Critical thinking skills and applications

Molnar feels that the president of the United States is using his son's life, and the lives of many other soldiers, as a tool to further his own political career. He feels that the United States had a shoddy foreign policy for more than a decade and, just as the pressure cooker began to explode, began to try to remedy the situation with a bandage. Molnar contends that the United States is not behaving in the best interest of the people, but is only acting to secure cheap oil and continue using 25 to 30% of this natural resource. The alternative view is that the president had the welfare of the people in mind when he sent soldiers off to the Persian Gulf, and that it was necessary to send troops to the Gulf in order to avoid the possibility of an oil shortage in the United States. In his argument, Molnar omits the advantage the United States will have after defeating Saddam Hussein.

(Group 2): Specifically, Molnar is concerned about his son's life and the lives of the other young men and women who were sent to the Persian Gulf. He feels that the president would call for a war in order to save his political career. He doesn't feel that the president is taking America's children's lives into consideration. Molnar is against the military action and he states that he will do all he can to oppose it.

3. (Group 3): Molnar uses comparisons to illustrate power. Firstly, he describes how the young men are powerless. He describes how the president's son could sit on a board that many of the young men in the military could not be appointed to. He describes how most of the young soldiers do not have parents who could "pull strings" so they would be called into duty. Bush and Quayle are powerful, the young men in the military are powerless. Financial wealth was used to measure power in the open letter. Many of the marines were not from powerful families, and entered the marines so that they could earn enough money to go to college.

Molnar also expresses that the parents are powerless. As he says of his own son, "you have ordered him to Saudi Arabia." Despite his own opinions about this Molnar is not able to prevent his son from going. This illustrates the power that the president has that Molnar and other parents do not. Molnar also expressed this same difference in power when he described the politicians and policies as holding them hostage. Molnar then says in closing "I'm afraid that...you will wager my son's life." This again shows that while Molnar clearly opposes the action and his son going, he is powerless to prevent it, only the politicians have the power to prevent it. Another clear sign of Molnar's lack of power is where he writes, "none of them have parents well enough connected to call or write a general to insure that their child stays out of harm's way." In short, this sentence is communicating that the parents are powerless to do anything. While Molnar does not express that he feels powerless, these lines express that he does. It is likely that he realizes that expressing how all parents are feeling is more persuasive than just expressing his own personal feelings.

Molnar does state that he will "support my son and his fellow soldiers by doing everything I can to oppose any offensive American military action in the Persian Gulf." In this way, he does assert that he has some power, but ultimately he realizes the decision rests with someone else. Molnar's means of prevention involves convincing those that have the power, specifically the president he is writing the letter to.

4. (Group 4): Molnar states several of his beliefs clearly. These include that powerful men use poor men and women so that they can remain powerful, that the government devalues life and will use human lives as a tool and that the government values money and power above all else.

There are also two assumptions made by Molnar. The first is that sending soldiers to Saudi Arabia is the start of a war. Molnar states "now that we face the prospect of war" and bases the argument upon men and women being sent to war. However, towards the end Molnar states that he is concerned that the president will be pressured "not to defend Saudi Arabia but to attack Iraq." This makes clear the major assumption that is made, that sending soldiers to Saudi Arabia is an act of war. This last statement shows that the current purpose is to defend Saudi Arabia, yet the importance of this purpose is not discussed. Instead, it is assumed that American troops are being sent to Saudi Arabia to begin a war on Iraq. The second assumption is that a lack of diplomacy is the cause. Molnar states directly that these events would not be happening if American diplomacy had not been on vacation for almost a decade. It is assumed then, that the government has chosen not to use diplomatic situations, when this may not be the case.

Molnar also makes reference to class issues. Firstly, it is suggested that the troops involved are lower class, being described as from poor families. In contrast, the politicians are described as higher class. The comparison between the president's son and the marines is a clear example of this. In this way, class is linked to power, with the high-class having the power in this situation. Molnar also suggests that the politicians have no regard for the lower class. The description of the president "chasing golf balls" and "zipping around in your boat" are especially effective in creating the image of an uncaring higher class president with no concern for the lower class and the impact his decisions have had on this lower class.