European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 29, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes doonesbury satire staunchly defended. Is. Rice s letter to the Stan and stripes objects to Gary Trudeau s poor taste in lampooning the Navy s recent misfortunes. The Only thing offended by those cartoons is the Navy s vanity and somehow i expect that a few doonesbury panels mounted on bulletin boards might do More to prevent carelessness and future accidents than All the hand wringing and stiff dignity of official inquiries. Maj. Mcmichael s letter is More disturbing in part because As a commissioned officer he should have More than a passing awareness of the political values and freedoms our nation represents. Just As Eastern Europe is freeing itself from a 40-year dark age is no time for the United states to decide that censorship and repression Are not such bad ideas after All. Satire is also a great and very democratic american tradition. The powerful the sanctimonious and the fool ish should be mocked hard and often by someone who knows How. Trudeau is one of the few who fits that Bill in he United states today. He regularly mocks All our pre tensions the new York an scene new age lifestyles and Yuppie Dom in addition to the great conservative bastions this writer Felt obliged to defend. Passionate argument is Good for a democracy it keeps us Young and flexible. But when the writer urges the stars and St pcs to Stop publishing doonesbury because it does t reflect his values he goes too far and the pinched stubborn and decidedly in american Specter of censorship rears up. That s not what your uniform stand for not the last time i checked anyway. Peter r. Claussen Berlin. The reason that civil rights exist is to protect the extremist the iconoclast the Man who goes too far. Majority Rule and minority rights has always been the guiding american principle even though it is no always enforced. Far better to air hostile views and let them live or Dieon their own merits in the Public forum than to suffer the inevitable consequences of disenfranchised minority groups working outside the political system rebellion riot assassination All the desperate tools resorted to by people backed up against the Wall by the majority. Infringe views arc protected what does the prevailing majority have to fear concerning its own rights. Often the Point in doonesbury is for us to be Ware of what might be if we Are not vigilant not what is. Or he is warning a National figure not to take him self too seriously for he was once a common citizen like us and will eventually be one again. Docs this writer feel that voices out of the Mains Tream should he stilled that All who disagree with his View of what constitutes Middle american values should be silenced that is what he seems to be suggesting by urging the cancellation of doonesbury. If such an Agenda were to be implemented the stars and stripes would become a Mere propaganda Organ of the department of defense and its readers soldiers sworn to uphold the Constitution lamentably kept in the dark about everything which fails to quote the party Tine. 1st Kroenung Schweinfurt West Germany. It seems that so Many people Are caught up in being patriotic that they be completely forgotten what America is All about. It makes no sense and is frighten ing to see supposedly educated people so terrified of the viewpoints of others that they would Call for censorship rather than simply turning the Page. I grew up believing America stands for Freedom and i have enough Confidence in the american people that i Don t have to be afraid of another person s Politi Cal views no matter How angry they might make me. It is people like this writer who shout patriotism from one direction and censorship from another who endanger the american Way of life not Trudeau s views on aids and Flag burning. After All in the end it does t really matter what one cartoonist thinks of Ronald Reagan and George Bush. What matters is our Freedom to choose to read about it. Beverly j. Garnica Wil Flecken West Germany As readers of doonesbury in our stars and stripes we feel compelled to respond to the writer s outrage at the subject matter and political leaning of the artist or. Trudeau. Dare we use the a word we find it difficult not to support his position in this matter. We feel that we need to support those ideals that made our country great. In t it a shame that certain a people Are permitted to express views in a medium such As a newspaper Why the next thing you know they la want to talk about such things in Public. Satire and All associated with it belong where the almighty intended it in a Safe Deposit Box in a reputable savings and loan in Texas. Children we be got trouble trouble right herein River City trouble with a capital to that rhymes with a and that stands for pontification. These darn a of alright i la say it Liberal people Are going to ruin it for everybody. Next thing you know they la be preaching for the abolition of fundamental rights. By Golly we need to Spruce up the Constitution and the Bill of rights to smooth Over those sticking Points Freedom of press and Freedom of speech to name just a couple. So stars and stripes straighten up your act let s have Dennis the menace obey his parents and stay out of trouble. We need an ordered disciplined principled world. We need uniforms. Yeah uniforms maybe Brown . D. Will do Mij. W. Timmerman capt. W. Walters capt. M. Lar Lam capt. B. Burkett Cit. P. Zwack capt j. Malone sgt 1st class j. O Neill p. Boline e. Thomas h. Millar e. Garza Mason Garmisch West Germany until i read that president Bush had not included Gary Trudeau with All the other cartoonists in his invitations to visit the White House i had never read doonesbury. But i read it then to learn for myself what the cartoon was about and Why Bush would blatantly exclude him from the event. After having read doonesbury critically daily for several weeks i began to get an accurate overview As Well As a detailed feel for the comic strip. However instead of telling everyone what to be Lieve and How to act and feel As the recent writer did ill simply say As a Christian As an american As a wife of a service member in Europe do As i did read doonesbury critically daily particularly on sunday. Then ask yourself what is Trudeau really saying based on my knowledge is he telling the truth what do i feel about the cartoon now then finally was this writer s assessment Correct or were misstatements biased to satisfy his own objectives be a real american be knowledgeable be Thor Ough be critical be objective and above All be Wise and prayerful before jumping on a bandwagon to destroy Trudeau. Sandra Gerard Wiesbaden West Germany. As far As aids goes i guess people afflicted with it Are our modern Day lepers. I can Only say toll the self righteous people out there who think that homosexuals somehow deserve aids because of the lifestyle they live if Jesus Christ himself came Down Here today i m quite sure he would not say that All homosexuals inflicted with aids should crawl up into some Hole and wait to die condemned to go to hell for living the wrong lifestyle. America was born . Our forefathers led the religious intolerance of Europe and set up a Constitution that would be a pillar of tolerance. Many americans Over the past 10 years however have become increasingly intolerant. It is important for those of you who May not like the Gary trud Causor this world to understand that Many of us do not Sec America through the same Rose coloured glasses that you do. Americans who died in the wars for Freedom died not Only for America s patriots but also for America s dissenters. That some people find doonesbury in bad taste i am sorry. I guess that s the Price we have to pay for living in a free society. Set. John r. Crone or. Munich West Germany. Freedom of speech is like its sibling freedoms of worship and the press an ironic concept. While i am enabled to speak out for a cause others people with whom 1 May disagree strongly will also voice their views. As military members we work and live in a social Milieu remarkably different from that of civilian America. In this closed and carefully controlled environment it is too easy to forget that our purpose is not to Craft an America that fits our own View of the world but rather to guarantee that our country will be a place where All people will have the right to express themselves openly. May i suggest that when you encounter a View Point with which you differ that you seek not to obscure it censor it or hide it. Evaluate it for it merits or Analyse its faults but above All do not attempt to suppress it. Your own position will be Stycn thened if you understand those with whom you disagree. To Voltaire we attribute this aphorism i disapprove of what you say but i will defend to the death your right to say for the record 1 rarely enjoy Gary Trudeau s humor or appreciate his political stands. I also do not agree with the writer s recent request to exclude the strip from this paper. But either Man will find me a vociferous and outspoken ally should anyone attempt to abridge his right to self expression. Or. Mai Gideon d. H1u Iii Heidelberg West Germany. This writer is exercising his right of free speech. On the other hand by setting himself up As arbiter of what is. And is not acceptable he proposes to withdraw our Freedom to choose. The Mark of a free and open society is the degree to which it can tolerate expression outside the Mains Tream. 1 am frankly appalled by the growing insensitivity in our society for such expression and the de Gree to which observers such As this writer profess willingness to abrogate our fundamental freedoms. Those same freedoms Are goals of millions of deprived citizens in Eastern Europe now struggling even As we struggled More than 200 years ago. We Are in Little danger of losing our rights and freedoms these Days in a dramatic revolutionary upheaval. We risk losing them instead by a slow Ero Sion of the spirit of tolerance a gradual decay in the value placed on the diversity which is our greatest asset. Maj. Robert e. Howard Stuttgart West Germany 1 would like to ask who the authority is in defining mainstream values of Middle America. The values i espouse and yes i m a Church going Christian show compassion for the sick whether they Are homosexual drug users or televangelists gone awry. Excluding doonesbury would result in the stars and stripes becoming just another one sided narrow minded publication which i know is not the editor s intent. William Krans Livorno Italy. Or. Trudeau does t necessarily want you to agree with him on a Given topic he Only wants to make you think original thoughts about it. The Only danger from a piece of satire is seeing oneself reflected in it and hating what you see. Sgt. Jeffrey a. Hellen Augsburg West Germany. What the writer seems to fail to see is that Itin t necessary to be self righteous about beliefs and values. One can disapprove of homosexuality can like and approve of the president and vice president yet still laugh when fun is poked at their foibles and failings after All holding those offices does not make men infallible. One can love one s country and respect the Flag and yet still find it both laughable and outrageous that the Congress and president put that Issue ahead of meaningful matters such As the budget deficit for several weeks this past summer. In Short one does t have to be a Mccarthy Ite to be offended at times by doonesbury but neither does one have to be a Mem Ber of the far left or a believer in social radicalism to enjoy this strip. This life Long Republican Hopes hell continue to see doonesbury in his stars and stripes every morning. Norman Brodesser Nelll Ngun West Germany. I Don t know if it s human nature or not but some people always describe things with a possessive one. For example my doctor my psychologist my Butcher in our Reader s Case it s my newspaper As if he had some editorial rights to it. Next thing you know he s going to say that the stars and stripes Bookstore is his Bookstore and want All the adult publications off the shelf because they offend him. If he wants the paper to reflect the values that he holds Tell him to either buy the company or gel a Job As an editor.1st it. John Kiro Worms West Germany 1, too am serving in Europe and consider the stars and stripes to be my paper but i m afraid i Hope for it to be a newspaper not a club report. I do not want it to Echo my sentiments Back to me but Hope that it would instead report an unbiased collection of news and viewpoints no matter How much they clash with mine or cause me irritation. Steven d. Mowery Raf Chicksands England. Most americans Are fair honest caring and Loyal people with a Good sense of humor. But you also have to admit that a big portion of America is Riddle with ignorance fear bigotry racism illiteracy drug and child . Trudeau wants us to take care of the homeless to Stop smoking to hang in there As a family in the worst of circumstances to provide adequate care for aids patients to take an Active role in government and Stop following it blindly like so Many sheep. That does t sound mean or odious to me. It sounds like a Man who cares. Welford. England i consider the stars and stripes to be my newspaper too. Like the recent writer who criticized doonesbury. I would like stripes to reflect the values that i hold. Therefore i urge you to keep doonesbury but get rid of William f. Buckley. Joyce e. Jensen Mainz West Germany continued on Page ii
