By Laura Lane
Psychologist Stephen Loomis, who continues to counsel patients devastated by Sept. 11, believes the terrorist attack and the war in Iraq are inseparable. The 54-year-old said he agreed with America's decision to go to war. "I think if we ignored Iraq we would be in a worse position," he said, "but I am concerned that we appear as an enemy of Islam."
Loomis admitted that he worries about retaliatory attacks. However, he refuses to let himself be controlled by fear and has not changed his daily routine.
Eric Powers, a 27-year-old attorney, continues to support the war but does have some misgivings. "I am always dubious about what the government tells us," Powers said. "If Iraq has the weapons of mass destruction, it is justified. But in the back of my mind, I wonder if the war may be about oil, and that it may be a political war.
"When you don't have the information first hand and are forced to depend on the media, it is hard," Powers added. "But, what makes America so great is that we have the option to disagree."
Nineteen-year-old Morgan Taylor has no doubt war is justified. Working as a hostess in a local restaurant, she dreams of a career with the NYPD. Last spring Taylor joined the Navy in the hope of gaining life experience and a college education. She will leave for basic training in July.
"I think if we left [Saddam] Hussein in power, something bad would happen in the future," she said. "He pays for terrorism, pays the suicide bombers to kill."
Taylor said her friends agree with her, but the people she works with are another story. "There seems to be a variety of opinions at work. People think everything will go away, but it won't," she said.
Protests at a local college have upset her. The teen said she heard ROTC officers were spat on. "People need to understand that soldiers are following orders, and it is because they do just this that people can protest," Taylor said. "I feel you don't have to agree with the soldiers, but respect them."
Cory Bonfiglio, a 19-year-old student at Nassau Community College, is against the war. "It seems like a plot by [President] Bush to cover up his flaws, and it could be an imperialistic thing," Bonfiglio said. "Why bother implementing another regime in Iraq when other countries have the same type of government and also have nuclear weapons?
"Hussein was an ally when he used weapons on Iran," Bonfiglio continued. "This reminds me of Vietnam. We don't belong there."
He went on to note that many of his fellow students do not seem to care about the war or follow its progress.
Marge McDowell is a senior citizen who cares very much. The oncology nurse at Winthrop Hospital feels we had no choice but to attack Iraq. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to go to war, but after what they did to us on Sept. 11, we have to do something back," McDowell said. "Still, it's not sitting right with me. I'm really more of a pacifist, and I didn't vote for Bush. I keep thinking his father should have done this when he had the chance years ago."
Judy Turek, a 40-year-old office manager, is saddened by the war. "I am not a pro-war person, but I am pro-American," she said. "I feel if this is what our leaders think is best for us, I have to agree. But if it were my decision, I wouldn't go to war."
Patricia Brace is a mother of four children and the PTA president for Bowling Green Elementary. Her refrigerator is covered in patriotic magnets, her pocketbook with an American flag. When Brace's cell phone rings, it plays the Star Spangled Banner. But the 46-year-old doesn't agree with the war. In fact, she worries about it.
"I don't think there's anyone more patriotic than me," Brace said. "When we were attacked, there were flags everywhere on the block. We are at war, and there are no flags. I have flags everywhere."
Brace feels war should be a last resort and believes the government didn't explore every option. She finds the government's decision to ignore the United Nations disheartening and believes it sets a bad precedent.
"I think more time going the way we were going at the U.N. would not work," she said. "But more time in actively seeking solutions would have worked. In the past, they used more espionage and covert operations and not so much grandstanding, saying, 'Let's have a war' on television. There has been a breakdown in communication between the U.S. and the world for the last two years."
