Decision 2008

Please try to read this letter. When our country first invaded Iraq I spent many late nights writing letters to friends and newspapers. We see how well that turned out for me and we can see how well it has turned out for humanity. The war was WRONG.

This debacle was building up throughout 2002. By my last semester of college, it was clear to me that the invasion would be a disaster. America would be essentially ignoring the world community and helping to weaken the United Nations. I thought about Vietnam and the soldiers who came back broken, mentally and physically. I thought about bombs falling and dead civilians. At first it revolted me. Imagine invading a nation on such flimsy grounds! What a coincidence that the country is in such a volatile region with the third largest oil reserve in the world, right? The reasons for the war kept shifting. They aren't even worth discussing.

We'd see looting and dead civilians, but only briefly...Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" and America's attention did shift from the war. We got our celebrities back! Michael Jackson had a big trial while Brittany Spears and the others entertained us. Even though I'm incredibly skeptical of Bush's religiosity, I'll take him at his word. He claimed to invade Iraq after consulting a "higher power" than his own father. He uses his gut and doesn't trust intellect.

Bush invaded Iraq without thinking about the lives that would be lost. He invaded Iraq without the support of the world. But WE invaded Iraq. My meager taxes have paid to kill Iraqis. That's the problem with thinking too much. It hurts and it's hard. Writing these words are hard because of think of my complicity in the atrocities. When I imagine how bad it would hurt to lose my brother to an American bomb. How could I get over such pain? America has essentially created the current resistance in Iraq. You never get over how you feel when you lose a mom or a dad. They were killed by an American occupation.

Consider the staggering monetary costs of the war in Iraq! What else could America have done with that money? Think about our reputation around the world. When I traveled in 2004, people asked me ALL over Europe if I was voting for Bush in the next election. Guess which candidate votes with Bush 90% of the time? Bush has ruined our reputation.

How could a thinking, caring individual rationalize the current war? Iraq has lost their middle class. Any Iraqi with means has abandoned Iraq. That's four million people. Doctors, scientists, engineers, and other professionals fled. Before the surge put a lid on the sectarian violence in Iraq, the country was on the verge of civil war. Will the Sunnis and Shi'ites forget their differences in a few more months? Years? Decades? What happens with the Kurds when we leave?

So how does dropping napalm on women and children in Vietnam give one the experience to fix such problems? Vietnam and Iraq DO have similarities on second thought. They are both illegal and unjust wars. How does being captured while attempting to murder make one a hero? A true hero would've DECLINED any such missions over Vietnam. But what's a few million gooks, as McCain puts it? Has science even proven if they feel pain like us?

Science. Now there's an interesting subject! It's useful for developing more lethal weapons but somehow it isn't so good when it's used to enlighten people about our true origins. It isn't good when it gets the masses questioning religion, is it? Machiavelli understood a leader must APPEAR religious and one political party understands that better than the other. Creationism is a much safer alternative.

So it's bad enough we have murdered over a hundred thousand civilians in Iraq and destroyed their economy. It's bad enough we have lost thousands of American troops. It's bad enough we've mortgaged our future and lost opportunities to fund research with that money. Even after all this, we have a presidential candidate who sings "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran". Guess which candidate sings that tune?

While watching the Republican National Convention I realized what got the biggest cheers: Tax cuts! Any mention of tax cuts sent the crowd into a frenzy! Fuck the debt! Fuck the GI Bill, I want more MONEY! It was pure greed.

McCain was brilliant in bringing in a good looking, Bible-thumper with 100 kids to read from a teleprompter. Amazing how she isn't available to speak after that speech was handed to her, isn't it? But the Palin choice is another red herring put forth by the masterminds. Instead of focusing on the mess in Iraq or the two million Americans in prison (very Christian of us, right?) or the rich getting richer and the poor without health care, we are now debating whether women who are raped should be able to get an abortion. We are talking about hockey moms. Somehow eight different individuals were holding the baby with Downs Syndrome during the Convention. And now we are discussing a 17 year old girl about to have a baby. Actually, it's a great strategy because it's predicated on the idea that Americans would prefer to avoid policy debates.

America tortures? Eh. We've killed how many in Iraq? Boo-hoo, I've got gay marriages to stop! Such nonsense is distracting us! Don't let that happen!

Palin's obviously excited the Christian Right. McCain gave them what they wanted: GUNS, GAYS, AND GOD.

That's the image I want for America around the world. A woman who's comfortable slaughtering animals. A woman who tells her church to pray for an oil pipeline through Alaska. A woman who doesn't support a woman's right to choose.

Intelligence is fungible. A Harvard Economics graduate would be able to run a Dairy Queen without much training. Could Bush run a Dairy Queen? His lack of intelligence would cause a number of disasters. Ice cream would run out. He'd fail even with his eight years of experience as POTUS.

I suppose I may have toyed with the idea that Bush and Gore were more similar than different. How naive of me. 9/11 would've been handled completely differently by Gore. We wouldn't have invaded Iraq (a war of choice). We might've started helping the environment. NOW McCain has shown his complete disdain for modern science by SELECTING PALIN who DOESN'T BELIEVE IN GLOBAL WARMING, wants MORE DRILLING instead of conservation, and TO TOP IT OFF...SHE WANTS CREATIONISM TAUGHT IN THE SCHOOLS!!!!!!!

Thinking about these positions is so absurd, I almost feel as if this is some sort of Hollywood production. Let's pick a candidate whose claim to fame is that he crashed his plane while trying to kill Vietnamese women and children (for no real reason) and spent five years locked in a box. Then he gets out and his wife is in a horrible car accident. To show his good character, he leaves his wife for a young blonde woman worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Go for the gusto, McCain! You're really showing me the meaning of Christian, family VALUEs.

Hmm...I seem to remember an argument about fathers needing to be with their young children. How about new-borns with DOWNS SYNDROME? What about four other children? Admittedly one is going to Iraq to kill Muslims, so there are 3 other children. Should mothers be with their young children? Perhaps teach them how to cross their legs?

So many family values. The hypocrisy is stifling.

The big complaints against the Democratic candidate? Didn't wear a nationalistic American flag on his jacket? Is this Germany in 1933? He went to a preacher who dared place blame on America for 9-11? Hmmm... could it upset Americans BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT'S TRUE?

Oh but Reverend Wright sounded so scary and angry. Hmm...in the 1960s segregation was still allowed. All through the twentieth century America has propped up dictators when it's useful for business. The wealthiest Americans use the government to keep their entrenched position. I've listened to Reverend Wright. America's chickens DID come home to roost. He shouldn't be allowed to criticize Israel? The Palestinians are living in filth and squalor! THEY ARE BEHIND barbed wire. By speaking for the voiceless, Wright has upset the leaders who would rather we cheerfully cheer for America. Always. Oh he said "God Damn"! Oh no!

But that's not patriotism. America was founded by THOUGHTFUL MEN. My favorite founding father is Thomas Jefferson. He could do it all. He was a writer, an architect, a philsopher. He wrote a version of the New Testament that removed all the miracles. Jefferson, DNA has conclusively proved, fathered children with Sally Hemmings. He had a mulatto child. Jefferson was an academic. Jefferson knew a free press was essential to our country. Imagine a vice presidential candidate HIDING from the press. Shameful. He'd be fascinated by Darwin's theory and demand students learn it. He'd consider Palin what she is: a huckster and a fraud or a mental midget. A man of science like Jefferson would have NO TIME FOR THE RIGHT-WING RELIGIOUS AGENDA.

If I was a misanthrope, I'd have no problem with this election. If I was a racist, it would be a no-brainer. If I believed in the inerrant word of the Bible, I'd have my choice already. If I was making five million a year from investments and I was selfish? I'd know who to pick. Sadly, many Americans fit into all four categories. This is a choice of hope versus fear. Creationism versus science. I know which usually wins out but I also have to have hope for the future. What good does "experience" do when the world is changing so fast? McCain has said he doesn't write email or know how to use the Internet. How embarrassing!

If someone was happy with the way the world has gone over the last eight years, I'd also say they should probably vote for McCain. He has voted with the president so often. It's funny how some former Hillary fans will bring up the long, difficult campaign and the mean things that were said. They need to look at what happened between George W. Bush and McCain in 2000! The Bush team used surrogates to accuse McCain of fathering a child with a black woman. (It's a disgusting smear for many Americans, especially in South Carolina where it took place.) But there they are, Bush and McCain locked in an awkward embrace:

A vote for McCain/Palin is a vote for more of the same. It's a vote for a country with haves and have nots. It's a vote for a country where medical care is only available for the wealthiest. It's a vote for creationism in schools. It's for banning books. It's a tacit acceptance of the policies of the past eight years INCLUDING THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ.

I haven't given up on humanity yet. I haven't given up on science or the future.

I'll end with a few quotes from Thomas Jefferson:

Bodily decay is gloomy in prospect, but of all human contemplations the most abhorrent is body without mind.
Thomas Jefferson

I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too.
Thomas Jefferson

I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature.
Thomas Jefferson

Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government.
Thomas Jefferson