I must use this public forum to ask my fellow Americans to speak up against our horrible war in Yugoslavia. I cannot be silent for a number of reasons. First, as an educator, it has always been my goal to teach my students to address problems with an open mind, and try to distinguish between right and wrong based on relevant facts. Second, unfortunately, I know from personal experience what persecution is, what it is to be a refugee, and how it feels when bombs fall from the sky. Third, I was born a couple of hundred kilometers away from this region, know its history, and clearly remember the heroic struggle of the Serbian nation against Nazi Germany and its satellites.

On the basis of all of the above, I am passionately convinced that the NATO war against Serbia is terribly wrong. It is wrong to take sides in a civil war that we do not understand. It is wrong to attack a sovereign country that does not threaten us. It is wrong to impose moral values on others while we have problems with ours. It is wrong to take actions that make the situation worse, cause more suffering and destruction, kill innocent people, and portray our country as a ruthless aggressor.

I am asking you to study the history of the Balkans carefully, form opinions based on the facts, and protest this brutal war by all available legal means.