TO THE FLYER:
With close to 150,000 troops in the Middle East, and more on the way, “President” Bush has committed his country, right or wrong, to war with Iraq.
I write this in protest.
I write this for the thousands of middle and lower class troops that have to fight in another rich man’s war. Kids whose parents don’t make enough money to keep them off the battlefields. I write this for those who believe this is about oil– not justice or freedom or democracy or any of those words politicians and public relations firms pervert and try to sell us. I write this for those who don’t believe Bush’s liar, liar pants on fire indictment of Iraq. I write this for those who think Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden are monsters created by us, funded by our money, and armed with our weapons.
I write this for the careful student of history, who knows our record of state-sponsored terrorism. Who understands the animosity so many nations maintain against us. I write this for Prime Minister Mussadegh, whose overthrow by a U.S. backed Shah paved the way for the Ayatollah Khomeni. I write this for Vietnam and the Iran-Contra affair. I write this for Chilean President Allende, killed by a CIA-sponsored bullet in 1973. I write this for rigged elections and coup attempts from Lebanon to Zaire to Guatemala. I write for villages destroyed by missiles misguided by mistaken intelligence.
I write this for Muslim men, women, and children, to inform them that all Americans do not hate and fear them, do not seek their annihilation, and do not always support our government’s behavior. I write this for the citizens of Iraq, none of whom hijacked planes on September the 11th though all now brace themselves for war. I write this for those that died in the years since the Gulf War and for the innocents that will surely die when new bombs start falling. I write this for future generations of Muslims who may look at our actions in the coming months as reasons to accept the stereotypes terrorist recruiters offer them.
I write this for France, Germany, and other nations whose conviction does not waver in the face of their ally’s military majesty. I write for those that dissent when the United States violates international doctrines we insist all other nations respect. I demand proof, not propaganda. I write because I am a patriot. I write for the millions of other Americans that concur with me. I write because the United States is a beacon of freedom, a sanctuary from the evils of the world, and that, because of this, we must not abuse our place as the world’s leading superpower. I write because we must do what is right, what is fair, what is true.
I write because I protest.
Alex McPeak
{University of Memphis}
Bartlett
