Columbia Missourian
“I’ve always been proud of the U.S. I always have, and I’ve always displayed the flag and put my hand on my heart … The United States is the best, and I believe it’s going to stay the best. I don’t think there’s any doubt in the world that the U.S. is going to win. But I do have to admit, I did not vote for Bush, but he has got the backbone, and I appreciate what he’s doing.”
Jerry Lewis, 57, of Centralia, who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War
“I still love my country. I think it’s a great place to live. But I definitely think it’s a bad idea to set a precedent that it’s okay to make an unprovoked strike against another country. I think it will lead to some tough foreign-policy situations later with countries like North Korea. I think our world standing has also been really hurt by this. It seemed like we were trying to bully other nations into siding with us on the war. Our credibility has probably been hurt.”
Clinton Cooper, 21, a finance major at MU who heard about the war while studying in Brady Commons
“It doesn’t make me feel differently. It makes me proud to be an American. We stand up for what we believe in. We help countries less fortunate than ourselves. We are always the neighbor, ally that steps up. That is what it is all about. It makes me proud that we have the freedom to do that.”
Teresa Singleton, 42, manager of Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company
“I kind of like to think that it shows the rest of the world…(the United States) can back it up, that we’re not going to step back and be whipped. We’re not going to be beat up. We’re not going be the doormat of the rest of the world…Nobody should have to be afraid to take a vacation somewhere because just being an American puts a target on their back.”
Ron Raines, 44, director of security at Stephens College
