Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 17:37:15 -0000
From: leecallan@hotmail.com ("Sharon Lee Callan")
Subject: [lpaz-discuss] DEMOCRACY: IF YOU IGNORE IT, IT WILL GO AWAY
To: lpaz-discuss@yahoogroups.com
Reply-To: lpaz-discuss@yahoogroups.com
DEMOCRACY: IF YOU IGNORE IT, IT WILL GO AWAY
n a message dated 6/18/01 5:19:24 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
MsTerri26 writes:
>Subj: I LOVE THIS Date: 6/18/01 5:19:24 AM Pacific Daylight Time
>From: MsTerri26
>
>
>
>by Ed Reiman
>
>A pledge of allegiance for today --
>
>"I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States
and to the
>Republic for which it stands: One nation, indivisible, with
Liberty and
>Justice for all."
>
>Ladies and gentlemen, I come here today to speak as a father
and veteran.
>
>I would not presume to speak for all veterans... I'm just one
man who
>served in our most tragic conflict. I did nothing remarkable
in Vietnam; I
>did my job and came home to build a life and be a good
citizen.
>
>I am also speaking as the father of two wonderful young people
-- a son who
>will graduate from college next month, and a daughter who will
graduate
>from college a year from May. Today I speak for them and
millions of young
>people who will soon take the reins of our nation. They will
either inherit
>a country that belongs to them, or one that belongs to the few
who have
>recently grabbed power through the Supreme Court, a clearly
flawed
>electoral process, and the damnedest smoke-and-mirror job in
the history of
>American politics.
>
>And I am here to tell Dick Cheney, Don Rumfeld, Henry
Kissinger, George
>Shultz, James Baker and the rest of the Committee running this
country --
>and the corporations that own them (like Boeing, Lockheed
Martin, TRW, and
>others) -- We know who you are, we know what you've done and
how you did
>it, and -- if we have our way -- this is your last hurrah!
>
>And I am here today to tell Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, and Peter
Jennings --
>on the souls of Edward R. Murrow, Eric Sevareid, Chet Huntley,
and other
>past giants of the press -- that they must do a better job.
For our
>country's sake, they must. They can help us take our country
back, or they
>can let the tyrants will out.
>
>Simply stated: I want our country back.
>
>I want it back for us and for our kids.
>
>I want back the assurance that my vote will be counted, and
that my voice
>is heard between elections. Once-upon-a time my voice was
heard, and I did
>believe that my vote would be counted. Not now.
>
>Why do I feel so strongly?
>
>In 1966, I raised my right hand and swore, in part, to ". .
.protect and
>defend the Constitution of the United States. . .". I went to
Vietnam to
>uphold that oath in 1967. Many of you were caught up in the
same set of
>circumstances. I'm glad we made it through, and I still grieve
for those
>who didn't.
>
>It turns out we were being misled by incompetent and -- in
some cases --
>arguably criminal public figures, who had anything but this
country's best
>interests in mind -- and they sure as hell didn't care about
us or the
>people of Southeast Asia.
>
>The press and a misinformed electorate played along for too
many years.
>
>From about 1960 through 1968 our government and a gullible,
compliant press
>"sold" us on the idea of our involvement in Vietnam. After
"Tet" of 1968,
>the mainstream press finally began asking serious questions,
and
>"grown-ups" began to join the young in protesting the war. A
confused and
>bewildered nation elected Dick Nixon on his lie about a
"secret plan" to
>end the war, and the press danced along with the lie. But the
war dragged
>on another four bloody, useless years.
>
>Finally an irate public -- aided by a free press -- forced an
end to the
>war.
>
>During those bright and shining months the press did its job
and "We The
>People" -- through an independent Congress -- were heard. We
can make it
>happen again.
>
>Now we jump ahead thirty plus years.
>
>George W. did not run for President, nor was he elected.
Rather, the Bush
>name was successfully packaged and "marketed." Hundreds of
millions of
>dollars -- the bulk of which came from a mere handful of rich
individuals,
>a couple hundred corporations, and a small group of
ideological
>organizations -- sold us a product called "Bush." It could
just as well
>have been a new brand of dog food. The corporate media simply
carried
>commercials for the sham.
>
>And a credulous, compliant press helped in the marketing of
this
>unqualified ne're-do-well to an exhausted and battered
American electorate.
>Now that he's been appointed President, these same journalistscontinue to
>validate him by reporting "President Bush said today (you fill
in the
>blanks)."
>
>Horse feathers.
>
>G.W. hasn't said anything coherent - that was not written for
him - from
>the moment he was selected to run by the millionaires' club
that got him
>appointed. Every time he's left the script, he's made a fool
of himself and
>our country.
>
>Right now this country is being run by a detached, un-elected
committee
>whose policies are being delivered by a mouthpiece from Texas.
The more
>appointments they make, the more detac