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kitchen_kinkOur inexorable push toward war gets more and more frightening, and meanwhile, behind the scenes, the Bushies are still working to fill the Supreme Court with right-wing fundamentalist Christians who will overturn Roe v. Wade, letting crooks run departments who will keep their eyes on us "for our safety," and driving all my friends to Canada.
It doesn't seem to matter what we do or say. But sometimes it makes me feel better to see things like human peace signs being assembled everywhere from Michigan to Antarctica.
And last night, depressed, I wrote a
February 9, 2003
Senator Kennedy
Senator Kerry
Representative Capuano
My dear representatives,
I am writing a general letter to express my fear as a supposedly free
woman in the United States.
Lately the actions of our "president" have filled me with a sense of
helplessness regarding my ability, and any person's ability, to affect the
direction in which this country is headed. George W. Bush seems
determined to dismantle my reproductive rights, isolate our nation from
all others save in an aggressive capacity, establish a Big Brother-style
surveillance culture over the citizenry, and allow the corporations that
line his pockets to further rape and destroy the environment.
Internationally, we are making enemies left and right. But internally,
this country is being rent limb from limb.
My partner, of Canadian citizenship, often points out that this country is
one in which the government truly is the people. We elect representatives
like yourselves, and we count on you to listen when we express our
concerns to you.
I have never in my admittedly short lifetime seen such overwhelming
evidence that this country, which Bush insists is united in strength, is
divided at its root. And never have I felt so helpless to stop the wheels
of big government as I now feel. All around me, not just in the small
liberal social circle I inhabit, but in the universities, in the corporate
workplaces, in news media as mainstream as NPR, and in groups as
traditionally conservative as war veterans and Bush-supporting
Republicans, the sentiment is loud and clear: we do not want this war.
Why can't George W. Bush hear us?
I fear what going to war with Iraq will bring, both abroad and at home. I
fear Bush's agenda, and I am positive that he will do everything in his
power to move forward regardless of what his people are screaming in his
ears. And I fear that the war is little more than a huge fearmongering
umbrella, under which Bush is pushing through countless acts and
resolutions that do nothing to make us safer, happier, or freer.
But what can I do, besides continuing to write letters of protest,
shouting in the streets, staying vigilant? Many of my friends are
seriously considering moving to Canada, because clearly, this government
of the people no longer belongs to us.
Please, please do whatever you can to stop this power-mad administration
from carrying out whatever its sick agenda is. From needless war with
Iraq, to stuffing the Supreme Court full of fundamentalist Christians, to
attempting to overturn Roe vs. Wade, to keeping massive files on each and
every move Americans make--our freedoms are being stripped away one by
one, and Americans are either too stunned by disbelief to do anything
about it or, like me, feel that all their efforts at protest are
ineffectual.
I do not know what effect this letter might have; I only know that I no
longer know what to do. I feel blessed at least to live in a liberal
state, where my representatives in Congress (if not my governors) have
often supported me in the past. But I begin to feel more and more ashamed
to be a citizen of a nation led by a mercenary warlord who has no ears to
hear those he serves and no eyes to see farther than to the next election.
If there is something else I can do, please tell me. If not, please, do
your duty: represent those of us who put you where you are.
***
What other choice do I have?
And in other hopeful news, Au Bon Pain makes a very acceptable cup of decaf.
It doesn't seem to matter what we do or say. But sometimes it makes me feel better to see things like human peace signs being assembled everywhere from Michigan to Antarctica.
And last night, depressed, I wrote a
February 9, 2003
Senator Kennedy
Senator Kerry
Representative Capuano
My dear representatives,
I am writing a general letter to express my fear as a supposedly free
woman in the United States.
Lately the actions of our "president" have filled me with a sense of
helplessness regarding my ability, and any person's ability, to affect the
direction in which this country is headed. George W. Bush seems
determined to dismantle my reproductive rights, isolate our nation from
all others save in an aggressive capacity, establish a Big Brother-style
surveillance culture over the citizenry, and allow the corporations that
line his pockets to further rape and destroy the environment.
Internationally, we are making enemies left and right. But internally,
this country is being rent limb from limb.
My partner, of Canadian citizenship, often points out that this country is
one in which the government truly is the people. We elect representatives
like yourselves, and we count on you to listen when we express our
concerns to you.
I have never in my admittedly short lifetime seen such overwhelming
evidence that this country, which Bush insists is united in strength, is
divided at its root. And never have I felt so helpless to stop the wheels
of big government as I now feel. All around me, not just in the small
liberal social circle I inhabit, but in the universities, in the corporate
workplaces, in news media as mainstream as NPR, and in groups as
traditionally conservative as war veterans and Bush-supporting
Republicans, the sentiment is loud and clear: we do not want this war.
Why can't George W. Bush hear us?
I fear what going to war with Iraq will bring, both abroad and at home. I
fear Bush's agenda, and I am positive that he will do everything in his
power to move forward regardless of what his people are screaming in his
ears. And I fear that the war is little more than a huge fearmongering
umbrella, under which Bush is pushing through countless acts and
resolutions that do nothing to make us safer, happier, or freer.
But what can I do, besides continuing to write letters of protest,
shouting in the streets, staying vigilant? Many of my friends are
seriously considering moving to Canada, because clearly, this government
of the people no longer belongs to us.
Please, please do whatever you can to stop this power-mad administration
from carrying out whatever its sick agenda is. From needless war with
Iraq, to stuffing the Supreme Court full of fundamentalist Christians, to
attempting to overturn Roe vs. Wade, to keeping massive files on each and
every move Americans make--our freedoms are being stripped away one by
one, and Americans are either too stunned by disbelief to do anything
about it or, like me, feel that all their efforts at protest are
ineffectual.
I do not know what effect this letter might have; I only know that I no
longer know what to do. I feel blessed at least to live in a liberal
state, where my representatives in Congress (if not my governors) have
often supported me in the past. But I begin to feel more and more ashamed
to be a citizen of a nation led by a mercenary warlord who has no ears to
hear those he serves and no eyes to see farther than to the next election.
If there is something else I can do, please tell me. If not, please, do
your duty: represent those of us who put you where you are.
***
What other choice do I have?
And in other hopeful news, Au Bon Pain makes a very acceptable cup of decaf.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-02-10 07:58 am (UTC)May I suggest snail-mailing 'em instead of email? I've found that Congresscritters almost invariably WILL acknowledge receipt of a snail-mailed letter --they have to, their chances for re-election depend on it.
no subject
Date: 2003-02-10 09:19 am (UTC)Did you hear the state Senate of Maine just passed a resolution against the war in Iraq?
Re:
Date: 2003-02-10 10:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-11 12:28 am (UTC)we just got an anti-war resolution passed through bloomington, IN city council (8-0 with one abstain)... dunno how to go about it at the state level, won't happen in indiana i reckon :-)
Somerville
Date: 2003-02-11 09:22 am (UTC)Passing resolutions against the war in Iraq ought to be much easier, since municipalities and states don't actually conduct foreign policy, so it's just a statement of public will.
If you're interested in our Somerville civil rights safe zone effort, see: http://municipalfreedom.org/
Re: Somerville
It would be nice to have a bit about the right to keep and bear arms. Even though this would be governed in reality by state law at least it would send a message.
Re: Somerville
Date: 2003-03-08 05:18 pm (UTC)You're super!
Date: 2003-02-10 09:40 am (UTC)You take care of your precious self, ok? Promise? I mean it ... it takes a special self-appreciation to stay tender, to stay heart-felt, and I'm sure you'll understand when I say that's what the world needs.
Thanks for this.
be well
ben
p.s. you got me thinking about putting a bit more energy into what was supposed to be my most heart-felt journal: Beyond Bliss (http://chebucto.ca/Current/AEF/raps/blog/blogger.html)
Re: You're super!
Date: 2003-02-10 10:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-10 10:55 am (UTC)But I'm serious about your post ... it kinda put a nice light on my day.
Great letter.
Date: 2003-02-10 12:38 pm (UTC)I have to say I agree with everything you had to say.
Things are really scary right now but somehow I'm managing not to dwell on it. I was dwelling on it too much about a month ago and managed to make myself absolutely sick with depression and fear.
Hang in there. I'm not sure why but I have faith that this might not be as bad as it looks right now.
Think positive.
Good wishes from over the pond
Date: 2003-02-10 03:46 pm (UTC)It's pretty much how I feel too. Except we have Blair over here, who can't even say that at least it was his idea. Am going on protest in London on Saturday. Will be thinking of you guys too, stuck in same boat at other end of world. Keep up the good work.
bravo
Date: 2003-02-10 09:57 pm (UTC)and yes, it sucks. and yes, it's a bitch trying to figure out what we can do, and what we should, and how much to worry, and.....
(Kaz wasn't kidding in her comment - she really was driving herself bonkers by hyperfocusing on the state of the country and the impending war and all of it. not saying don't think about it or don't act to try and make it better, but also don't let it consume you.)
i guess it's times like this that i wish i drank any sort of coffee, let alone decaf. maybe i'll just get some coffee ice cream :-)
ro
P.S.: sorry if i was not too conversational at the party. i had about 1 hour to make rounds and see and talk to everyone there that i could. and i was roasting and needed to get naked as soon as possible. please apologize to Ert for me not saying hi - i think i recognized him after i was out of the room.
Re: bravo
Date: 2003-02-11 07:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-11 10:52 pm (UTC)Asking Ted Kennedy to save your freedom.
Re:
Date: 2003-02-12 07:07 am (UTC)There seems nothing else left, aside from joining the Michigan Militia and storming D.C...
no subject
Date: 2003-02-12 12:05 pm (UTC)I vote Libertarian. Sure, they're not going to get anywhere in the near future, but maybe, if they're lucky, they'll remind liberal politicians that they used to care about personal freedom, and remind conservative politicians that they used to care about economic freedom.