I believe
history will judge Cynthia McKinney in a much more favorable light than those
who have recently demonized her.
Something is Terribly Wrong in America
by CYNTHIA McKINNEY
(Remarks at March 15 Anti-War Rally San
Francisco, California.)
We stand
here together. Shoulder to shoulder. Refusing to be denied the right to say no
to George Bush's war!
This Iraq war is about oil and regional
interests.
If it was about ending tyranny,
destroying weapons of mass destruction, and restoring democracy to Iraq then
George Bush's father could have done that in 1991. But he didn't. Saddam Hussein
and his murderous regime were kept in power.
And if we care about civilians suffering
under the heel of brutal regimes, and if we really want to defend human rights
worldwide, why are we starting and stopping at Iraq?
Why not do something about the suffering
in Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Burma, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Tibet, Afghanistan,
just to name a few?
But as we all know nothing will be
done.
In fact our military forces and
intelligence agencies may actually even worsen the suffering in those countries
because it suits our interests to do so. Just like when the American government
killed Salvadore Allende and replaced him with Augusto Pinochet.
American style regime change is nothing
new.
But when we dare to stand up and tell the
truth about how unjust this war is and question the motivations of its
protagonists we are called unpatriotic and accused of hating our
flag.
I don't hate my country and I certainly
don't hate my flag. In fact I love them so much I refuse to be quiet!
No more should we allow special interests
to lead yet another generation of young Americans off to war.
Our Founding Father, George Washington,
in his Farewell Address of 1796, warned us about the false patriots who would
wrap themselves in the American flag and at the same time sell our precious
American values to special interests.
George Washington didn't know it then,
but we know it now, that he was talking about people like George W. Bush who
would betray our values and our country in pursuit of an unnecessary
war.
You, gathered here today, are the true
patriots.
The day our streets are free from
protestors like you will be the day our democracy is dead.
Those of us who oppose Bush's war span
the spectrum.
We are conservative, radical â¤"
Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Reform, and we are Green.
We come from all walks of
life.
We are the thinkers and the workers that
make America strong.
We are all religions and we are all races
joined together today.
That's why George W. Bush proposes to
spend $200 million on a public relations campaign to convince you and the world
that war in Iraq is justified. Telling the truth shouldn't be so
expensive.
If war in Iraq is truly justified and is
about restoring freedoms to the people of Iraq then why doesn't the Bush
Administration restore our freedoms here at home?
Why does the San Francisco Police
Department need to collect, in violation of their own department rules, dossiers
on peaceful anti-war protesters?
What does our government fear from
us?
The Bush Administration has even failed
to convince our most important opinion leaders when it comes to war and peace:
the veterans.
Veterans increasingly are being counted
among the ranks of anti-war protesters. Why? Because more than anyone else, our
veterans know the horror of war.
They know it's easy to talk about war if
you've never been to war.
They know the horror of coming back to
face the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs for help with
post-traumatic stress syndrome, Gulf War syndrome, exposure to Agent Orange and
depleted uranium, cancer, birth defects, Lou Gehrig's disease, infertility,
memory loss, and homelessness.
In fact, 25% of all our homeless are
veterans. And they sleep on the streets of America every night. Many even living
across the street from the White House.
While our military spend billions of
dollars on aircraft, ships, tanks, and laser guided missiles $25 billion already
just to get the troops in position for this war-- our government can't give a
warm meal and shelter to the veterans who have served our country and who are
now in need.
Something is terribly wrong; and that's
the thanks of a grateful nation.
Now President Bush would have you believe
that he cares about our young service men and women.
But he doesn't.
Just like he doesn't care about the
veterans.
And let us remember . . .
George Bush, Dick Cheney, Richard Perle,
Paul Wolfowitz, where were you when America needed you?
Part of that $200 million in public
relations money the Administration is spending is to make us think that George
Bush follows in the footsteps of the world's greatest wartime
leaders.
But while Saddam Hussein can be counted
among the world's tyrants, George W.
