Back in early 2003, during the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, I called the U.S. Senators representing my state and asked them to vote against that action. My senators at the time were the then-Senate majority leader and a senator who is much more of a follower than a leader -- both of whom are firmly in the pocket of the multinational corporations who run the world (including the wars), as well as of the religious right. I knew that requesting them to consider slowing down the process of going to war would be like spitting in the wind, but I did it anyway. When I called their offices in Washington, D.C., I identified myself and explained politely that I had been around during the Vietnam War, and suggested that we needed to ask questions, give a lot of thought to the potential consequences, and make sure we were on firm ground before taking action.
I also felt as if I were in a time warp when I heard friends say that we had to go to war because "freedom isn't free." Talk about closed minds who knew it all.
At any rate, I was thinking about this today and giving myself a big pat on the back. That was a very scary time for a lot of us, because there was no questioning at all, and very little rational discussion -- not just of the war but of anything having to do with our political leadership and the direction our country was taking. Those people who did want to think about things were called "unpatriotic" and told to shut up. It was hard to even find like-minded people, because we were afraid to reach out, and there was no support from the mass media for any sort of truth-seeking, much less truth-telling. (Thank God for the Internet.) It seemed like most folks were like ostriches with their heads in the sand, unable or unwilling to notice that said position left their unprotected butts sticking way up in the air.
It may seem like a very small thing for me to have done, to make a few phone calls and sign a petition, but in the political and social climate that prevailed at the time, that was a very big thing to do. I am feeling very peaceful and complete today about having stood up for what I believed.
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