I agree with Maximilian Pitner that there needs to be more open thinking and discussion about the drinking culture in America and on this campus. I just read a global perspective on root causes, changing the culture, and reducing adverse consequences of drinking, by Maik Dunnbier of IOGT International. It might be even more radical than Pitner’s suggestions for culture change. See what you think. And if you happen to be part of the 55 percent worldwide that chooses alcohol free, what is your reaction to the allegation that “Big Alcohol (marketing and promotion) conveys the message that non-users don’t genuinely matter and are not part of the social fabric and contemporary culture and tradition?” Let’s talk. And let’s leave this campus community better than when we found it.
— Karen Hughes
As we reflect on the tragic loss of lives on the 12th anniversary of Sept. 11, let us turn back to the 40th anniversary of the overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende.
Contrary to our general perception that we support democracy and the rule of law, recently released audio tapes between former president Nixon and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, reveal that we were complicit in the overthrow of democratically elected Allende.
More than 20,000 declassified documents show in stark detail that the CIA under orders from the White House offered critical support in the brutal massacres that took place in Chile. Peter Kombluh provides meticulous details in his book, “The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability.”
In 1970, the CIA wrote in a secret memo: “It is firm and continuing policy that Allende be overthrown by a coup … It is imperative that these actions be implemented clandestinely and securely so that the U.S. government and American hand be well hidden.” Under Pinochet’s reign of terror, many were brutally tortured, killed — or simply disappeared.
Chile is making an effort to hold accountable all those responsible for the coup. Regrettably, our own government’s sordid role in the massacres has gone unpunished. Kissinger, one of the few surviving members of Nixon’s cabinet, has escaped censure and punishment. It is time the American people demand accountability from former government officials for crimes committed in our name.
— Jagjit Singh