Photo credit: Reuters

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Recording Evil


Dear Mr. President,
I’m told these letters are a waste of time. My brother says they won’t do a damn bit of good. A 12-step program to get out of the Lesser of Two Evils syndrome advises, “Cut off all contact with Obama, Holder, Clinton and Pelosi. No more phone calls or writing letters. They are aware of what they are doing and they just don't care what you think.” I agree my letters aren’t going to make a bit of difference—if you even see one; no response to a single one of my latest 73 letters. Of course, I didn’t expect my letter writing campaign would make a difference but that’s not the point. The point is to keep reminding myself that you’re not the lesser of two evils, that you’re the more effective of two evils, and to record the evil you do in our name: the expanded wars, the kill lists, the targeted assassinations—all war crimes—and the injustice you condone: the incarceration of whistleblowers like Bradley Manning, the suppression of dissent and information you deem unfavorable like your pursuit of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, the incompetence, stupidity and waste of the wars on terror, drugs, women, the middle class and all the other unjust wars you pursue. You’re in campaign mode now, ready to accept the nomination of the Democratic Party. Your slogans, “Forward” and “Help Me Finish the Job” make me cringe. Here’s what you’ve accomplished so far: 13,000 American killed or wounded in Afghanistan; 20,000 Afghan civilians killed or wounded; $614 billion spent on the war (67% of the entire cost of the war since 2001). This is a senseless waste of lives and money that has accomplished nothing but violence at home and abroad, hatred of America that will last for generations, a betrayal of America and the destruction of democracy, freedom and justice. You, Mr. President, are the worst President in history. You have consciously gutted the Constitution, ignored the rule of law and committed war crimes with disregard, no different than any petty tyrant anywhere. The people you finger for assassination, the authorization you give to fire a Hellfire missile into a vehicle without even knowing for sure who’s in it, are all war crimes (the latest yesterday, 8 people killed in Yemen, 3 of them women and the terrorist leader you were after wasn’t in the vehicle). You are no better than James Holmes in Aurora or Jared Loughner in Tucson or Anders Breivik in Norway. You are a war criminal, a mass murderer a disgrace to the office, to the country, to humanity.

No comments:

Post a Comment