Tuesday, April 17, 2007

A Culture of Violence

3309 3311*,32,43. No, not the combination to the lock on your storage locker, but the number of deaths of American soldiers to date, in the BushCo 'war on terrah,' number of people killed in yesterday's campus massacre, and the average number of Iraqis that die each day in Iraq. Listening to the radio this morning, the news yesterday and the content everywhere in the US media today, I hasten to point out that the tragedy that befell Virginia Tech yesterday is a 'light' day in Iraq. Violence like this is daily fare in the 'preemptive war' on a country that had no connection to 9/11. Our invasion and subsequent occupation, was based on lies told to the American people, that are still being perpetuated today.

Whether it is the 40-something Iraqis dying daily or the 3 or 4 soldiers that are slaughtered, the carnage goes "the way forward," the admintration-produced, propaganda-filled new name for "stay the course," every single day. A senseless, sordid, waste of life. Where's the outrage? The outpouring of community support, the media, the murmurings of condolence? Is it because Iraqis who die are 'over there,' removed from the day-to-day lives of Americans? American soldiers are just 'doing their job,' one that comes with much risk so their deaths are more or less expected?
Please keep in mind as you read this, of the Iraqis dying daily, most all of them were just trying to go about their daily lives as best they can. Going to the market, work, school when suddenly a bomb goes off, or others open fire with automatic weapons. American soldiers would not be in harm's way if it weren't for the inhuman, murderous policies of the Bush administration.

Don't take my word for it. Read the the words of professionals, Larry Johnson, former CIA operative and State department official and read the article "Greetings from the Red Zone" by Lawrence Korb, a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a Senior Advisor to the Center for Defense Information. We live in a culture of violence that is perpetuated daily and when it hits close to home is the only time we pay attention. Can we let this be our last wake-up call to stop this war? It's up to you America.

*Two more American soldier deaths since this was posted at 9:44 this morning.

No comments: