“They that can give up essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
-- Ben Franklin
Welcome to poliTicks, and thanks for taking a moment of your valuable time to hear my views. Shortly after 9/11, I volunteered for the ACLU of Washington's Speakers' Bureau, and I have had the opportunity to speak before a wide range of groups, ranging from high school students to Rotarians to members of the conservative Federalist society. What follows is a distillation from those experiences.
I agree that there is a dangerous extremist Islamic movement, dedicated to Holy War against the West. I also believe that there is an equally dangerous extremist Judeo-Christian movement, dedicated to Holy War against Islam. I believe that the only way we can save ourselves from disastrous suffering as a result of endless war and terror is by embracing nonviolence, communication, understanding, and mutual aid. We need to give moderates on all sides support for their moderation. Instead, we are giving extremists on both sides fodder for perpetuating violence. Scorched earth war and torture only breeds more hatred, and more terrorists.
The Framers of our Constitution lived in times every bit as dangerous as our own. They had just fought a war against the greatest imperial power in the world, Great Britain, and were by no means safe from her vast navy (indeed, within the lifetime of many of the Framers, Great Britain would burn the White House and other important government buildings in Washington). They also contended with strange tribes of natives who worshipped unknown deities, and struck civilians without warning from the dark forests, then melted back into their hiding places. Nonetheless, the system established by the Framers is based on the premise that the single greatest threat to liberty is not external enemies, but is instead the unchecked, centralized power of one's own government. That is the genius of American liberty; that is the lesson which Bush and his followers have forgotten (or never learned).
The much-maligned liberals in America warned repeatedly against the ignorance, rapaciousness and brutality of the Bush Administration, but our warnings did not resonate with enough Americans, largely due to the corporate dominated media, lack of well-educated voters, and rampant religious fundamentalism. It is no fun to have been right. The world is a far more perilous place than it was when Clinton left office, our economy and environment are in ruin, and America is hated around the globe, thanks in no small part to the policies of the Bush Administration, and neo-conservative ideology. MCCAIN IS BUSH LITE. A vote for Nader is a vote for McCain. Hillary opportunistically supported the Iraq War, and is paying the price. There is only one realistic chance for America to begin to heal itself, and become again a force for good in the world. That chance is named Barack Obama.
My poliTicks section has three parts:
CALL TO ACTION -- What you can DO!
QUOTATIONS & TIDBITS OF INFO -- Why you should DO IT!
POLITICAL VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS -- Political poetry.
I invite submissions of political poetry pasted into my contact form. I'll post the best ones on the Political Voices page.
Please write with comments, ideas, inspirations & responses to my work. Writing is lonely without you, dear reader. Experience is deepened when shared. Thank-you!
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