I have been opposed to the Iraq War since long before it started. I have marched in protests and stood in vigils. I have supported candidates who opposed the war. I have given money. I have organized three peace conferences. The loss of a former student last weekend has saddened me and made me think all over again about just how wrong the whole war is and has been; how many people have been lost in this needless war, both soldiers and civilians, American and Iraqi. Groups are gearing up to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the invasion. I've been called upon to participate.
I don't want to commemorate it, I want to rage against it. I want to look into the eyes of my two Repbulican Senators and ask "How can you continue to support this?" I want to shake them until their eyes spin around in their heads and they admit they have been wrong. I want to know why the people in this country haven't risen up and said "Stop!" I want to know why Bush and Cheney haven't been impeached for the high crimes they have perpetrated in the past seven years. We have a dictatorship in Washington of the most insidious sort. Through signing statements, vetoes, recess appointments, rendition, wire-tapping, torture, detainment without chargeor access to attorneys, and profligate spending, the President has held the country in an iron grip. We apparently lack the courage or the creativity to figure out how to break that grip.
I saw in today's paper, a column which only added to my feeling of rage. And I realize that my rage is not just at the elected officials in Washington, it is against the American people, and that means some level of anger at myself. The column featured a story about an Iraqi translator who helped our soldiers for 3 years, and when a translator friend of his was murdered, he knew he needed to get out of Iraq. After a year of bureaucratic red tape, he went to Jordan for an interview. He was told he could leave immediately. That was fine, except his wife and 2 small children were in Iraq. His wife said to go and be safe. He arrived in Boston last Sept. He needs $7000.00 to bring his family here to safety. He's working as a carpet salesman; he lives in one of the most expensive cities in the world. By himself, it will take him years to raise the money.
There are hundreds of people in this country who could write a check for the whole amount and never think twice about it. Hillary Clinton's campaign raised 4 million dollars in the last 24 hours. The Liberty Hotel (you gotta love the name) gave a $5500.00 suite to Paris Hilton and her entourage while she was in town to receive the Harvard Lampoon Woman of the Year award. I doubt she is even smart enough to realize that she was being made fun of. Heiress to the Hilton fortune, she hardly needed the free hotel room. Mitt Romney just tried to buy the Presidency with $42 million dollars of his own money.
So......where does that leave me? I'm going to email Kevin Cullen, columnist at the Globe, to see if I can donate some money to help the translator. Maybe I can make a small difference in this sea of indifference.
1 comment:
Imagine young children huddled in play on the playground. "My bomb's smarter than your bomb," says one. "Noooooooo," gleefully shouts another, "mine is smarter. Mine kills less civilians!"
Is this the new humanitarianism? Is this how we teach compassion and caring? When technology aids and abets the mental model of enemy-making, it is just plain not in the best interest of humanity as a whole. Just plain nothing smart about bombs that kill. Period.
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