Yesterday there were tens of thousands of protesters in the streets in Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities throughout the country.
Very Nice.
But where the hell was the outrage when it counted? Where were the marches and the protests and the smiling kids holding signs when Al Gore was still "the next President of the United States"? Where were the protests then? Where were the protests when the identity of a covert CIA operative was disclosed in the press (in a time of war which is F***ing TREASON) to allow an illegal war to be waged on an innocent country?
Where the hell were the smiling girls dancing and singing their songs of protest when the Republican political machine cheated John Kerry and John Edwards of their victory in Ohio?
Yesterday, while thousands of you were having your protest party, a family learned that their 22-year-old son had been blown apart fighting the "War Against Terror". He did not die in Afghanistan fighting those responsible for 9/11. He died in Iraq, fighting to protect George W. Bush’s legacy!
Yesterday, while the press was covering your marches, fifty bikers, mostly (but not all) Vietnam Era Veterans, were holding US Flags and saying prayers for US servicemen and women heading to Iraq to train Iraqis to take over so we can get the hell out of there.
Yesterday, family and friends said their good-byes to their sons, daughters, husbands, fathers and mothers, while you congratulated yourselves on the size of the crowds and how peaceful everything was.
Yesterday, while you all had your party, these brave (incredibly brave) and patriotic Americans set off to do the impossible, and they just might do it because a prouder, more patriotic, dedicated and intelligent bunch you have never seen.
But if WE had done OUR PART as US citizens when it counted, they would not be going there. If WE had been as patriotic as they are now, we would have prevented all of this. If WE had been as pissed off then as Ted Kennedy was last Thursday on the floor of the United States Senate, this could have all been avoided.
I want to point out that most of those who participated in the deployment ceremony yesterday are NOT pro-war. Most of us are against the debacle in Iraq. But Veterans understand, more than most, that it is the military’s duty to do what WE tell them to do through our elected civilian leadership. If the military starts making its own decisions in these matters, it is game over, thanks for the memories, democracy was nice while it lasted.
So when they bravely go off to fight in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or IRAN, they do so because WE TOLD THEM TO.
So enjoy the photos of your very successful peace march. But think about what could have been if we had all tried a litter harder before, and ask yourself ... "What else can we do? How can we fix this mess? Who can we call? What money can we raise? How can WE change things in Washington so that this corrupt incompetence ends?"
And for God’s sake, and our country’s, KEEP DOING IT!