Saturday, May 26, 2007

Memorial Day Remembrance for One of My Senators

Dear Senator Durbin:

 

You failed us. You and former Senator Graham of Florida, and others on the Intelligence Committees in Congress, of both parties, failed us miserably.

 

I suppose that, as elected officials, you are not free to "resign in protest" when something egregiously wrong is done by our government - you wanted to serve and you were elected to do so. So, what you are left with is civil disobedience, which carries with it an implicit willingness to accept and endure any legal consequences of honor-bound actions.

 

Yes, I know, you and Senator Graham tried to sneak the truth out years ago before and during the stupidity that is Bush's war in Iraq - but you were way too coy and subtle. It was a time for clear talk, not secret codes whispered in the dark, or mumbled under your breath.

 

So, instead of telling us what we needed to know, you let many of our young sons and daughters die and tens of thousands more become demented, demoralized or dismembered, rather than sacrifice your job, your electability or your freedom. Heck, I've walked away from well-paying jobs for far less reason than you had.

 

As a result, you (and I mean "you" in the plural form, i.e., for you and all the others who failed us) are not in jail because you did not spill what you knew when you should have, when it would have mattered. (Oh, for a Martin Luther King, a Nelson Mandella, when we need one.) So, on your hands, too, there is the blood of many Americans, not to mention Iraqis and others now dead and dying.

 

Oh, and one more thing, PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND to this message - I have little interest in hearing from a staff member of yours, nor is there, now, any point in us hearing you. Unless you can turn back the clock and calendar, there is no longer any reason for us, the people, to hear much at all from you (in the plural sense).