The Gold Star Mother And
The Silver Star SenatorBy Linda Zoblotsky
05 October, 2005
Countercurrents.orgSome “talking heads” interested in the current anti-war movement have explained that this is a smaller peace movement than during Viet Nam. The reasons given are The United States does not have an official draft.
The reasons given by the Right-wing for fighting the “terrorists” in Iraq is that we must kill them on their soil. The “war on terrorism” is being fought in someone else's and here in the “Homeland”, the war on terrorism requires men and women from the “volunteer” armies...for the time being.
The vast Karl Rove machine has worked 24/7 to invoke fear across this nation of another 9-11 attack. For soccer Mother from Springfield, USA, it doesn’t take much thought to ask other unknown men and women to risk their lives and limbs to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, to risk their hopes and dreams to spread Democracy and Freedom and to protect us at home. Springfield, USA Soccer Mother might see that the war in Iraq has not made the people in Spain and England safer or it could be too late. Springfield, USA Soccer Mother might blindly follow whatever the Bush Regime says, that we must kill all of the terrorists and punish all of those who harbor terrorists.
Cindy Sheehan’s leadership, vigils and precise message has made it clear to a widening audience that in order to kill all of the terrorists, thousands more of our own will die, loose limbs and become mentally unstable for the rest of their lives. And those fighting to kill all of the terrorists are fighting for a mentally unstable regime which works everyday to destabilize the United States by robbing the national treasury, stealing the national elections and dismantling the public school system with a law that has a hidden agenda to register more innocents for the army and send the rest to appropriate "Christian" schools so that we should become good indoctrinated Republican citizens.
Cindy Sheehan is making the rounds in Congress to speak to our elected and selected officials about a matter of life and death for U.S. citizens and those innocent in Iraq and Afghanistan, who are suffering from the constant long-term assault of U.S. weapons of mass destruction, bombs laced with depleted uranium. When Cindy spoke to John McCain to ask him to do whatever is in his power to review the priorities at this point in the war, John McCain took a headcount of the people in Cindy’s group looking for his constituents. John McCain stated to the press that there were none of his constituents.
And if there were people in Cindy’s group from The Grand Canyon State, would John McCain have listened to the hopes, dreams and aspirations of these people working day and night for peace? Would John McCain have opened his heart to listen to Cindy and share with Cindy what it feels like to have lost 6 years in a Viet Nam prison and try to find some common ground with Cindy?
Cindy and the thousands who marched in DC last week-end were trying to tell the hard headed capitalists on Capital Hill and the hard headed Senator from the Grand Canyon State, that it is going to take a grand change of heart and mind to pause and see where we are headed in this war against a nation that did not attack us. Even those who have been cheer-leading for war with Iraq, since Bush I can not define clearly to this nation of tax-payers shearing the burden of paying for this war, what is the job to be done? Even some in the Grand Old Party are calling for an exit strategy. John McCain was released from prison long ago, but his thinking in supporting the war in Iraq for the long-hall is a condemnation of our youngest and brightest, of our families, of our national treasury, of our vital social programs for decades to come. This is the legacy of John McCain and his party, while Cindy Sheehan and peace demonstrators are praying, meditating, marching and serving time in the jails in their own country, their crime peace. The conscientious objectors are imprisoned in their own country, their crime, refusing to kill for this war that is not in all of our names.
