August 19, 2005 @ 4:55 am
A friend and Tucson neighbor named Debbie Felix went to Crawford Texas. She sent us the following letter:
I went down to Crawford this past weekend to support Cindy Sheehan and all of the military families at the peace vigil. I went alone but I knew I would not be alone. I want to take a moment to share my thoughts, experiences, and passion with you, and to thank all of you that sent me off with your support and blessings.
Whether you support the war or not, indifference is not an option. Something special is happening there.
I feel that this is a tipping point. Epidemic of peace....
The hugs and tears and feeling of strength are palpable.
All of the military families are strong beyond words.
Many have been through the worse.
They are standing up to this administration and holding them accountable.
Those of us that are against the war, but are not directly affected by it, must stand with them, it does make a difference.
There is no doubt that Cindy and everyone who has lost a loved one in Iraq has the moral authority to ask this president why are we in Iraq? What noble cause did my son die for? The fact is, they are not alone, the majority of Americans are questioning why we are in Iraq. As a matter of fact, Bush has proven to be the "uniter," he has managed to unite 69% of Americans against him.
Cindy has brought the war back to the front pages where it belongs. I thank her for bringing much needed life to the anti-war movement.
She keeps telling the reporters questioning her that she is doing THEIR job - asking the tough questions of the president that they have not asked. Unfortunately the press is trying to discredit her.
She is focused. I was amazed at how calm and centered she remains. Every time she gets too hot or too tired she finds an inner strength that keeps her going. Bush said he is going to get back to his life. There are people who don't have lives, people that have ruined lives, because of him.
The time has come to speak truth to lies, truth to power.
We now know the truth:
* Saddam had nothing to do with September 11
* no wmd's
* no exit strategy
* sending troops without proper gear
* fixing intelligence to justify the war
....on, and on, and on....
Please read the diaries on the site below for many beautiful stories. There is the truck driver who lost his son in Iraq. He was driving near Crawford when he heard about the Arlington West memorial. He had extra time so he headed to Crawford. He does not protest the war. He stopped across the road in his rig. One of the peace supporters walked over to him. He wanted to see if his son was amongst those being honored. They walked the long line of crosses. He found his son's name. They hugged and cried.
It is a special place beyond words.
Since I have been there a man drove his pick-up along the memorial and plowed down many of the crosses, flags and flowers. The Veterans For Peace and others were repairing and replacing them. How do you make sense out of the senseless anger and hate?
On my way home I sat next to a beautiful 24 year old proud young man in the Air Force. He has already been to Iraq once. He is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq again in September. He does not want to return. I told him about the peace vigil I just came from in Crawford. I promised him that I will work hard to end the war. He listened and smiled...He probably thought I was a crazy middle-aged woman but somehow I know that he knows that I meant what I said.
There are no easy solutions. We have gone down the wrong road. Do we just keep going or find a better path towards peace?
I do know after spending 3 days with the military families who are paying the ultimate sacrifice, that each and everyone of us must do what we can. Their children are fighting this senseless war. They honor the troops with every breath.
Please remember that only 2 of our representatives in Washington have children in this war. If they were all required to have their children enlist do you think they would of voted for this war? If you support the war do you want your children – grandchildren in Iraq?
Some sites to check out:
Truthout is doing a great job of keeping an on-going diary:
http://truthout.org/cindy.shtml
Gold Stars Families For Peace - the group Cindy started over a year ago: http://www.gsfp.org/
Sept. 24-26 peace march in Washington: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/
Debbie asked her readers to pass her letter along. I've done that. Feel free to do that as well. She ends with a quotation from Margaret Mead:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
August 19, 2005 @ 6:40 am
Debbie took a number of pictures while she was at Camp Casey. Because I’ve always found posting pictures in Radio Blogland about like trying to teach a pig to dance let’s try another strategy. Her pictures are available at Shutterfly. Be the good Lord willin’ and the creeks don’t rise you should be able to get there from here: link
