Because of this administration my life as I knew it, like so many others, is over.
Anger and hate like I've never hoped to experience have taken over and I'm not liking it one bit.
When my son told me he was being sent to Afganistan in the spring of 2002 I was worried and concerned but thought it was for a good cause - I was wrong.
When my son told me in the fall of 2002 that he was probably going to be sent to Irag (look at the timeframe)I was worried but still thought it was for a good cause - I was wrong.
When my son told me in early February 2003 he was leaving for Iraq in two weeks I, again, thought he would be a part of something to be proud of.
While my son was in Iraq for a year I was in a medicated fog - I literally quit functioning. My world was the news. I watched in the morning and evening and looked at online news all day long. I cheered when the statue was pulled down.
And then something happened - I started to get mad. Spitting, frothing mad.
My son, thanks be to God, returned home safe and sound but not the same. He does not believe in what he is doing ("we were lied to") but he still does it out of love and loyalty for his unit, family, and country.
Has my anger diminished - NO, NO, NO - not at all. It has grown by leaps and bounds. You see he is returning to Iraq this fall. They are already planning. He knows where he will be. There are no plans for withdrawl - he feels he will be in and out of Iraq for many many years leaving his wife and baby girl for a LIE. And our wonderful democratic leadership don't have the guts to try and stop it. After all, it's not their children.
I still "watch" the news day and night but I'm not watching network or cable network news - it makes me so furiously sick. I have progressive radio streaming all day at work and spend too much time on the net.
My anger is as visible as the blue band on my arm. It's as tangible as the anger I feel whenever I see a W sticker on a car - I literally feel my blood pressure rise as I have visions of ramming my car into theirs.
I can't enjoy what I used to because of my anger and hatred - and it is strong and it is steady.
Thanks for listening.
What happened to our country? Don't people understand that by taking away our liberties, questioning our patriotism, using fear to control us, taking away meaningful employment is destroying us - not making us stronger?
A true patriot questions what is happening.
When every public official is asked to take the Oath of Office don't they realize they are supposed to "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic"?
The enemies are hatred, the enemies are bigotry, the enemies are poverty, the enemies are corporate greed (I am a former Enron employee who lost my future), the enemies are government corruption, the enemies are liars! The enemies prey on the most vulnerable to gain control.
Right now I feel our government is the enemy. I want my government back.