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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, January 5, 2003

OUR HONOLULU
War on terrorism masks real problems

By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

For me, 2003 began on Jan. 1 at 6:15 a.m. when I sat down with the morning paper and turned on the television. Louisiana State University was kicking a field goal in the Cotton Bowl.

On the front page, President Bush was explaining why we must guard against terrorism. I looked up at the stadium packed with people and wondered which is the real America, the trick mirror one in Washington or the one at the Cotton Bowl.

People in Dallas wore cowboy hats and colorful windbreakers, not Army helmets and bullet-proof vests.

President Bush gravely told reporters that Saddam Hussein has increased the likelihood of a war in Iraq by refusing to acknowledge that he possesses nuclear weapons. A sidebar story said that U.N. inspectors haven't been able to find them.

Maybe, the people in Dallas know something that the president doesn't. How about the rest of the country?

The Rose Bowl Parade was under way in Pasadena. Not a terrorist in sight The floats were covered with flowers instead of armor plating. The only army in view was the Salvation Army Band that has marched in the Rose Bowl Parade since 1920.

Californians are notoriously laid back, of course. Maybe the people in Florida are more afraid of terrorists. I turned to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame against the Wolfpack of North Carolina State. But I didn't detect much difference.

The teams trotted out from opposite sides of the stadium. Frantic cheering. Where were the terrorists lurking in the shadows intent on destroying democracy? The burning question before 60,000 Americans in the stadium was: "Can N.C. State beat a resurgent Fighting Irish under their new miracle coach?"

Let's try the Capital Bowl in Orlando. Surely somebody will blow up the stadium.

Ahhhh, yes, look at those grim faces, those steely eyes peering into the camera. Whoops. Erase that. It's the Auburn Tigers out to destroy Penn State.

I read more of the paper: "Even as Bush spoke sternly about Iraq, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan cautioned that Iraq had so far cooperated with U.N. weapons inspectors."

A commercial for Domino's Dots, a new product by Domino's Pizza, summed it up. An army of young warriors fills the screen. Their heroic leader shouts, "Are you with me?" The roar comes back, "To glory!" The leader corrects them, "No, to Domino's Dots."

Isn't it time to stop posing heroically, to stop using terrorism as a simplistic excuse to neglect the problems all around us; corporate corruption, a faltering economy, people who don't have jobs, an environment at risk, homeless families?

Is terrorism so pervasive that young men must go to war instead of to the football field?

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-0873.