Fort Collins Coloradoan from Fort Collins, Colorado • Page 10

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble; and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." A10 Saturday, December 12, 2009 TOPIC: RED FEATHER rrV of this year ii WE'RE llit I' 77" Swansea Soapbox YOUTH VIEW: IRAN Country is at cultural crossroads Ellen Loran Soapbox 0 If COL0RADOAN EDITORIAL BOARD: Kim Roegnen president and publisher Robert Moore: executive editor Kathleen Duff: opinion editor, editorial board chairwoman Community member Pam Brock, Fort Collins resident Larry Dolgin, Fort Collins resident THUMBS UP ft. There will never be adequate words to express our thanks to everyone involved for your generosi-ty and caring Nov. 28 at the Benefit for Allan Baclasky. We were astonished by the turnout and amazed by all the hard work leading up to this event. I'm not fully aware of all who participated and will regrettably leave out someone special, but I do want to especially thank Chick and Patti Cavallero, The Cardiac Cath Lab at Medical Center of the Rockies, Loveland High School, Duke of Windsor, New Belgium Brewery, individuals and local businesses for their donations, BluesDoGs, Dan Lovett and Friends, Black Box Warning, PapaJuke and Rick Price, the Bike Co-op.

Your caring has helped us through this difficult time, and it's because of all of you that we are now able to celebrate Allan's continuing recovery." Allan, Cindy, Christopher and James Baclasky ft "I organize programs that help children have a Sg Christmas present who would otherwise not have one. My youngest daughter also works with a program for seniors to provide food. We could not do this without the help of many, many people. I would like to give a big thumbs up to all of the folks who donated toys and food and helped unconditionally with no judgments. These people know who they are.

On behalf of the folks who receive these wonderful gifts I want to thank everyone who helped." Joyce Kohlmeier, Fort Collins rv "On behalf of the Community Connections and Cooper Home Transition Programs, I would like to thank the following for their help with the success of our December graduation: Unforgettable Images for donating our graduation pictures for the past five years; Michael Woodruff and Sue Cecil for putting together the amazing slide show presentations; Dean Cilli, Jenny Evans, Shannon Hake, Becky Kessler, Woodruff, Cecil and Hellon Jester for your invaluable commitment and caring toward our students and programs; Amelia Booker for providing beautiful music during the luncheon; and Jenna Van Fossan, city of Fort Collins Parks and Recreation, for her wonderful speech." Maria Landstrom, Poudre School District Community Connections Program "Thumbs up to the Greek Life Community at sN CSU for its Treezin' for a Reason' polar bear plunge into Horsetooth Reservoir. Thanks to all the students who dashed in the cold, with a special thanks to Andrea, Nate, Sonja and especially Erin, who introduced us to Greek Life at CSU. The proceeds go to the Family CenterLa Familia's capital campaign and are matched dollar for dollar by a Bohemian Foundation grant." Alan Cohen, The Family CenterLa Familia Thumbs up to Mayor Doug Hutchinson for facilitating the Fort Collins Not In Our Town Alliance, or NIOTA, Book Club discussion on the Tortilla Curtain." Another thumbs up to Charles Kaine and his staff at the Reader's Cove Book Store for allowing us to use their bookstore for this event and for all of our meetings!" Caroline Tu Farley, on behalf of the Fort Collins NIOTA Book Club The Food Bank for Larimer County would like to give thumbs up to the Envision: Young Professionals volunteers from the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce who volunteered Nov. 14 at the 9 Cares Colorado Shares food drive in Fort Collins. The 24 hardworking volunteers helped collect more than 5,700 pounds of food and $1,900.

These food items and funds will be utilized in three programs that serve individuals, children, seniors and agencies at the Food Bank for Larimer County." Charlene OLms, Food Bank for Larimer County basis. From the Iranian hostage situation to the Iran-Contra scandal, every interaction has been saturated with miscommunica-tion and mistrust. The world has failed to realize that Iran harbors these dichotomous personalities and, therefore, must be dealt with from that angle. As evidenced by Iran and the Western world's current disastrous relationship, approaching Iran as either a Persian or as a fundamentalist-Islamic nation results in failure. When the Western world looks at Iran as a Persian nation, the ingrained lack of religious progressivism that plagues the nation has sparked conflict.

And yet when the Western world has approached Iran as an Islamic-fundamentalist nation, Iranians have reacted with extreme hatred toward the "ignorant West," which does not understand the country's unique culture. Because of my Iranian heritage and knowledge of Iranian society as recounted by my relatives, I am fortunate to have a unique perspective on the Iranian cultural situation. America must realize that in order to have any success in negotiating with Iran, we must embrace an Iran that is at a cultural crossroads. Ellen Loran of Fort Collins is a senior in high school. A recent endeavor of mine has been learning the language of Farsi.

After a friend recently asked me why, she pondered my response and then said, "Well, if you want to be able to speak with Iranians, why aren't you learning Arabic?" Even the most politically astute Americans have a gross misconception about the country of Iran. According to much of the Western world, Iran is just like all the other Middle Eastern nations: Muslim-and Arabic-speaking. Throughout my whole life, I have found this common perception bewildering and at times excruciatingly frustrating. Growing up hearing my grandfather's stories of livery Tehrani nights, I came to know an Iran that was fun-loving, infinitely generous and saturated with Persian traditions. For years I could not reconcile the stereotypical American view of Iran with the country I knew.

However, while trying to rationalize these contrasting views, I stumbled upon an international issue that has played a role on the world political stage for years. Through my unique perspective, I realized that Iran harbors dichotomous identities. Part of Iran sees itself as a fundamentalist-Islamic nation, while another part sees itself as Persian. The international difficulty of negotiations with Iran over the past few decades has resulted from these contrasting identities. The Iranian riots of this past summer shocked a majority of the Western world.

People were surprised to learn that Iranian citizens do not support obliterating Israel nor believe that the United States is the "Great Satan." These views are how Ahmadinejad's regime would like the world to view Iran. His regime tries to portray Iran as a nation united in its fundamentalist-Islamic identity. Yet the citizens of Iran are Persians, identifying more with their "life-loving, secular heritage than the fatalism of fundamentalist Islam." With more than 1 million demonstrators in the streets of Tehran this summer, the fundamentalists' facade cracked, exposing two contrasting Irans that had been in an unseen war for many years. Over the past decades, Iran and the Western world have had numerous diplomatic disasters, all with Iran's schizophrenic identity as an underlying Closing school would harm community My husband's family has been property owners in Red Feather Lakes since 1940, and he and I have come to Red Feather every summer since we were married 53 years ago. We have watched the little village grow into a delightful mountain town with a post office, two active churches, a wonderful library, a quality elementary school a little park, several restaurants and stores, a friendly community building, a fire station with a strong volunteer fire department, a popular sand-green golf course, the nearby beautiful Fox Acres, many well-cared-for year-round and seasonal homes, and people who are here because they appreciate the well-rounded, educationally strong, active mountain community Red Feather has become.

Red Feather Lakes is a viable mountain village with a community-oriented presence on the mountain. My husband's father traded his first little cabin in the village for the old golf course, built one cabin and then another, sold some of the land to the "High Country" and eventually bought the 500-acre ranch on County Road 74E. The gate that says "Swanson" is entrance for two unrelated Swanson families that have been dear friends for over half a century. We are in the process of putting our land into a conservation easement to help preserve the strength and beauty of the land and the Red Feather environment. Our families were originally drawn to Red Feather because of its pristine beauty, its lack of commercialization, clean air and family-oriented spirit.

Our own children, now grown, loved coming every summer and eventually settled on the Front Range to be close to family and the ranch. Though our family is past needing an elementary school ourselves, we deeply appreciate what young families mean to a community and what an elementary school in the village means to thejr willingness to settle in Red Feather. We are an educationally oriented family. Many of us are teachers. Our own choices of places to live have been determined by the schools available in the area.

The very strength of a community is connected to the strength of its local schools. We are appalled that the Poudre School District would even think of closing Red Feather Lakes Elementary. We cannot believe that PSD would close the school in a small but strong, stable mountain village that not only puts more money into the district than it costs the district, but also serves a large number of families on the surrounding mountain. What kind of fiscal stewardship is that? Red Feather Lakes has valued education ever since its earliest settlers formed a school district and built a school in the late 1800s. Through the years, "the school and its students have been the heart of the village," according to Pat Clemens, president of the Red Feather Lakes Historical Society.

To close the school would not only be devastating to the children and families it educates, to the town of Red Feather, to the whole mountain community, but also to the Poudre School District, which would lose a unique mountain school and the goodwill of those who feel that money and budgets have become more important to PSD than the children it was formed to serve. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The third annual Northern Colorado Veterans Stand-Down on Nov. 10, which provided services to many veterans, was successful thanks to Catholic Charities Northern, Colorado Legal Services, Disabled Resource Services, Homeless Gear, Jax Mercantile, Little Caesars Pizza, Panera Bread, Salvation Army, Sister Mary Alice Murphy Center for Hope, VA Center of Cheyenne, VETS Center and Walmart. Sharon Lindell, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Veterans Workforce Investment Program grant manager rv The Irish Elementary School Community gN would like to thank Jax Outdoor Gear, Alison Rogers from Phase II, Linda Schaefer and her book club, and our friends from the North Fort Collins Business Association for their generous donation of coats, boots, hats and gloves. Our school community is very fortunate to have each of you as partners in the education of our children.

Simply, we couldn't fulfill our mission without your support." Guillermo Medina, Irish Elementary principal and the situation in Afghanistan today. There are also some important similarities. Like South Vietnam, Afghanistan is currently led by a corrupt political establishment with little popular support. As was the case in South Vietnam, the United States is seeking to train the army of an unpopular government to do the majority of the fighting and dying in place of U.S. troops.

As was the case in Vietnam, the United States has behaved brutally, killing numerous innocent civilians in bombing and drone attacks in its attempt to defeat al-Qaida and the Taliban. Finally, as was the case during the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, funds that could otherwise have been spent on meeting human needs at home are being used to pay for a costly and increasingly unpopular war. Strength Through Peace joins with United for Peace and Justice, Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, Peace Action and other national organizations in calling for an exit strategy based on all-party talks, regional diplomacy, unconditional humanitarian aid, economic assistance and timelines for the near-term withdrawal of American and NATO combat troops. Do we really need to learn the lessons of Vietnam twice? Kevin Cross, convener, Strength Through Peace Paper failed on Pearl Harbor Day Dec.

7, 1941. "A day that will live in infamy." Didn't even get a back-page mention (let alone front page) in the Coloradoan. It's a real slap in the face to the Greatest Generation. I'm not a member but my parents were. How quick we are to forget the sacrifices and the day that began a new chapter in history.

You need to re-evaluate if you're proud of your reporting today. I was going to subscribe next week but will take a pass. My mother said, "It makes me feel like canceling my subscription." Too bad we're in such a small minority today. I know you can't make everyone happy, but this was way beyond an oversight that's pitiable. Michael Struempler, Fort Collins We must heed Vietnam lessons On Dec.

1, President Barack Obama announced his intention to increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by 30,000. Strength Through Peace held a vigil (unannounced and uncovered by the Coloradoan) on the following day to protest this futile, dangerous and costly escalation. In his speech, President Obama pointed out several differences between the situation in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s "On behalf of the National Hispanic Heritage Month planning committee and El Centro at frfrAr r4 Tn it rnrtiif lira iiim 1 1 rl 1 lira frt QVonrl a special thanks and thumbs up to all the CSU offices, departments, student organizations; city of Fort Collins; Poudre School District; Front Range Community 1 College; Poudre River Friends of the Library; and Mayor Doug Hutchinson for collaborating with us. This year we jcollectively organized and presented more than 25 cul-i tural enriching and educational programs.

jMil Gracias!" Rich A. Salas and Guadalupe Salazar Kathryn Swanson lives In Red Feather Lakes and Fort Collins. MALLARD FILLMORE D00NESBURY cfSSIr) i. ifi iggr lir r3WBl I tv-wV' OKAY Ji.