Protecting Families

And Preserving Freedom

(The following open letter, in response to Kim Danzinger’s letter “Blunders And Scare Tactics” published last week, has been received for publication.)

To Mr Danziger and all men who think like him:

In your letter to Mrs Johnson, nothing would make you happier than to see Saddam removed. You are in luck! This administration will not ignore the matter. It will not put off for tomorrow what should be done today. Sorry to frighten you more than you seem to have frightened yourself, but Saddam has not been “contained” by the “internationally recognized UN inspection team.” Like puppets, they are played just to appease the security council. Evil cannot be contained. It must be defeated or neutralized. Read about WWII and the events in Germany and Italy leading up to US involvement. Study the events after the liberation. Examine the horrors that were discovered after our troops moved in. Evidence of that was not forthcoming before our invasion. I pray we don’t find anything as horrifying. For the Iraqi people, I pray we haven’t waited too long.

As they are being tortured and killed you are concerned about your fears. Surely you joke about the use of your furnace and bathroom. Don’t complain about fears of the cold and darkness. Step outside your comfortable life! Consider the fate of people living under the dictatorship of mad men. Dictators who raise larger than life images of themselves, and eliminate dissenting opinions with methods you can’t even imagine. Study WWII and the atrocities found after the liberation. If it’s easier, see Schinder’s List or Life is Beautiful. See film footage of concentration camps. Go to ABCnews.com and find the descriptions of how Saddam has raised his sons. You can’t possibly be scared of the cold and darkness once you have read about such things. For a perspective of the region, read Time in Memoriam by Joan Peters and American Jihad by Emerson. Education can calm your fears.

You use the term Czar to describe Tom Ridge. Many former Soviet Socialist Republic countries back the United States. Consider Iraqi refuges in the United States waiting for liberation of their homeland. We cannot wait for France, Germany, and others to get off their hands. They obviously have blood on them that they don’t want the world to see. If they abstain or vote no on the resolution, the United States will act. It cannot be called unilateral. There are many countries that are with us. As usual the financial burden will be ours. We must bear it. The sooner it comes the more lives will be saved.

About the duct tape and plastic sheathing, it’s standard in areas around chemical plants across the country as a measure of protection in the event of an accident. They haven’t come up with anything more practical. What is available is extravagant and expensive. It’s funny you suggest we suffocate ourselves with it. It’s sad that you can’t figure a way to protect your family. I commend your wife for getting gas masks. At least she was proactive about the situation. Another wise and proactive move, your daughter’s trip, it was cancelled for safety not “fear.”

I would suggest you don’t look to Mrs Johnson or any other government official to help you deal with your fears. Look within yourself. Educate yourself about history. Look beyond your usual sources. Deepen your faith by reading Psalms and Proverbs. Strengthen your patriotism by reading The Federalist Papers, The Constitution and The Declaration of Independence. Be assured, you are surrounded by families, such as mine, who are willing to act to protect your family and preserve freedom. We are stronger than our fears and we live in the greatest Republic ever created. We will not let it fail you.

Linda Villafano

79 Mt Pleasant Road, Newtown                                                                                                March 3, 2003