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Editor-in-Chief During the last couple of months, I've received several letters from readers informing me of all the mistakes Bill Clinton made while in office. One reader even went so far as to send me a letter in the actual mail – as opposed to e-mail – and included a lewd T-shirt idea. I put it on the fridge. Although I always enjoy reading letters from readers – even those expressing contempt – one thing bothers me about this particular trend: I've never mentioned Clinton in a single commentary. This, for the most part, is because I try not to live in the past – but some people seem fixated. Judging from these letters, you would think Clinton still retained the presidency. After mulling the situation over and re-reading the commentaries that prompted these letters, I realized they all share one obvious trait: They criticize George W. Bush. So, apparently, the authors of the letters support Bush, and therefore assume that I must support Clinton since I dislike Bush. It's inconceivable to them that perhaps I dislike both. Unfortunately, they wasted their time attempting to sway me into disliking Clinton, as I probably already dislike him more than anyone can imagine and consider him a failure of epic proportions. Also, instead of criticizing Clinton for the issues that matter, the letters spouted off the usual nonsense about Monica Lewinsky and made jokes. Since so many people seem determined at focusing on the past, I'm going to do just that – 1994 to be exact. If that year doesn't ring a bell, it's when over 800,000 people in Rwanda were hacked to death with machetes. Clinton refused to take any action to prevent it. Not only that, but he refused to even discuss it with his cabinet. He even refused to provide aircraft capable of distorting the radio transmissions that initiated the killings. Not only did the Clinton administration ignore it, but so did the media. It went almost completely uncovered. I, personally, consider the death of 800,000 Africans even more newsworthy than the events of 9/11 or the war in Iraq. People are people regardless of their location, race or income status and should be provided with protection regardless of where it must come from. The Rwanda genocide prompts me to ask several questions: Why did the media ignore this, but obsess over something as trivial as Monica Lewinsky? Why is Bill Clinton considered America's first black president? And why hasn't Michael Moore made a movie about this?
Of course, it's not my intention to bash the great liberal hero of a new generation, but only to make a point: Just because someone dislikes Bush, does not mean they support Clinton. Have a comment? Please e-mail us. ŠThe Voice 2006 Revised 01/20/2006 11:39:37 PM — http://www.uamont.edu/Organizations/TheVoice/3_13/clinton.htm |
