01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, February 1, 2005

As a most concerned and deeply blue citizen, I write to express my disgust at the obscene extravaganza that characterized the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.

The world was in mourning for the thousands killed by or suffering from the tsunami. That disaster he did not plan, but the awful desolation that is accompanying his unilateral attack on Iraq is his responsibility. In an unjustified and illegal war, more than a thousand very young American soldiers have been killed and horribly wounded, and thousands of Iraqi civilians, most of them innocent, have been slaughtered. The end of this disaster is not in sight.

Moreover, the reputation of the United States as a beacon of civilized behavior has been fouled throughout the world by the widespread occurrence of shocking forms of ill-treatment and torture of helpless captives. Beyond our boundaries, the United States is seen as a military monster that remorselessly crushes any opposition.

Instead of leading the world toward higher standards of international conduct and a universally applied code of decency, the United States under George W. Bush has become the barrier to amelioration of the human condition. As a result, Americans at home and abroad are targets for at best vigorous criticism and at worst revenge.

At this troublesome period in our evolution, I, along with millions of other distressed citizens, must protest the tasteless "celebration" that accompanied this presidental inauguration. It would have been more appropriate, given this president's second questionably achieved ascent to power, to observe his awakening to and implementation of the humane values that his "favorite philosopher," Jesus of Nazareth, exemplified in his life and teaching.

JOSELEYNE SLADE

Providence