July 20, 2006
by Steve Osborn
I write more letters to my representatives than I do articles for publication and the answers I receive are almost always form letters. Regardless of subject, the wording is almost the same. They thank me for writing them about (Fill in the blank) They, too, are concerned about (Fill in the blank) Then there are reasons why (Fill in the blank) is not possible at this time. Then there is a stock close inviting us to please write more of our concerns.
I recently wrote three concerns to my representative, Rick Larsen, D-WA-2. I wrote of my concerns about impeaching the Bush Gang; getting out of Iraq; closing the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), the American run assassination and torture academy formerly known as the School of the Americas.
The answer to impeachment was that it was too arduous and time consuming and not effective. Instead, we should concentrate on making life better for Americans, and we should stay in Iraq, but see that our shattered veterans get better care at home.
The answer to getting out of Iraq was a reminder that he had voted against the war (I wrote a, now regretted, article praising him as a true American hero), but now that we are there, we must stay the course, but perhaps find some way to curb the waste and fraud of our own companies in Iraq. He is also against the cutting of veteran's benefits. These are the same arguments that kept us in Vietnam for several years, many thousands of casualties and a million or so Vietnamese deaths.
The answer to closing the torture school was that he voted against funding the school, but was overruled, so now he will watch it closely. Riight! Between campaign junkets.
About the only reason I would vote for Larsen is that he is not a Republican, but I'm damned if I can see much difference anymore.
We have got to elect some people that have some sense of history, that will stop repeating the same mistakes over and over. To see the same justifications made that kept us in Vietnam is disgusting!
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"Well, we shouldn't have started the war in the first place, but as long as we are there, we must stay the course until victory is ours."
Occupying a sovereign nation against the will of its people never leads to victory unless you are going to exterminate the entire populace. The more you kill and oppress, the more quisling governments you put in, the more hated you become and the more the people try to get rid of you. Brutality begets brutality on both sides. Look at Israel and Palestine.
We have to get representation that believes in our founding documents. That realizes that the words of the Declaration of Independence are as true for other oppressed nations as they were for us; that realize that the prime governing documents of the United States of America are the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights, not the USA Patriot Act and the National Security Strategy of the President.
We have to get representatives that represent We the People of the United States, not the lobbyists and international cartels that now rule the roost.
So let's find them and draft them into running, then try to protect them from the poisonous atmosphere of Washington DC so they can work for both us and the US, which should be synonymous.
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Stephen M. Osborn [send him email] is a freelance writer living on Camano Island in the Pacific Northwest. He is an "Atomic Vet." (Operation Redwing, Bikini Atoll 1956, ) who has been very active working and writing for nuclear disarmament and world peace. He is a retired Fire Battalion Chief, lifelong sailor, writer, poet, philosopher, historian and former newspaper columnist.
