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After September 11 I was disappointed and (silly me) surprised by the faculty statements in the November issue (“The faculty responds”). Only two of the seven professors actually expressed positions supporting our nation. Four others expressed opinions either blaming U.S. “imperialist” policies for the September 11 attacks, focusing on intolerance against minorities, warning of an impending loss of our civil liberties, or advocating pacifism (we mustn’t resort to violence). The seventh expressed no discernible opinion regarding how we should respond to the attacks. Why was I surprised rather than only disappointed? Because, unlike Viet Nam, this is not a war of our choosing, this war came to us. I cannot find the intellectual grounding for any decision but to fight back against our attackers. So I was surprised—not just disappointed—to find that there are those amongst us who want to blame America, to turn the other cheek, or to focus on smoke-screen issues instead of the reality that our national survival, in fact our civilization, is at stake. So you must conclude, or at least I do, that these Cal professors are simply America-haters. John Littig ’63 Walnut Creek The views echoed by Professors Doumani and AlSayyad are typical of the Arab-American community. They issue condemnations against the terrorists (whom AlSayyad describes as “maniacal individuals”) and suggest that misguided American policies (Doumani) are to blame indirectly. As we all know, these terrorists killed in the name of Islam. They come from repressive and intolerant Islamic regimes where state-sanctioned and religious-inspired hate against the West and its liberties is endemic. Arabs and other Muslims who enjoy our free society should worry less about their own rights during this time of war brought upon us, and should actively call out against the morass of hate in Arab and other Muslim societies. Maybe Professors AlSayyad and Doumani should take Professor Citrin’s class! Sean Lille '88 Scottsdale, Arizona Congratulations on a truly wonderful November issue! Your follow-up to September 11 (“The campus responds”) and David Kirp’s article on Clark Kerr (“The man in the arena”) were great. And Martin Snapp’s piece on Mark Bingham left both my wife and me in tears. Dave Haviland ’73 Cold Spring, New York Clark Kerr I read with great interest your article on Clark Kerr (“The man in the arena,” November). His tenure at Cal spanned the best of times and the worst of times for the University. His presidency also encompassed the undergraduate careers of both my brother (1958–1962) and myself (1963–1967). But the advertisement on page 30 for Kerr’s memoirs contains a major error, describing the Rose Bowl pictured as having been played in 1950. My brother is in that picture, and that was the 1959 Rose Bowl. The stunt shown began as a large pen which wrote out “Kerr” as it moved down the field. This was in honor of his ascendancy to the presidency of the University and underscores the popularity he enjoyed among the students. Clark Kerr always symbolized for me the epitome of the American educator, a man who understood the critical importance of quality public education in a democratic society. Richard Flier ’67 Lafayette Cultural Psychology It’s nice to see that recycling, always big on the Berkeley campus with respect to bottles, paper, and other trash, has now caught on in the area of academic thought (“Q&A,” November). Cultural psychologist Kaiping Peng’s assertion that “different cultures” have different patterns of cognition is just a dressed-up version of the now discredited “biological determinism.” I don’t care what the source of the difference might be, to state that people of different ethnic groups think differently, either due to inherited biological factors or learned cultural factors, breeds a continued “balkanization” of our country that does no one any good; nor can it be proved, Professor Peng’s claims notwithstanding. Just at a time in our country’s history when we might, in large part because of the tragedy of September 11, put the notion of hyphenated-Americans behind us for good, along comes Dr. Peng to remind us just how important, substantial, and difficult to transcend our differences can be. Thanks, Dr. Peng, but I have heard it all before. Hope you don’t mind if, instead of recycling this idea, I throw it out with the trash for good. Paul Roscelli ’82 San Francisco  Return to Top **** IMAGE Caption |
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