I was impressed with Eliot Walker's Oct. 4 column, "Revive the anti-war spirit of past times." Why are we Americans allowing this seemingly inevitable mad march to war against Iraq? Some of us rationalize that this is a just war, that this is the only way to destroy weapons of mass destruction, or to stop terrorism, or to protect the Iraqi people from their own leader.

But we know deep down that this is false and we Americans, Congress and even the United Nations are being deceived and bullied by a government with a clear agenda lying just below the surface of these flimsy justifications. Either with hard data in hand or simply a gut awareness, many of us know of a stronger unstated motive for our action in the Middle East: the imperialistic drive to control the flow of oil. Walker's plea for this generation to summon a vision of its own is right on the mark. Through this vision, we can safeguard the lives of ourselves and others around the world as well as the futures of our children. Neither war nor environmental destruction nor the restriction of civil liberties is inevitable.

A good start to expressing this vision is to call your congressional representative and inform him or her that you won't vote for them if they submit to George W. Bush's desire to invade Iraq. As Walker suggests, you can also show your commitment to peace by attending the rally in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 26.