Memorial Day 2006

Let me give you a word, ‘free speech zones’. That’s three words, you say? Actually, it’s only one: repression.

From Wikipedia:
Free speech zones (also known as First Amendment Zones and Free speech cages) are areas set aside in public places for political activists to exercise their right of free speech in the United States. Although such zones existed earlier, instituted by the Clinton administration, they gained more attention after the WTO Meeting of 1999 and have been used vigorously by the George W. Bush administration.

The American public has accepted the concept of “allowable speech”. Oh sure, there’s been some opposition, but, by and large, the public and the media has gone along with this. It’s been seen as a “reasonable method to ensure public safety”. It extends from the lone dissenter wearing an unauthorized T-shirt to groups expressing a message out of compliance with the guidelines. These ‘zones’ have been moved further and further from the eyes and ears for which the message is intended, to where we see them now sometimes a mile or more from effective range. In today’s world, “If a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody there to hear it, does it make a sound?”, is an even more apropos question.

There are now public venues where only pre-screened guests are allowed. Any dissenter that manages to enter is soon hustled off, and, in some cases, arrested. We have already seen pre-emptive harrasment of groups thought of as possibly protesting an event, such as a presidential visit.

We have given the president the right to detain American citizens on American soil, and hold them indefinitely, without charge, and without access to the courts. All of this within the bounds of the US. I’m speaking, of course, of Jose Padilla. But what we forget, at our peril, that if we allow it to happen to one, we have given permission for it to happen to anyone, even ourselves.

‘Situational ethics’, A concept that allows people to believe that which would be immoral under all circumstances, except for this one instance. The problem with that mindset, is that that one instance becomes many over time, and the immorality becomes acceptable.

Which brings us to Iraq.

Ten years ago, in May of 1996, Madeline Albright, then the US Secretary of State, stated, “I think this is a very hard choice, but the price--we think the price is worth it.”, in response to a question about the deaths of over 500,000 Iraqi children caused by the sanctions on Iraq. [ http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1084 ]. Well, you say, we had to stop Hussein’s weapons programs, we had to do it.

In 1991, the US deliberately targeted water and sewage treatment plants, knowing that this would cause death and disease. After bush 1’s war, the sale or importing of chlorine and other water treatment supplies and equipment, such as pumps, were proscribed. Again knowing that this would exacerbate the situation.
[ http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/declassdocs/dia/19950901/950901_511rept_91.html ]

With this blatant example of biological warfare with the purpose of genocide to place before them, is it any wonder that people like osama bin laden could find easy recruits. Is it any wonder that many people in that part of the world would be happy to see us disappear, or even better, humbled and brought to our knees?

And this was just the runup to bush 2’s culminating war crime, the invasion of Iraq.

The cost? Uncounted tens of thousands of Iraqis killed. Tens of thousands wounded and maimed. In a wrecked country like Iraq, think of what that’s going to mean as these crippled people try to eke out an existence. Tons of depleted uranium ammunition used, leaving the environment poisoned for decades to come, with the radioactive dust and residue left by their use. (Murder, rape, and looting- the legacy of george w bush)

Biological warfare? Nuclear warfare? We had no choice, we had to do it.

Today, the US Department of Defense acknowledges 2464 US military killed, and 17869 wounded (as of April 30).

Why? The bush still has not been able to give us a coherent reason after 3 years.

This Memorial Day, we need to ask ourselves, how much longer are we going to allow this farce to continue? How much longer are we going to allow the bush administration to kill our children, trample our rights, steal our treasury, and turn our resources over to international corporations? How much longer do we want this criminal enterprise to continue?

The decision rests with us,”We, the People”. Can we truly sit by and let it continue? Can we truly sit and watch it like a drama on the TV? Our parents left us a country with, at least in theory, democratic ideals. Our government no longer even professes to believe in those ideals. Is that what we want to leave to our children? A gutter valued world, where they can’t even turn to their government for help or protection? Indeed, one where they have to view their own government as the ‘enemy’? A country where the only allowable dissent is whispered conversations between friends, outdoors, away from the eyes and ears of their government?

That’s not what our armed forces fought and died for. We owe them for that.