I went to see Medea Benjamin, a courageous woman, activist, and co-founder of Code Pink: Women for Peace and Global Exchange.
Two quick stories that Medea shared about her visits to the Middle East (where she brought family members of American soldiers who died (recently) in Iraq, for peace-keeping purposes – an historical first) and an incident at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil (an event the U.S. media didn’t bother to cover at all).
First: “This is a Democracy” from the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre Brazil in January, 2005:
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known as “Lula”) (For more info: http://www.brazil.org.uk/category.php?catid=1 or google him ) was a keynote speaker. Supporters and protesters gathered side by side as “Lula” spoke to the entire gathering. Protesters were unhappy with some things their President has done in office, saying that he has not done what he promised. They held signs, yelled, and carried on during his entire 45-minute speech. Medea watched. She saw police move in and expected them to arrest, detain or remove the protesters. They did nothing. For the entire speech. As a regular protester and activist in the U.S., Medea was shocked, as she herself has been fined, arrested and otherwise detained for various protest activities, and has come to expect it. She was shocked that nothing like what’s happening in the U.S. to dissenters occurred.
After the speech, Medea went to the Brazilian group and first spoke to the protesters. She asked: “Weren’t you afraid you’d be arrested for protesting?” They responded “No, this is a democracy.” She then talked to supporters and asked if they thought to somehow silence the protesters or get them taken away. Their response: “Sure, it was hard to hear what the President had to say and the protesters were distracting. But this is a democracy.” Medea then approached the police officers and asked why they didn’t arrest the protesters. Their response: “We are here to protect their right to free speech. This is a democracy.”
It brings tears to your eyes, doesn’t it? And makes this American appreciate how much our rights and freedoms (especially free speech) have been eroded, exploded, or completely taken away. I wonder, do I still live in a democracy??
The other story is part of the peace delegation that Medea organized to the Middle East, an historic event that few Americans will ever hear about (sadly). After spending two weeks in Fallujah, at great risk to his own life and the lives of his Iraqi hosts, Code Pink’s videographer returned to the U.S. with tapes full of footage about what really happened in Fallujah (the city was literally demolished, the U.S. may have tested chemical weapons, and many other atrocities, again, that most Americans will NEVER hear about). They wanted to share these tapes to help get out the truth. Alas, that will never happen.
Why? Because the first night the videographer got back to California, while he was out at dinner, his car and hotel room were broken into. The only things taken: the videotapes. All of them.
I don’t know what to say and will let you think on that for yourselves. Stunning, though, isn’t it?!
So the next story I would call “This is Freedom?” and invite you to read Code Pink’s blog, first-hand accounts by people – brave, peace-loving Americans – who were in the war zone. Carry on…. For peace! --- Keri
…. “This is the freedom?” Many who were persecuted under Saddam initially had hope that America had come as liberators, only to feel betrayed as day-by-day they saw their loved ones being killed, disappeared, or tortured, their homes being raided or destroyed and their livelihoods gone. The lack of water, electricity, and gasoline and having to live with the constant fear of death or kidnapping has turned their lives into a daily hell. … “
For the rest of this entry, go to: http://codepink.utne.com/archives/000060.html
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
Soldier's Father on U.S. Choosing Iraq War
This soldier's father challenges our country's choice to go to war. It's clear when you read this, yet so many people accept the excuses, the rationalizations, the lies. Stay the course, even if it's wrong?! Blasphemy!
This article, 'The Return of the Draft', gives an overview of our military's next steps, starting with a selective service draft, beyond the 'back-door' draft in use now: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/6862691
Why war? Why Iraq? Why now? What's next?
#####(clip from full article, below)####
" .... Please Don't Ask. Now you know why I didn't go out of my way to tell people that my son is being deployed to Iraq, and please don't ask about him if you really don't want to know. Instead, please know that you will be in my shoes or his shoes unless you ask questions and demand answers of those in power. In the meantime, please excuse me if I have a painful lump in my throat or tears brimming in my eyes and that I am so angry with this damned war and the people who declared it. Support our troops. Ask tough questions. Bring them home now. "
########################
Published on Monday, February 14, 2005 by the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine)
How Dare Some Say, 'Support our Troops'? by Dexter J. Kamilewicz
Someone recently informed me that they didn't know that my son was being deployed to Iraq and asked why I hadn't told them. I really didn't have an answer.
That is when I began to be annoyed by those ever-present, good-intentioned but mindless ribbons stuck on the back of cars and SUVs exhorting, "Support Our Troops."I find those magnetic messages to be offensive when I think of parents and friends of National Guard soldiers who purchased expensive Kevlar armor for their soldiers while Donald Rumsfeld said they didn't have any in stock. Those marketing messages seem so empty when soldiers are told to"up-armor" their Humvees because the Department of Defense had not asked the manufacturers if more could be done.
I am saddened when veterans wait over a year for appointments at veterans' hospitals and soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and places like Walter Reed Hospital are required to pay for phone calls and emails home. I bet Rumsfeld doesn't have to pay for calls and e-mails back home, and I find it unbelievable and unacceptable that Rumsfeld has not been fired while the troops have been treated so poorly. Support our troops?
I accept that there are justifications for going to war. However, I cannot find anyone who can give me a solid reason to justify our going to and continuing the war in Iraq.
Seeking Reasons
There seems to be no question in America more avoided, particularly by elected officials, than a discussion of the war in Iraq. I asked Maine's members of Congress those questions. U.S. Rep. Tom Allen said the war was not justified, but to abandon Iraq and its people now would be a mistake. Sen. Susan Collins said that going to war in Iraq was a problem of faulty intelligence, but the chaos in Iraq required us to stay. Sen. Olympia Snowe blamed Saddam Hussein as the revised apparent rationale for invading Iraq, and she focused on the need for global support for the U.S efforts in Iraq. U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud agreed with Snowe.
Those answers translate that we got there by mistake, and we are staying there by mistake. There is no plan, there is no discussion and there is no leadership. Didn't we go into Iraq to protect ourselves from weapons of mass destruction and because of Iraq's connections with the terrorists, reasons that have been found to be utterly in error? Support our troops?
The pointless death and maiming of this war is pure insanity and probably even criminal. In this war, many times those who died in theWorld Trade Center have been wounded or killed. Over 1,400 American soldiers are dead, over 10,000 soldiers are physically wounded while uncounted others are psychologically wounded, and, by some estimates, over 100,000 Iraqis have been killed and maimed. How can the killing be justified? Are we going to destroy a nation and kill its people to save it? We tried that once before. Support our troops?
I am afraid for my son. I certainly worry about his being killed, but I am also worried about his being placed in the position of killing,too. Most of all, I am angry that we are sending our soldiers to a war that nobody can justify. Most Americans, especially members of Congress, do not have to worry about a loved one in the middle of this war, and they duck the tough questions.
Why do we permit a defacto back-door draft of the National Guard and recycle them, too? We were lied to once before, and we must avoid being lied to again. Will President Bush be this generation's RobertMcNamara? I hope not. Will the Congress have the courage to ask the relevant questions? I hope so. Support our troops?
Please Don't Ask
Now you know why I didn't go out of my way to tell people that my son is being deployed to Iraq, and please don't ask about him if you really don't want to know. Instead, please know that you will be in my shoes or his shoes unless you ask questions and demand answers of those in power. In the meantime, please excuse me if I have a painful lump in my throat or tears brimming in my eyes and that I am so angry with this damned war and the people who declared it. Support our troops. Ask tough questions. Bring them home now.
This article, 'The Return of the Draft', gives an overview of our military's next steps, starting with a selective service draft, beyond the 'back-door' draft in use now: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/6862691
Why war? Why Iraq? Why now? What's next?
#####(clip from full article, below)####
" .... Please Don't Ask. Now you know why I didn't go out of my way to tell people that my son is being deployed to Iraq, and please don't ask about him if you really don't want to know. Instead, please know that you will be in my shoes or his shoes unless you ask questions and demand answers of those in power. In the meantime, please excuse me if I have a painful lump in my throat or tears brimming in my eyes and that I am so angry with this damned war and the people who declared it. Support our troops. Ask tough questions. Bring them home now. "
########################
Published on Monday, February 14, 2005 by the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine)
How Dare Some Say, 'Support our Troops'? by Dexter J. Kamilewicz
Someone recently informed me that they didn't know that my son was being deployed to Iraq and asked why I hadn't told them. I really didn't have an answer.
That is when I began to be annoyed by those ever-present, good-intentioned but mindless ribbons stuck on the back of cars and SUVs exhorting, "Support Our Troops."I find those magnetic messages to be offensive when I think of parents and friends of National Guard soldiers who purchased expensive Kevlar armor for their soldiers while Donald Rumsfeld said they didn't have any in stock. Those marketing messages seem so empty when soldiers are told to"up-armor" their Humvees because the Department of Defense had not asked the manufacturers if more could be done.
I am saddened when veterans wait over a year for appointments at veterans' hospitals and soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and places like Walter Reed Hospital are required to pay for phone calls and emails home. I bet Rumsfeld doesn't have to pay for calls and e-mails back home, and I find it unbelievable and unacceptable that Rumsfeld has not been fired while the troops have been treated so poorly. Support our troops?
I accept that there are justifications for going to war. However, I cannot find anyone who can give me a solid reason to justify our going to and continuing the war in Iraq.
Seeking Reasons
There seems to be no question in America more avoided, particularly by elected officials, than a discussion of the war in Iraq. I asked Maine's members of Congress those questions. U.S. Rep. Tom Allen said the war was not justified, but to abandon Iraq and its people now would be a mistake. Sen. Susan Collins said that going to war in Iraq was a problem of faulty intelligence, but the chaos in Iraq required us to stay. Sen. Olympia Snowe blamed Saddam Hussein as the revised apparent rationale for invading Iraq, and she focused on the need for global support for the U.S efforts in Iraq. U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud agreed with Snowe.
Those answers translate that we got there by mistake, and we are staying there by mistake. There is no plan, there is no discussion and there is no leadership. Didn't we go into Iraq to protect ourselves from weapons of mass destruction and because of Iraq's connections with the terrorists, reasons that have been found to be utterly in error? Support our troops?
The pointless death and maiming of this war is pure insanity and probably even criminal. In this war, many times those who died in theWorld Trade Center have been wounded or killed. Over 1,400 American soldiers are dead, over 10,000 soldiers are physically wounded while uncounted others are psychologically wounded, and, by some estimates, over 100,000 Iraqis have been killed and maimed. How can the killing be justified? Are we going to destroy a nation and kill its people to save it? We tried that once before. Support our troops?
I am afraid for my son. I certainly worry about his being killed, but I am also worried about his being placed in the position of killing,too. Most of all, I am angry that we are sending our soldiers to a war that nobody can justify. Most Americans, especially members of Congress, do not have to worry about a loved one in the middle of this war, and they duck the tough questions.
Why do we permit a defacto back-door draft of the National Guard and recycle them, too? We were lied to once before, and we must avoid being lied to again. Will President Bush be this generation's RobertMcNamara? I hope not. Will the Congress have the courage to ask the relevant questions? I hope so. Support our troops?
Please Don't Ask
Now you know why I didn't go out of my way to tell people that my son is being deployed to Iraq, and please don't ask about him if you really don't want to know. Instead, please know that you will be in my shoes or his shoes unless you ask questions and demand answers of those in power. In the meantime, please excuse me if I have a painful lump in my throat or tears brimming in my eyes and that I am so angry with this damned war and the people who declared it. Support our troops. Ask tough questions. Bring them home now.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Compassion translated into action
In the wake of the tsunami, and all the events and issues of the day, I am feeling washed out, emotionally and physically. And I am stuck wondering what I can do to bring something positive and hopeful to the world. Something besides sending money, as if throwing money at a problem will make it go away (though certainly it can help make some, very practical and mundane, things better). For me, sending a donation does not feel satisfying, or sufficient. What about the bigger questions, the bigger connections, our place(s) in the world, and our roles and responsibilities in it? And what can I do, from my condo in Chicago, to make a difference in this big, crazy, beautiful world? That's what I want to explore.
I read only one other blog, and am creating this one to help get over my technophobia, and to prove to my geeky friends and husband that I can do it, which is similar to how Tom Englehardt started his blog, from which I pulled this small quote below that speaks truth to me. The link for Tom's blog and this posting is at the end (it's a bit long but very well researched, thoughtful and thought-provoking). If Tom can do it, so can I! So, here's my humble beginning...
Susan Sontag wrote, "Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question is what to do with the feelings that have been aroused, the knowledge that has been communicated. People don't become inured to what they are shown -- if that's the right way to describe what happens -- because of the quantity of images dumped on them. It is passivity that dulls feeling." (end quote)
I found the above quote at tomdispatch.com, a.k.a. Tomgram: Rebecca Solnit on Sontag and Tsunami: http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=2095
I read only one other blog, and am creating this one to help get over my technophobia, and to prove to my geeky friends and husband that I can do it, which is similar to how Tom Englehardt started his blog, from which I pulled this small quote below that speaks truth to me. The link for Tom's blog and this posting is at the end (it's a bit long but very well researched, thoughtful and thought-provoking). If Tom can do it, so can I! So, here's my humble beginning...
Susan Sontag wrote, "Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question is what to do with the feelings that have been aroused, the knowledge that has been communicated. People don't become inured to what they are shown -- if that's the right way to describe what happens -- because of the quantity of images dumped on them. It is passivity that dulls feeling." (end quote)
I found the above quote at tomdispatch.com, a.k.a. Tomgram: Rebecca Solnit on Sontag and Tsunami: http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=2095
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