The Gold Star
Mother And
The Silver Star Senator
By Linda Zoblotsky
05 October, 2005
Countercurrents.org
Some
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 doesnt
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 Sheehans
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 Cindys group looking
for his constituents. John McCain stated to the press that there were
none of his constituents.
And if there were
people in Cindys 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.