Culture should be elevating

To the editor:

In an address by President Bush, reference was made to the culture among the people of Iraq. If the Iraqis are worthy of a culture that deserves praise, it slipped by me. My knowledge of their lifestyle has only been that of destruction, killing and fighting. I generally think of culture as elevating and not a style of life.

Investigations continue concerning the brutality and killing of the Iraqi soldiers by the American military. I truly feel much regret for the wrong treatment on the part of the American soldiers.

As a result of a remark by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, eyebrows have raised and opinions have formed. Sometimes a person can be pushed too far. I believe Rumsfeld reached that point when he referred to the accusations of the Iraqi soldiers.

As time moves on, so does life. The tranquility, love and satisfaction I once knew have turned into anxiety, anger and unrest.

PAULA E. KEMPE

Cape Girardeau