Readers weigh in on Iran: ‘I don’t want my grandsons fighting in your stupid wars’ | Opinion

The real Iranian history

The first casualty of war is the truth. So, according to the warmongers in Congress and in “mainstream” and right-wing media, the history of animosity between the U.S. and Iran begins with the 1979 Iranian revolution and hostage crisis. They tell Americans that Iran has been at war with us for those 47 years.

This is a case of historical erasure and programmed amnesia serving to justify this illegal, unprovoked and unconstitutional attack on Iran. The truth is the U.S. has been waging war on Iranian democracy for 73 years.

In 1953, the U.S. and U.K. staged a coup against Iran’s democratically elected premier, Mossadegh, after he nationalized the country’s oil industry. They installed the brutal dictator, Reza Pahlavi, as Shah of Iran, who returned the oil industry to foreign control the next year.

When resistance to his monarchy arose, he subjected dissidents to imprisonment, torture and murder using SAVAK, his vicious police force, against newspapers, unions, college students and other secular groups. By 1979, the mullahs were the most powerful of his opposition, ruling with an iron fist ever since.

Iranians deserve the freedom they’ve aspired to for three quarters of a century, not what we’re inflicting on them.

David Broadwater

Atascadero

No Kings III

If you’re feeling discouraged and distraught over the current news of war, price increases, environmental damage and the erosion of our civil liberties, join us on March 28 for the largest single-day peaceful protest in the history of our nation. Join thousands of like-minded people for NO KINGS III in downtown SLO. Gather at Osos and Monterey from 10 a.m. to noon for speakers, music, a sidewalk march, booths and fun. Bring your signs, costumes, friends and family members!

Jill ZamEk

Indivisible SLO County

‘Male bluster’

I was born shortly after Dad returned from WW II and a Nazi prison camp. He never uttered a word about it. Soon though, PTSD flooded me with hints. Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five” later brought home his suffering. I read it regularly to remind me of the sacrifices that service men make in duty to their country.

As a young man, the possibility of serving in Vietnam, the “military action” our government never called war, terrified me. With a high lottery number, I didn’t go while friends died. Their memories shadow my steps now. More years passed before torment again darkened my days while two sons served in the Iraq war. It went on forever.

Today, I see grandsons gleefully ramble over their folks’ farm and wonder, Mr. Trump, what is it besides male bluster and that adrenaline rush that makes you so determined to fight more wars? Yes, we all inherited our cerebellum from dinosaurs, but we’ve come a long way. Fighting is no longer necessary for survival and mating. Why do you need to show everyone how tough you are? Come on, damn you! I don’t want my grandsons fighting in your stupid wars 10 years from now.

Mike Broadhurst

Cambria

Casualty count

D.J. Trump’s White House report on the war is finally, after all these years of falsehoods, misstatements and absurdities, accurate: America is ahead on the battlefield. Here is the casualty count: American troops killed: 11; Iranian schoolchildren: 150.

Gene Strohl

San Luis Obispo

Pinder’s ‘caricature’ of government

Clive Pindar’s recent commentary on government “incentives” relies on broad generalizations that don’t hold up under scrutiny.

Comparing public service to running a private company ignores the very different responsibilities of each sector. Government cannot choose its customers, shed unprofitable services or prioritize speed over equity and due process. Those constraints aren’t signs of incompetence; they’re the cost of serving everyone.

Rising county and state budgets are presented as proof of failure, yet the analysis omits the major drivers of public spending over the past decade: wildfire response, homelessness, behavioral health mandates, pandemic recovery, infrastructure requirements and inflation in housing and healthcare. Population stability does not mean workload stability, and many services scale with complexity, not headcount.

The suggestion that only business owners understand “real” productivity dismisses the expertise of public sector professionals, academics, engineers and operations specialists who manage complex systems every day.

AI absolutely has a role to play in improving government services, but responsible adoption requires transparency, safeguards and public accountability. Treating AI as a quick fix or a justification for workforce cuts oversimplifies both the technology and the public’s needs.

Improving government performance deserves a serious conversation, not a caricature of how public institutions work.

Jill Stegman

Grover Beach