Open Letter to Mr. Darrell Andersen, and All Other Conscientious Objectors of the War in Iraq
Dear Mr. Andersen,
Last night, I read about your story and heard that your mother had been interviewed on the radio. It is now 4:00 am and all I can think about is your story, so I decided I would write you this letter.
However, while this letter is addressed to you, my thoughts here are also directed towards all of those whose names I do not know, but who, like yourself, have so honorably fled this war and so courageously resisted against the insatiable war machine that is the US government. This letter is directed to all of those who have taken a stand against the genocide, the tyranny and the occupation of a sovereign nation in the name of greed, in the name of the sense of superiority over other peoples, in the name of power, and ludicrously, in the "name of Christ".
Know that while you all take a stand against this contemporary Crusade, you are at the same time taking a stand for your own souls by expressing your free will, your right to chose. Each time we refuse to say, "No!" in the face of tyranny, in the face of injustice, in the face of a choice between doing what is right and what we know at the deepest level of our beings to be wrong, we lose a part of ourselves. A piece of our beings wither and die. You have made a choice to honor that which is right, that which is ethical. You have made a choice to honor that which is eternal in all of you - and for that, I in turn honor all of you.
I have seen videos and photographs depicting US soldiers who have executed and tortured innocents. Who have run them down with their tanks and then complained because they had only just cleaned all the blood off from the last "joy ride". Who have held up the hands of dead men so they could wave to the camera. Who have filmed and photographed their "kills" as though their actions were something to be proud of. In short, I have witnessed, as many of us have, the actions of soldiers who, it would seem, have no souls.
Take comfort in the fact that you are not men and women such as these.
There are those who would call you "defectors", "traitors", "cowards" - but you are the opposite. You are all the examples of true courage, true fortitude, and true heroism. For it takes a hero to stand up against and resist that which you have resisted - a government, a military, injustice and genocide - in the face of persecution and imprisonment. This mad world in which we reside has so few heroes. There are not many left, but you are among them. Take heart in that, and let it give you strength to continue your struggle for Truth and Justice. The struggle to keep your souls intact.
I wish you all possible wisdom and strength on that journey.
Let your voices be heard.
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posted by K at 9:26 PM
2 Comments:
How do you justify the tortuous killings of american soldier or ciivlian workers by the insurgents? I do not justify the horrible atrocities committed by the US soldier acting by their own free will, and I would much less justify the sanctioned atrocities by authority figures. But if you attempt to say we are better than them, you belittle the people of Iraq, saying we are better than them.
Hello, anonymous.
Thank you for your comment to my most recent post. It appears as though your concern lies with both Americans who are in Iraq, as well as Iraqis - and so it should be, as the life of one person is of no greater or lesser value than the life of another - regardless of nationality, race, color or religion.
You asked, "How do you justify the tortuous killings of american soldiers or ciivlian workers by the insurgents?"
I do not agree with the taking of the life of another - any life. In an ideal world, this would not happen. In an ideal world, there would be no war. However, we do not live in an ideal world. You must keep in mind that the Americans are in Iraq as OCCUPIERS, regardless of whatever way they might like to dress it up and make it look like something else. Tell me, what would you do if a foreign nation invaded your country and began murdering your family and neighbors? How would you react to such provocation? The only way to end the killing of both Iraqis and the Americans who are occupying their country is to end the war and the occupation. Period. If that should happen, then those responsible for the war crimes that we have been witness to should be brought to justice - first among them, George W. Bush.
You wrote in your last sentence, "But if you attempt to say we are better than them, you belittle the people of Iraq, saying we are better than them."
I must admit, I am a little bewildered by this comment. When did I, at any point in that post, attempt to say or even imply that we are "better" than the Iraqi people? It is first and foremost by those who are suffering at the hands of tyrants and tyrannical governments that I stand, which includes both the Iraqis and American soldiers who have left their ranks because their consciences would not allow them to remain any longer, and are persecuted and forced into exile for it. I have voiced my support for those Iraqis suffering a genocide at the hands of the American government more than once in this weblog. Yesterday, I voiced my support for American conscientious objectors who are suffering at the same hands because they refuse to kill.
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