War in Iraq was a mistake from the start

I hated those who perpetrated such a gross inhuman act on innocent people. An "eye for an eye" was my first thought. Even now when I reflect on that fateful day, these emotions return, along with a feeling of helplessness, because I know that we are only safe as long as people respect each other and obey the laws. Our only security is in a civilized society. But when President Bush began talking about invading Iraq, I began to have second thoughts. I was against it. Reason had taken over and a "cooler head prevailed." I was and am against this war, and I so stated in a letter published in The Daily Journal. It's crazy to invade a country with a history of hundreds of years of violence, internal religious struggle and expect them to embrace a democratic government. We cannot impose a democratic government on people who are incapable of even conceptualizing what it is. They have to want it bad enough help themselves. They have to want to rise up and overcome the tyranny that oppresses them and to establish their own government based on reason and tolerance. But what do I know? I am just an ordinary citizen, limited in knowledge of international affairs and not privy to the sophisticated intelligence available to our government and elected officials. My faith has been shattered. Now, when I think of our elected representatives from the president on down, I no longer trust them and I fear for our country. John Adams had it right when he said, "There is a danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger public liberty." I close with a quote from Will Durant. It is something to think about: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within. The essential causes of Rome's decline lay in her people, her morals, her class struggle, her failing trade, her consuming wars." Is our country doomed to repeat history? Joseph L Ready, Vineland - Daily Journal, November 27, 2006