I watch in awe of the courage, passion and activism of the Persian people. A people sitting directly in the cradle of civilization. A people who are highly sophisticated and intelligent. A people who are showing me, as an American what it looks like to do more than just rant in a blog room on the internet.
I am old enough to remember how it felt to be tear gassed, to help carry friends away from angry police lashing out with their sticks as I marched to end the Vietnam War in the seventies. That war killed over 58,000 American soldiers and what we don't often hear about is the estimated four million Vietnam civilians who were killed during that conflict.
The Iranian people are reminding me today of how it felt to care so deeply about the direction that my country was taking that, I was willing along with so many of my friends to do whatever it took to stop the killing, the madness, the senseless feeding of the Military Industrial Complex. This is a tribute to these brave people.
Earlier in another diary I asked the question:
When did we stop caring enough in our country to actively participate in the protests that by all accounts changed the direction of our history and the direction of our nation? When were we last as brave as these people? When and why did we stop caring enough to show our faces, our bodies, and our anger in the streets of Washington DC to make it clear to every Congressional member and in fact to all three branches of our government that 'We have had enough...and we are here because you are not listening.'?
One commenter said it was because the 'media' will not cover protest marches anymore. Another said that the 'internet' has taken the place for American's to vent their frustrations. Yet another person said it was because there was no 'draft' in place, and therefore the people do not have the same impetuous as we had during the Vietnam War.
I have to disagree with all of these 'excuses' and that is really what they are, excuses. We have men and women who are National Guard and Armed forces volunteers who are utterly exhausted from endless tours of duty with no end in sight. We are now extending our war in Afganistan with no 'exit strategy.' A General in Iraq announced not that long ago that we could be in Iraq for at least another ten years or more, and I did not hear a word from my President to correct that General's statement. Our presence in the world is expanding and for what reason? Who is making money off of this expansion is the real question, but the greater question is why?
As of 31 March 2008, U.S. Forces were stationed at more than 820 installations in at least 39 countries.[18] Some of the largest contingents are the 142,000 military personnel in Iraq, the 56,200 in Germany, the 33,122 in Japan, 26,339 in South Korea, 31,100 in Afghanistan and approximately 9,700 each in Italy and the United Kingdom. These numbers change frequently due to the regular recall and deployment of units.
Altogether, 84,488 military personnel are located in Europe, 154 in the former Soviet Union, 70,719 in East Asia and the Pacific, 7,850 in North Africa, the Near East, and South Asia, 2,727 are in sub-Saharan Africa with 2,043 in the Western Hemisphere excepting the United States itself.
Our country is in dire straights. We haven't the money to afford this 'nation building' concept that has gotten so out of hand, but the real reason we continue to do this is simply to feed the greedy Military Industrial Complex.
Prospective service members are often recruited from high school and college, the target age being those ages 18 to 28. With the permission of a parent or guardian, applicants can enlist at the age of 17 and participate in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP). In this program, the applicant is given the opportunity to participate in locally sponsored military-related activities, which can range from sports to competitions (each recruiting station DEP program will vary), led by recruiters or other military liaisons.
Seventeen years old. Do you remember when you were seventeen years old? Draft or no draft, what is happening is that many of these young people are enlisting because they have very few opportunities in our country to perhaps join a Union and work for a decent wage with job security like many of our mothers and fathers worked for....those jobs are gone overseas. People were brave enough back then to march to Washington DC for their jobs, for a right to their job security, for the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
Now we are in the midst of a great battle. A battle for human dignity to have the right to live or die for the basic right of health care, and yet we sit and do nothing but rant and rave on blogs, and call and email and get hung up on by representatives who have already decided that the money from the lobbyists is much more important than perhaps your grandmother who can no longer afford her insulin and who's only choice is to: pay up or die.
We have watched as Wall Street and the Bankers have gotten every single penny that they didn't deserve as the big 'heist' continues, yet few if any have been dragged off to prison where they belong. Congress makes certain that 'the votes they get will not, above all, include any real reform.' Where is the Congress person brave enough to stand up and demand that the Glass-Steagall Act immediately be reinstated? They unfortunately are owned by Wall Street and the Bankers now, as Senator Durbin made clear to all.
We have watched as war criminals and people who tortured snicker on Fox news, telling the world 'that not only does torture work, but with wink, wink, nod nod, they wear that look on their faces that says clearly: and we got away with it too. We wait for our President to 'do the right thing' and bring those people to justice.
I'm waiting. But as I'm waiting I'm thinking about the people of Iran today. I'm thinking about how as Americans we used to be 'that brave'..we used to care enough....we used to stand up and actively pursue our rights, our outrage, our indignation when our country was not owned lock, stock and barrel by corrupt government officials who's bottom line goes just as far as their next election.
As Sade sings: there is a stone in my heart.....tonight there is a stone in my heart because we as American used to be as brave as these Iranian people are right now. We have so much to lose at this time in history, yet we somehow forgot who we are and how our ancestors were able to gain any human dignity and self worth in this nation.
They fought their asses off for it, and they were never afraid to stand up in person when it counted to show their faces, their bodies on picket lines, at our nations capital yelling and screaming as loud as they could until their voices were heard.
Why did we stop doing this? What happened to us? God bless the Iranian people and may God protect them all in their hour of need. Courage is alive in the world today and they have much to teach us all.
Thanks for listening.