I'm an American and descendant of Americans. Moreover, I've been an American all of my life. I went to an American school, I was active in American youth groups. I've always been a fervent supporter of America as a refuge for all Americans around the world who seek a place to exercise their traditions and embrace their identity in peace.
I sang the American anthem in school and I pledged to fight every day of my life to make sure the savage crimes of the Bush Administration would never happen again. Every year I pledged: Never Again. Remember and Never forget.
Well, I haven't forgotten. And so to honor that pledge, to honor the memory of my family members who also had to live in Bush's America and because "there comes a time when silence is betrayal", today I finally and publicly end my support for America.
I do this with great pain in my heart, but nonetheless with the overwhelming conviction that it is the only right thing to do. I was patient: I tolerated the destruction of our middle class. I held my nose and stood my ground when Bush won reelection in 2004. I even remained loyal after Katrina, the "Surge", and the illegal NSA program was revealed.
I had to defend America and Americans with my friends and others who demanded I be consistent with my progressive views and oppose a country that was responsible for horrible crimes against innocent human beings. "Americans are scared, they are traumatized, you have to understand...", "America is responding to attacks on itself, tell me one other country that wouldn't respond when attacked...", I demanded understanding, I pleaded for a fair and comparative analysis.
ENOUGH. I'm done justifying crimes against humanity by a country that claims to be an illuminated western democracy. I'm done defending a country that is unwilling to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan, won't encourage a sustainable energy policy, that hunts wolves from helicopters. I'm done tolerating the popularity of Sarah Palin, the homophobia of Rick Warren, the utter disregard for human life.
Fuck them.
If they think their daily peace of mind is worth the lives of hundreds of innocent people, Fuck them.
If they think the best way to go right now would be to support Barack Obama (who is so far solving all our problems for us), Fuck them.
If they won't bat an eye before reducing our dependence on foreign oil, before bombing civilian neighborhoods in Afghanistan and Pakistan, before breaking every standard of international law or moral decency, Fuck them.
It's time for every true progressive in this country and around the world to do the only thing that our consciences should allow us to do, the only thing that can keep us consistent with our supposed beliefs that human life is precious and that unnecessary violence is always criminal, barbarous and unacceptable. We must demand that America stop violence and immediately put an end to its colonialist military occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam.
And until they do so, we must organize and do everything we can to make sure our money is not financing mass murder and oppression.
It is time for the progressive movement to demand immediate Divestment from America, just like we divested from other oppressive states like South Africa.
The only reason not to do so is willful hypocrisy.
And I don't know about you, but I'm done being a hypocrite.
Unnecessary murder of innocents is always wrong.
Selfish and unjustifiable occupation is always wrong.
Inaction in the face of massive suffering and injustice is always wrong.
It is thus our responsibility to make sure Obama and the rest of our leaders understand that this time we will be relentless, this time we mean business and this time we will honor our pledges.
NEVER AGAIN!
DIVEST NOW!
Peace
Salaam
Shalom
UPDATE
This diary is not intended to diminish the suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians, but hopes to point out the danger of simplistic, blanket statements about an entire group of people.
It doesn't help folks. Get Israel out of the West Bank. Close down those settlements. Make Egypt assimilate the Gaza Strip back into Sinai. Make Jerusalem a split city and encourage free borders between the two. Encourage and promote non-violent protest groups on both sides. Find Palestinian NGO's that don't give their money over to Hamas and support those. Forget the "Right of Return"
END OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL WITH SUSTAINABLE WIND, SOLAR, HYDRO AND OCEAN ENERGY PROJECTS so we can tell Saudis, OPEC, Exxon-Mobile and Haliburton to go fuck themselves, and so we can have a real effect on peace in the middle east.