Yes, Mr. Loring (April 1 letter, “Terrorists threaten our freedoms”) we are entitled to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” but I for one don’t believe our current war is preserving or enhancing this notion.

I am still confused as to exactly how Iraq is involved in a “War on Terrorism.” After all, at one time we were bombing Afghanistan — and then somehow Iraq became involved. While I realize I am heavily simplifying this matter, I don’t think I am alone in believing this war on terrorism is nothing more than a show to get people to trust in their “powerful government” again.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my freedoms and the people who defend them, but what are they defending with a new “Patriot Act” which basically takes away my constitutional rights? To those who say I shouldn’t be worried if I have nothing to hide, I say that’s not the point. The point is that this is the start of a plethora of things the government seems to be starting to do.

Perhaps one day we will live in George Orwell’s 1984, or perhaps we already do.

I have to wonder when, in a week’s time, we can go from bombing one nation to another, just what this bombing is about. It is a scary thought that we potentially could be living in this fictional world.

Nicholas J. Magilton

Senior

Landscape Architecture