American People-Populace Haunted by Worries of War

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 10, 2003

American People-Populace Haunted by Worries of War

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The impending possible war by the US against Iraq has not only roused close concern from the international community, but also engendered a tense atmosphere among ordinary American people, and, especially, spiritual and economic pressures are mounting up on civilians of middle and lower classes.

First, people are extremely anxious about the safety of their children, relatives and friends who have been dispatched to the battlefield. Media reports said that among the US soldiers who went to the front, most were poor whites, blacks and other minorities. For example, minority people, who account for 30 percent of US total population, took 35 percent in army. And black people, 12 percent of total population, stand for 21 percent in army. As a result someone complained that when congress members vote to attack Iraq, there is perhaps only one of them who really has a son in the army.

It's a long history for rich Americans to evade from military service, early as in the Civil War between the north and the south, President Lincoln approved that whoever contributed 300 US dollars could be exempted from military service. Today, more than 100 years later, things remain the same as before despite the country's system of compulsory military service.

An officer responsible for recent recruitment in Los Angeles admitted that there were mainly three kinds of people who came to sign up. First were those wishing to solve their identities. Most of them were green card holders of Chinese and Spanish origins who hoped to get permanent residence through military service. Second, high school students longing for free university after quitting from the army. Third, poor people, especially those facing unemployment who wished to pull through economic difficulties in the army and secure government's care for their families.

These people indeed put their life on stake when they were heading for the front "devoting themselves to the country". That's why each time before the departure of large troops the churches are bursting with brides and grooms. And, after that, the "hot line" linking soldiers and their beloved gets busier and busier. War is cruel leading inevitably to injuries and deaths. People are not only worrying about the security of their beloved, but also the return with strange diseases incurred by chemical weapons, which haunted at least 100,000 American soldiers during the Gulf War ten years ago.

Moreover, more and more civilians of middle and lower classes are feeling the mounting economic pressures brought about by the war foretold. It is estimated that the war would cost at least hundred billion US dollars, perhaps 200 billion dollars, or even a bottomless chasm, which would make the government budget in financial deficit even worse. Now all state governments, short of money, are cutting down their expenditures, even in the field of education as seen in California. State-owned universities raised tuition and middle and elementary schools began to axe teaching staff. Many students complained that these measures were no less than "war tax" imposed on poor students. As a result, a protest is reportedly to be staged soon by 300 universities and middle schools calling for peace and more funds for education.

The uncertainty of war and aftermath has made many Americans to tighten their belt, with the index of consumption confidence dropped to the lowest point in ten years. The Treasury Secretary has to admit that the US economy has been much clouded by people's worries about the war. And civilians of middle and lower classes are the first to suffer.

An example of surging oil price is enough. In California the price in gas stations rose from 1.6 dollars per gallon months ago to today's over 2.1 dollars. According to a recent opinion poll by Gallop, one third of the interviewed people said they were facing financial difficulties caused by raised oil price. Many were forced to drop their car-buying plan, some even cancelled weekend tours, visits and dinners with friends. Many other prices surged along with the oil and even FedEx charged more for mail transport.

Worries are written on many faces of American civilians even before the war is launched that explain why many of them are against it.

By PD Online Staff Shu Zhenhong

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