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Purple Media Network

The Official Student Media of Northwestern State University of Louisiana

Purple Media Network

Purple Media Network

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From the archives: An opinion on Iran hostage crisis

The newspaper has always been a place for students to speak their minds. On Nov. 13, 1979, one such student wrote a “Radical Rag” about the then-ongoing situation with the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

Their comments took a rather harsh look at the foreign policy of the U.S. at the time, and their fiery speech was aimed at all students – rather all Americans – to take a stand for our values.

“Well, I am sick and tired of all of this Iranian trash. I wasn’t going to say anything about it but I’m fired up.

It seems to me that these great United States have been kicked in the crotch by yet another ‘third-world’ country, and our leaders, or so they call themselves, have the worst case of the mealy-mouth I have ever seen. I swear, if I hear our leaders say ‘we’re keeping a close eye on the situation’ or ‘We’re currently evaluating our position’ one more time, I think I’ll barf.

Let’s face it folks! We’re being pushed around by the great and powerful nation of Iran, a nation that is being run by a bunch of radical (pardon the expression) college students and a religious fanatic, who is perhaps the greatest hypocrite since Judas Iscariot.

And what are we doing about it? We are reevaluating our position.

We are in the process of developing some sort of communication. We are filling the American people up with political rhetoric and we’re not really doing a damn thing, that’s what we’re doing.

What happened to the once powerful United States? If Teddy Roosevelt was around, I know what he’d do. He’d start swinging that ‘big stick’ of his and this would all be over. Don’t we have any club swingers around today, or do we just have a bunch of big shots playing government? What is the problem? Why don’t we take a stand?

This isn’t a new problem. We have been playing the nice guy ever since Korea. Harry Truman started all of this garbage when he fired Gen. MacArthur. We don’t want to appear aggressive. We want to be everybody’s friend. Well folks, that roll is growing thin. The only exception to the nice-guy role we have been following was the way Gerald Ford handled the Mayageuz incident during his presidency. By God, he sent the Marines into Cambodia without a moment’s hesitation. That took guts, and that’s what we need today.

We’ve been taking crud off of everybody from Panama to Iran to Nicaragua the past year and it’s getting old. These ‘super-powers’ are really scary to the United States. That is truly sad.

Why doesn’t someone in Washington just pick up a phone and call the Ayatolluh and tell him he’s got 24 hours to release the American hostages. Then tell him if he doesn’t release them, we’ll blow his country off the face of the damned world. Also tell him to take his oil and feed his people with it.

It’s time to take a stand America! Let’s not take anymore crap from all these two-bit nobodies around the world. I’m not screaming ‘War!’ I’m just saying that we should stand up for what we believe in. Like the Peter Finch character in the movie ‘Network,’ let’s tell Washington that we are sick and tired of this crap and we are not going to take it anymore.

And what about you NSU? Won’t you take a stand? At LSU, they held a protest and burned an Iranian flag. At McNeese, they held a protest and hung Khomeini in effigy. I’m proud of them! They took a stand. They voiced their opinions. But what about Northwestern? Come on, let’s hear it! I’m not talking riot, just a peaceful protest. Let our voices be heard. Come on NSU, take a stand! Come on America, take a stand! It is time to take some action. Now!!!”

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