Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Standing Up




Outside the Hall, Photo Courtesy of Karen Katz






Normally, I do not expect to discuss politics here. That's not to say that I don't have opinions, or am unaware of what is going on, I most certainly am (just ask Doug, he hears my daily rants), but I just feel that so many others are able to more clearly and coherently discuss politics than I can.

However, today I make an exception. On Sunday I participated in a peace march and rally held in our small town to commemorate the third anniversary of the beginning of this inexplicable war that our lying, greedy, insensitive president and administration has led us into. I am not a sign carrying, chanting type of girl but I will support a demonstration that I feel strongly about and this war, uh, invasion definitely qualifies. Our friend and neighbor, Adrian, was one of the organizers and I also wanted to support his efforts. There was a great turnout, at least 300 people (pretty good for such a small community), adults, children, and media alike. We marched down Main Street and then gathered in a local hall for speeches, songs and performances by local citizens. Everyone who spoke was very passionate and knowledgeable about this action by our government and spoke of our dependence on oil, the importance of protest, and the tragic loss of nearly 40,000 and perhaps more, Iraqis and 2,318 of our strong, beautiful young men and women that have been sent to die. Sent to die not for our freedom, but so Bush, Cheney and crew can gain more wealth, so our civil rights can be taken away, so we can continue along happily consuming 25% of the world's oil.

Tomorrow I will go back to writing about my frivolous life as a mother, wife and artist. But I am also going to get more involved, starting with writing letters to senators, representatives, and most importantly, to our stupid ass president. Just so you know.

We should all be standing up for what is right.

5 comments:

martha said...

Boy, I'm with you on this one. When Bush started talking about overthrowing Iraq in the aftermath of 9/11, I was literally incredulous. I thought I'd heard wrong. It was so transparently an excuse to do something he personally wanted to do, and he's been responsible for thousands of deaths and a seriously destabilized Middle East as a result. The whole thing makes me sick. And irate.

Tracy Helgeson said...

Thanks Martha. know what you mean. I still remember having dinner with friends after 9/11 and talking about how ridiculous it was that Bush was even entertaining the idea of invading Iraq. Classic bully behavior, except the the stakes are so high in this situation.

Tracy Helgeson said...

Hi Cecily, yes, abortion is another place where we all really need to start getting involved. I think those who are pro-choice have not been vocal enough, and the pro-lifers have been able to advance. Guess I better get moving on that issue too.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you. Dubya has made a mess of everything. Perhaps Hillary should come back and do some house cleaning?

Tracy Helgeson said...

Hi Robin, A few years ago I would have thought Hillary could be a good president, but after seeing her as a senator I'm not so sure. (ok, she would be WAY better than Bush) I loved that she ran for and became a senator but I just can't get behind her anymore. She seems to jump on the latest trend with out being the one in the lead. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong about what she's doing, but she just doesn't inspire me with much confidence, which bums me out because I would LOVE a woman as president.