The Problem with Protest

First of all, I support protest. I imagine everyone supports protest when it is in protest of something or someone denying them a right, or privilege, or function or such and such. Some folks are against anti-war protestors, for instance (these would be people, I guess, FOR war). Therefore, theoretically, they might protest the ending of a war. So most people would probably be considered PRO-protest.

Protest today, however (and I'm referring to speaking out against the war in Iraq and against the present administration), seems to me to come across as a lot of what is referred to as "preaching to the choir."

But I guess the problem with protest is really my problem, because, despite my daily confirmation of the proud ignorance of many Americans, I'm still left slack-jawed by the percentage of polled citizens who still stand behind the war in Iraq and the present administration. I am notoriously ruthless towards dummies, and immediately verbally corral those who do not question authority with those who utter sentences such as "this is America -- love it or leave it," or ask me when I am sitting alone in public, "what are you reading -- a book?"

You know the type.

That's who the rhetoric of protest is aimed at, and for which it is meant to inspire independent thought. But that's not who it's reaching, I think. Protest, satire, and other forms of non-violent admonitions reach me. And if it's funny, I'll laugh, and conclude with an "I know."

I'm not saying don't protest; I don't know what I'm saying. But I'm fairly certain that no one I've mocked will ever read this (well, it's doubtful that ANYONE will read this, but if they do, it'll probably just be you.)

An exception to my latest blather, though, is the anti-war protest that has blossomed from Cindy Sheehan's establishment of Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas, as she attempts to persuade President Bush to speak to her concerning the death of her son in Iraq. The gathering and its mission seems like it should be hitting America right in the heart.

Sadly, it may take a personal tragedy like the one that has struck Cindy Sheehan (and thousands more like her) to turn those many stubborn and selfish Americans around to see the possibly irrreparable damage done to our country by the current administration. There really was a time, I might have to someday explain to my nephews, when America was a respected country, admired for its freedoms and ideals, instead of feared and loathed by the rest of the world for its intimidation and imperialism.

Teddy Roosevelt, where are you?

Oh, yeah, yr dead.

Buddha Bless America.

He Loves Me? No, He Loves Me Not...

Why does President George W. Bush, and presumably his whole cabinet, hate American Soldiers?
I don't know. He just does.
Perhaps because of some twisted guilt for ditching his own service. (I know his supporters say he didn't, but for those of you with even the faintest grasp of logic, and also an understanding of research, one can easily observe his ignoring the call of duty to his nation. Jesus Christ, I mean, come on...).
But here are some purported, and most likely verified, facts to back up my statement:
1. No exit plan, and hardly an efficient entrance plan either.
2. Too few soldiers completing too many tours.
3. Too MANY soldiers too ill-equipped to sustain "insurgent" attacks, i.e., insuffient armor, insufficient weapons, insufficient guidance.
4. A refusal to attend soldiers' funerals.
5. A refusal to even honor the soldiers' deaths by allowing American citizens to view their flag-draped caskets.
6. His insistence that our nation continue the illegal war in Iraq.
7. His lack of hesitance to send more soldiers to their potential deaths in his faux-christian obsession to dominate the world for the sake of Jesus Christ, who even now is spinning in his grave.
8. His lack of hesitance to extend our soldiers' stay in Iraq and Afghanistan despite an obvious physical and moral fatigue.
9. His dismissal of the will of the overwhelming majority of the citizens to end this fascist and treacherous invasion of a sovereign nation.
10. His selfishness, cloaked in hyoscisy, engulfed by a cheesecloth patriotism.

Bush and his cabinet do not care for Americans unless they are rich Americans, or rich Saudi Arabians, or rich whoevers. Every time he mentions God, he uses the Lord's name in vain, which is a violation of the Ten Commandments, whether you believe in it or not. And don't foget this one: Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness. You know what I'm talking about. And if you don't, chances are you're not reading this anyway.

I guess I'm just preaching to a handful of the converted.

Anyway, here's a bumper sticker I think I saw on the back of the President's limo (more bullet-proof than most tanks in Iraq):