May 26, 2008
Philip A Farruggio

Memorial Day is supposed to be a semi sacred time in which we honor our military; a remembrance especially of all those sunken heroes who died to either ' make us free ' or ' keep us free ' . How many lives are forever affected and changed through the death of one soldier? Fathers and mothers, wives and lovers, and of course.... children- never again to see the smile of their parent on that merry- go - round called life.

Forty years ago, this writer witnessed the unnecessary deaths of many of my peers- guys I played stickball with and stood next to at the church dances of our teenage years. Vietnam was a wake up call to the futility of corrupt and selfish foreign policy of leaders (and their corporate donors) who never seem to sacrifice their own in the hornet's nest of war. The sons of bakers and longshoreman, car mechanics and school teachers.... those were the kids who were sent thousands of miles away to fight, kill and yes... to die in a place that most Americans never knew existed .

This Memorial Day, 2008, is even more horrific a time than the one we celebrated in the Year of Tet 1968 . Students of history already know of the Tet Offensive, when thousands of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong ( terrorists or freedom fighters? ) rampaged through the very heart of South Vietnam and into the American stronghold of Saigon. It was then that the Johnson government knew this so called ' War ' was not winnable.

Yet, for seven long years the sacrifice of tens of thousands of US servicemen and countless Vietnamese civilians continued. So many more mangled bodies, seeped with chemical poisoning ( Agent Orange to name just one ), so that the scam could continue. Why refer to it as a scam? Well, Eisenhower, in his famous farewell address of 1961, labeled the scam and its perpetrators: Military- Industrial Complex . Today it is called the War Economy whereupon about 50% of our tax dollars directly or indirectly fund it: The Beast as Nixon himself referred to it, for it was and is bigger than any one President or Political Party..... If ...... If the American public remains silent.

This writer need not rehash the redundant arguments already made in countless books and investigative articles. Bottom line: we Americans were lied to and misled by our government. We marched our young soldiers into a phony war on phony premises to illegally invade and occupy another sovereign ( once sovereign anyway ) nation.

The cost? In lives, over 4,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis..... for a lie!

There is a way out. Not so much a political one, rather a spiritually motivated path. The eastern philosophies and many Gnostic Christians see this whole life we are living as a dream, an illusion that we CO- created with our Creator. Why? To learn to draw closer to God through how we live our lives? This illusion offers choices, each and every day, to each and everyone of us: positive or negative behavior. To live a life of helping, sharing and forgiving..... Or to live a life of selfish ego.

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If that is the case, and since nations and systems of government and systems of commerce are really made up of people, then " People, speak up! " Why not tell our politicians and pundits that America should not be in Iraq, and just ..... Leave? Why not reason that to have over 700 military bases in over 100 countries is not making their citizens, the bakers and laborers and regular folk, very happy. Close em!

Ship the supplies and the personnel home, using those resources to protect our own borders. Cut back on redundant weapons purchases, now that our range of empire is dramatically decreased, saving our treasury billions in needed funds for more important work..... Like ...duh.... Improving rail travel? .

Then tell the US corporations that have abandoned American workers for cheap overseas labor: " OK guys, protect yourselves from now on, or maybe start paying higher wages and benefits to those serfs you engage to work for peanuts in your factories." As far as dealing with the high price of oil and gasoline? Well, let the public rise as one and demand a ' Windfall Profits Tax ' on Big Oil . How spiritual is it for CEOs and top executives to be earning tens and hundreds of millions while 98% of us struggle at the pump?

Politicians usually ' blow with the wind ' . They are adept at reading the public temperature and react accordingly. If we truly want change , as one candidate keeps selling us on, then it is time for we the people of America.... The regular folks, the ' 9 to 5 Americans ' , to stand up and keep on keeping on.

For now, it's but a dream...

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Philip A Farruggio [send him email] is a free lance columnist, small businessman and activist. Since the 2000 elections, he has written over 80 op ed columns- few if any get published or posted. to review some which have been shown, just google his name.

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