recall the left-wing of capitalism (i.e., liberals) doing a lot of cheering, but can the author specify which groups among the “far left” supported the invasion of Haiti and the bombardment of Belgrade? Particularly those groups “with whom Rall aligns himself”? Moreover, can the author prove that Rall himself supported these things? Otherwise, I’ll just ignore the rest of this weak apology for imperialism.
Chuck Davis
Charlottesville
Beg your pardon
I read with interest the article “O give me a yurt” [Fishbowl, April 29] on my friend Jen Piel. But the article in no way conveyed her special skill, knowledge and intelligence that created the innovative work that Jen does. To call Jen a massage therapist is a joke! She has studied various biochemistry, physics, anatomy and physiology and soft-tissue courses, not only extensively in the United States, but for years in Germany, often under the supervision of osteopaths.
The innovative soft-tissue pain relief techniques that Jen Piel has developed are phenomenal. I can attest to that fact first hand, as I have benefited from her work. I suffer from sever scoliosis, arthritis and hepatitis and her methods are the main reason I am able to move comfortably through my days. Jen herself is becoming increasingly disabled from a long-term back injury. She is attempting to find a way to raise funding to carry on her work by writing three books on her pain-relief methods, as well as developing course curriculums to teach other healthcare professionals. I can only hope she will be able to train someone to carry on her work.
She has very effectively communicated her plans, as well as a history of how she became so disabled, on her website www.help4jen.com. It would be a loss to almost anyone in pain to have her work lost, and a tragic irony that it be lost simply because she would become homeless with nowhere to continue her work due to her disability and lack of financial resources. I encourage all who are interested to view www.help4jen.com and see for yourself what a worthwhile endeavor this is.
G.K. Jensen
Charlottesville
Yurt’s so good
I appreciate C-VILLE Weekly calling attention to my Yurt Project . But, the article didn’t convey the purpose of the Yurt Project. Yes, I am seeking donations to purchase a yurt. But, the yurt is just the means to a very creative end.
The whole reason for procuring the yurt is to provide a roof over my head so that I can accomplish the real project: house my extensive reference library, write three books on how to administer the innovative soft-tissue pain relief modalities that I have developed over the past 15 years, as well as develop course curriculum to teach other health care professionals these effective pain relief methods.
By the way, I am not a massage therapist—I am a connective tissue therapist and consultant. From my studies in Europe, there is no American equivalent to reflect my training and education. In 1989, I sat for the Board Exams in Florida, and through the Department of Professional Regulation, received the paperwork for a licensed massage therapist, in order to legally perform my therapy methods. But, I have received training far beyond that of a massage therapist.
For the past 23 years, I have learned to live with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and a chronic back injury with chronic pain. During these past years, I have been determined to be productive and of service to others in spite of these challenges. I was able to take the tragedy of my injury in 1980 and transform it into something very positive.
I had studied, among other subjects, physics, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology and various soft-tissue therapy and rehab techniques. Yet, through the pain I experienced from my own injury and the long recovery process, I began to understand chronic pain from a more insightful and practical perspective.
Eventually all the book-learning combined with my personal experience and coalesced into a series of insights. I developed an innovative soft-tissue treatment method for helping others to relieve their acute and chronic soft-tissue pain.
This is the purpose of the project: To continue my work by sharing the innovative techniques in order to help others, in spite of my increasing disability. Details are found at www.help4jen.com.
Jenevieve Piel
Charlottesville
Take the high road
Articles in the Daily Progress and C-VILLE Weekly covered local social worker Jennifer Isbister’s comments about affordable housing during a recent City Council meeting [“This space not for rent,” Fishbowl, April 29]. Isbister used the public forum appropriately to air her feelings about the high percentage of income that low-income earners must devote to pay rent. Though Mayor Cox thoughtfully invited her to stay for a “reality check,” there remains truth to her statement.
Like it or not, it’s a fact that many of the jobs now available locally are low paying, and that rent here is comparatively expensive. In this, Charlottesville is a microcosm of the nation, where a study by the Center for Housing Policy finds many more families now spending at least half their salaries on rent or mortgage.
Simultaneously, and in a worsened economy, the Bush Administration has reauthorized welfare in a way that makes it more restrictive for those involved. Now they are proposing to replace the program providing public housing vouchers with state-administered block grants that free up vouchers for higher-income people who need less assistance. This is not a good time to be poor.
The question that remains is this: Do we follow a national trend and become a diminished City, or take the high, hard road and make the Jeffersonian ideal available to all our citizens?
David Lerman
Troy