WEB PAGE TOOLS ~ Print this article ~ E-mail your opinion on this article OTHER OPINIONS STORIES ~ Protesters bring youth a bad name ~ War debate devoid of credible proof Letters to the editor VULGARITY FOR ATTENTION IS CHEAP Scott Saunders I am writing as an Ebbtide reader who is troubled by your use of Uncle Sam, middle finger extended, as a means of attracting your readers to submit arts and entertainment stories to the paper (February 14th issue). DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION? WHAT A COINCIDENCE, WE HAVE A NEWSPAPER! The Ebbtide loves to get letters. E-mail your letter or submission to webbtide@yahoo.com. Include a phone number where we can reach you with questions. Letters and opinion pieces become property of the Ebbtide and may be edited for taste, grammar, spelling, length, potential libel, or space restrictions. While a depiction such as this may be protected as free speech, I find that it is a vulgar representation of uncivil behavior that is becoming all too easy to dismiss in our society as just another sign of just how disrespectful we've become towards each other. The use of a symbol of patriotism to make a cheap appeal for attention is particularly offensive at a time when many of our citizens have put their lives on the line to defend our country. I hope that we can find a much more positive means of making a point, be it in the pages of the Ebbtide, people's fleeting attacks of road rage, or other forms of personal expression. Uplifting people, rather than demeaning them, is what I want my children and community to see modeled by our media and by each other. Anger, violence and vulgarity beget more of the same. Communities are built on mutual respect. Let's demonstrate how that works. © 2003 Shoreline Community College™