This entry was posted on 1/25/2005 6:29 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
Well, I have
cleaned up my house, had my coffee, and sat down to ponder the
conversations that my guests and I had this weekend.
The people that we had over here were an older couple in their
early 80’s who were still quick of mind, even though their
bodies couldn’t keep up. The gentleman was a German
immigrant who had moved to this country at the age of 6 and had
been a life long Republican. He came in through
New York
, and passed under our Ladies torch. Like so many of us in
this country we can not only read the plaque at the base of the
Statue of Liberty, but we feel it in our bones. It resonates
in us and moves us not just as human beings, but as
Americans. We read those words and we feel our heart expand
with pride. There are not many countries in this world that
have been able to take in so many people, who are so different in
appearances and beliefs and have them live as neighbors without
battles and wars breaking out. Yet, here we are doing just
that in this great nation of ours. Now, I realize that
utopia we are not. That the problems that we have are very
real and need to be addressed, but anyone coming from another part
of the world can value and understand the uniqueness of the
situation that we have in this country. This man, now in his
80’s began talking to me in his thoughtful and patient manner
about the state of this nation and how he felt about the
administration that is presently at the helm. It wasn’t
pretty.
He began by
discussing the things that he felt made this nation great.
First and foremost was that we are a nation of Laws laid out by
the Constitution, these laws and their amendments make us what we
are. When we begin to change these, then who we are begins
to change. We value our “Freedom” yet we are so willing
to give it away. It’s correct that Freedom isn’t
free. Our forefathers spilled their blood so that we could
have those laws that we are now so willing to do away with in the
form of the patriot act. Ashcroft was very willing to do
away with or ignore the laws of this country. He has
imprisoned fellow Americans without due process or any regard for
their civil rights. This is Un-American, this is an insult
to the definition of who we are and what we stand
for. No manner of lip service to patriotism or
flag waving takes away this very obvious fact that what this
administration has done, and is doing, is so far from American
that even this former republican could no longer stand by his
party of choice.
When he spoke of
the Americans that were held after 9/11 he was still speaking in a
calm tone, but I could see he was agitated by the whole
situation. He prayed that the judges in this nation would
come to their senses and restore the rule of law to our
country. It wasn’t until he began talking of
Guantanamo
that his hands began to shake and I could see that it was more
than just news or facts to him, that this touched his soul.
There wasn’t anger in his face, just a deep, deep
disappointment. As if his house had been soiled and the
honor of his family tarnished. He spoke of the children the
age of my own child, (14 for those of you who don’t know me) who
have been held there for years. We can no longer pride
ourselves with being a beacon for the standards in the treatment
of our fellow human beings. With new prisoner torture
scandals being exposed almost daily I think the world will have to
look for a new role model, because we have certainly failed in
that test. Furthermore, as if the above facts were not
enough, one of the men who penned certain documents blamed for the
scandal is going to be rewarded for his brilliant work in human
rights by being given the prestigious position previously held by
the rapist of this countries civil rights.
I was moved as I
gazed into his face and listened to him speak. I finally
understood what it means to the “Greatest Generation” to be
American. To have been proud and honored to be a part of
this country for over half a century, to fight in WWII, a county
who’s civil and human rights records were the gold standard for
the rest of the world. This man, like my grandfather,
believed in the inherent goodness of the American people and the
American way. In some respects it was a blind belief because
it ignored history and the sordid details of foreign
affairs. Non-the-less I was saddened to see that this mans
solid belief in this nation’s government acting morally had been
broken and his whole concept of what it means to be American had
been permanently changed. I think that his hope in the
American people hadn’t been completely ruined until the
reelection of the man ultimately responsible for the subject of
this email.
Benjamin Franklin
once stated that “Any
society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little
security will deserve neither and lose both.” Let’s hope
that there are enough of us out there to fight for the freedom
that our fore fathers intended and not the disfigured, mutilated,
and warped version of freedom that our administration has decided
to spoon feed us.
Wake
up
America
! We are under attack and your enemy may not be who you
think it is….
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