Army Troops Fire on Beijing Crowds

The appeal of the Chinese students and workers for democracy should not be twisted by various self-serving factions in this country and throughout the world. They sought a meeting with government officials, press freedom and decried government corruption. Any gentle heart must weep at the brutal attack against unarmed students, workers, and even children. I do not believe these students wanted to overturn the government. They wanted a better, less corrupt government. They believed in an ideal. They also believed that their army would not harm them. They were wrong.

Americans should take the clarity and purity in those young faces to heart. We should remember how student demonstrations were ended in the United States in the Vietnam era. Every time we see a homeless person, read of a gang shooting, hear of another junk-bondsman indicted, a union killed or a congressman’s financial situation explored, we should re-examine those vital words spoken again and again by the Chinese students: democracy and freedom. Then we should remember that we have a long way to go to redeem the symbol chosen by those young students, our Statue of Liberty. Let the Chinese students’ stand be a beacon for a worldwide quest for honesty, justice and freedom in every person’s life.

JACKIE O’DELL

West Hollywood