Cynicism is fine until it seduces you into total inaction. When that happens, the bad guys win.
Not too long ago, some bad guys wanted America to participate in Syria's civil war. The President wisely (and constitutionally) left the peace-or-war decision up to Congress. Despite a flood of neocon propaganda pushing for military action, our congressfolk "erred on the side of peace." They did so for one reason and one reason only: Average people rose up and told our legislators no more war.
Right now, some bad guys are pushing for us to become involved again in Iraq. Congressman Alan Grayson is trying to reverse the march toward Iraq War III. Grayson is one of the good ones: He first came to national prominence fighting against Irag war contractors who were ripping off the taxpayers. I don't mind republishing his pitch here, because I agree with every word:
I have some big news. The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted on funding U.S. combat forces in Iraq, and the warmongers won. Yes, I've checked the date, and yes, it's 2014.Here's where you sign. It costs you nothing, and it may save us all another trillion or so.
We need to say NO. American combat forces didn't help last time and they won't help this time. What is happening in Iraq is tragic and awful, but we should use the Hippocratic oath for foreign policy -- first do no harm. Please join us.
Maybe Congress will get it right this time, after getting it so, so wrong last time. At the very least, since I'm in Congress this time, you can count on me to support peace. We also have a President not named Bush, and he actually listens to reason.
But tens of thousands of us pushing is essential!
The war in Iraq cost us $4,000,000,000,000.00, or 8% of our entire national net worth. Thanks to IEDs, head injuries and PTSD, it left 250,000 U.S. soldiers with permanent brain abnormalities that you can see on an MRI scan. But now we're finally out of Iraq – and the military-industrial complex wants us to dive back in!
This is an emergency. Send this to your friends. Send this to your family. Post this on Facebook, on Twitter, on whatever newfangled services are out there.
If you know any reporters or bloggers, send this to them. It's time to speak up. Just this once, let's make the news, not be made by it.
We may win any given vote, or we may not. But if we don't advocate peace, we won't get peace. So let's do this. Together.
Incidentally, Grayson is also a staunch foe of Obama's drone wars. Watch this CNN interview from last year.
3 comments:
"The war in Iraq cost us $4,000,000,000,000.00, or 8% of our entire national net worth."
That percentage seems a little high -- I'd think 3% to 5%, based on most estimates I've seen...
Grayson's great. I actually liked him on facebook, but only occasionally does he appear in my feeds...I always forward his posts. I'd not seen this clip..."usually it's God who decides who lives or dies, but in this case it's one man..." Oh, snap. You can bet the Obots will be squealing about this program once it's no longer their boyfriend operating the daily drone-bombing.
I've never been so cynical in all my life as I have been the in the past year. I signed the petition anyway, hoping for the best. What the hell is wrong with our leaders??
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