"Here is my advice as we begin the century that will lead to 2081. First, guard the freedom of ideas at all costs. Be alert that dictators have always played on the natural human tendency to blame others and to oversimplify. And don't regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with to free, public, unhampered expression."
----Gerard K. O'Neil, 2081
Dear sirs and madams:
In the last seven years have seen atrocities done in the name of freedom. Wars have been waged, political icons assassinated, civil liberties denied, amnesty hold ups, imprisonment of the innocent, attacks on free speech, attacks on religion, attack on our moral fiber. I don't think my generation will ever see something as horrific as the gross attacks we experienced on 11 September 2001. I fear that my generation will look back to this time and say, "We failed. We failed ourselves; we failed our children; we failed on the dream."
Each day, a young man or woman, most just out of high school, enlist in the arm forces with false information. The war we're fighting isn't for our freedom. It isn't even for the national security. Each and every day, I hear that I should support our troops because they allow me to have a voice in this country. I no longer will stand for such chicanery. We have accept the truth. And we want a change in our nation.
On 4 November 2008, we will march and we will vote for the one who is most likely to lead us out of the mess that this last administration has gotten us into. We will see to it that no Republican, or Democrat, or any political figure, will ever deceive a nation during its weakest moment.
Today is Presidents' Day. Schools across the nation are learning the history of the two most important figures our history has to offer. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are remembered for their part in shaping the country; they both led wars against and enemy who wanted to steal our natural, and to some god-given, rights.
We have lost our way. We have lost the reason why this country was founded. We have witness that the First Amendment means nothing to those in power. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to speak up in a public crowd and disagree with the President of the United States of America.
We've witness mothers being ignored for the death of their sons; children sacrificed for oil; politicians use the media like Fox News, CNN, a ton of other outlets as marionette puppets, hurrahing a pointless war effort; a PATRIOT Act was established and signed on 26 October 2001 in order to protect our national security. No congressman bothered to read the ACT before voting it in.
The irony of the PATRIOT ACT is that it managed to eat away at our freedoms. The people in charge--we, as well, for we turned a blind apathetic eye towards the system because of fear and ignorance--have failed to protect us and continue to fail in order to access some personal wealth, personal vengeance.
Ward Churchill wrote:
"On Sept. 12, while seeking to explain the reason underlying the 9-1-1 attack to the American people, he has explained that it's because "they hate our freedom." Thereafter, in apparent acknowledgment of the power "they" possess, he and selected congressional leaders team up to abolish what little remains of freedom in the U.S..." (254)
No one else comes to mind on the subject of freedom like Martin Luther King, Jr. On 28 August 1963 he stood at the Lincoln Memorial and made the now famous, possibly then infamous, "I Have a Dream" speech. Violence was never the answer to the pains of suffering. The word was mightier than the sword, the pen the excaliber of Camelot. He stood there and proclaimed, demanded, shouted, professed for his freedom. They had marched to the capital to "cash a check." The monetary funds was freedom. They would not accept the excuse of "insufficient funds.
"When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." (650)
What freedoms have we seen? What amnesty has been created for my brothers on the other side of the border? A new zeitgeist has been sweeping through the valleys of our nations, creating hatred, where there should be love. And our politicians act on this to gain their momentum.
Freedom is our right by birth. Nothing the unlawful harming of others, of a society, of a human, child, woman, man, brother, sister, mother, father, uncle, aunt, grandparents, etc. shall ever take away such freedom.
As Thomas Paine said, "ignorance, neglect, or contempt of human rights" begets "public misfortunes and corruptions of Government." (119). We, as a nation, vow to no longer to ignore the government, its policies and its wars. We, as a nation, vow to no longer neglect the rights of others and of ourselves.
We have "sacred rights" that we must adhere to. And not just as a country, but as a universal whole.
"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression." --Thomas Paine
We must call a "farewell to arms." We must lay down the sword. If you want to be considered Christians, then you must follow Christ's Sermon on the Mount:
"You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." But I tell you not to resist him who is evil; rather whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also....You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you."
"War, always an evil, is sometimes the lesser of two evils." We shall remember this. War is only necessary when it threatens our way of life. Vow to never again lead us to war where no threat, no enemy of our freedom lives. We shall keep close vigilance on the capital for this.
"Politicians react to terrorism by limiting liberties, the West's most cherished possession, in hopes of facilitating the capture of the minuscule percentage of people who are zealots intent on perpetrating atrocities." No politician shall be granted permission to eliminated, liquidate, annihilated the freedoms of his nation, or any nation.
As Thomas Paine states:
"The Law ought to prohibit only actions hurtful to society. What is not prohibited by the law should not be hindered; nor should any one be compelled to that which the law does not require.
""No man ought to be molested on account of his opinions, not even on account of his religious opinions, provided his avowal of them does not disturb the public order established by the law." (120-121)
We must protect our brothers. We must give a passageway for those hardworking who want to be here. In order to do so, immigration laws must be reformed. Militia groups like the Minute Men, who impose racism and violence, fear tactics to the brown colored women, men and children, guarding the border with fire arms shall no longer be needed. Racists and white supremacists have no part in our new free world.
I ask of you to bring down the ways that the government has been playing its cards. We must no longer allow mass genocide of children in foreign nations to go on, while we point fingers at abortionists. We shall no longer kill innocent civilians. We shall no longer bomb a country in the midst of night to flex our muscle.
A war must only be implemented on those responsible for attacks on US soil. No one else, unless back with proper and real evidence, shall shoulder the blame.
We ask you to remove the troops from Iraq so that no mother shall ever have to go through another child's death.
We call for change. We call for peace. We call for truth.
Which of you is willing to answer?
