Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 11:21:49 -0700 (PDT) From: Wolf Factory <wolf_factory-AT-yahoo.com> Subject: Re: the speech Bush could give Dream on! --- saeed urrehman <saeed.urrehman-AT-anu.edu.au> wrote: > THE SPEECH > GEORGE W. BUSH COULD GIVE: > By Doug Morris > Good evening, my fellow Americans. > St. Augustine said that hope has two beautiful > daughters: anger and > courage. Anger at the way things are, and courage to > struggle to create > things as they should be. These acts perpetrated > against humanity today > were acts of anger at the way things are. They were > not courageous acts, > but horrendous atrocities, acts of anger laced with > hate. Our first > response must be support and compassion for the > victims, and families and > friends of the victims. But, in addition, we should > ask ourselves what > conditions led these fellow humans to develop such > anger and hatred, led > them to commit such abominably inhumane acts, and > why was it directed at > these particular targets in the United States? > We should not repress our anger and indignation at > these hateful and > callous acts, or our anger and indignation at all > hateful and callous acts, > but our anger must be accompanied not by hate, but > with love, and by the > courage to struggle to create a more just world, and > THAT my fellow > Americans will require a major effort to question, > understand, challenge, > change and raise OUR national consciousness. Please, > my fellow Americans, > listen with open ears, open minds and open hearts. > While no loving and decent human will tolerate acts > of terror, we must try > to understand the extremely difficult question: why? > For example, what is > the symbolic significance of the Pentagon and the > World Trade Center in the > eyes of the world? And here, my fellow Americans we > must search deep into > our own history, our own policies, our own pursuits, > our own impositions, > and, our own hearts. It is painful, but, let us be > blunt: the war against > terrorism has begun, violently. The two most potent > symbols of global > military and economic violence, global military and > economic terrorism, > have been struck. These were cowardly and > unconscionable acts, to be sure, > and, as in most acts of terror, the innocent suffer > most, the working > class, the toiling class. We must launch a war > against terrorism, > non-violently. A.J. Muste, committed pacifist, > advised us that in a world > built on violence we must be revolutionaries before > we are pacifists. > That is, we must work to abolish the institutions of > violence, non-violently. > However, make no mistake, my fellow Americans, the > Pentagon IS the center > of world military violence and terrorism. The US is > the worlds leading > exporter of tools of death and destruction. Let us > be honest, we have been > committed to violence as a way to address > international conflicts for many, > many years. And a PARTIAL list of the results of our > commitment to violence > includes: Korea millions killed. Vietnam millions > killed. Cambodia > hundreds of thousands killed. Laos hundreds of > thousands killed. Iraq > hundreds of thousands killed. Guatemala hundreds of > thousands killed. > Hiroshima and Nagasaki hundreds of thousands > killed. East Timor > hundreds of thousands killed. Nicaragua tens of > thousands killed. El > Salvador tens of thousands killed. Colombia tens > of thousands killed. > Dominican Republic thousands killed. Somalia > thousands killed. Haiti > thousands killed. Yugoslavia thousands killed. > Panama hundreds killed. > And let us not forget the ways in which we have > mistreated the Cuban people > for over 40 years now with our embargo and repeated > acts of terrorism. Let > us remember my fathers words during the buildup to > the US attack on Iraq: > there will be no negotiationswhat we say goes. No > negotiations simply > means we prefer violence. What we say goes expresses > the arrogance, > chauvinism and mystique of invincibility that has > separated the US from the > world. Both views express the notion that the US is > above international law > and the UN Charter, outside the family of nations. > Is it any wonder that > Harvard professor Samuel Huntington said that in the > eyes of most of the > world the US is seen as THE rogue superpower, > considered THE single > greatest external threat to their societies? The > world quakes in its boots > wondering when we will attack, and what form of > violence will ensue: cruise > missiles, helicopter gunships, chemical or > biological agents, nuclear > bombs, F18s, F22s, B52s, fumigation campaigns, > IMF/World Bank > Structural Adjustment Programs, or Austerity > Programs, embargoes, > sanctions, disappearances, assassinations, > massacres, tortures, cultural > cooptation or erasure, etc., etc., etc. > The Bible warns us: what ye sew, ye shall reap. > Today, sadly, we have > experienced what we have sewn on much of the world. > Today, as a country, we > have learned that raining death and destruction on > another country creates > a toll far higher than simply destroyed buildings > and dead bodies. Today > our freedom came under attack. We thought we were > free to impose military > and economic violence anywhere we chose, with > impunity. The freedom from > impunity appears to no longer exist. The World Court > attempted to sanction > the US for our commitment to violence but the Reagan > Administration claimed > that the World Court had no jurisdiction over our > actions. Yes, we have > been, and we are a rogue state, and, my fellow > Americans, it must stop! > Tonight, my fellow Americans we must raise a call of > humility, a humility > that does not in any way diminish humanity, but a > humility that raises the > respect for, and dignity of, all people, a humility > that allows us to > celebrate all human life. It is time that we joined > the world, not as its > major purveyor of violence and destruction, but as a > peaceful participant > who will work to end violence, end racism, end > classism, end sexism, rather > than increase them. The proposed Pentagon budget, > the violence budget, > for next year is $330 billion dollars. I am tonight > proposing an immediate > 50% decrease in this spending that promotes > violence, and calling for a > redistribution those funds to help ameliorate > problems of hunger, poverty > and poor-health around the world. It is a call to > reach out with love, and > a call to find the courage to struggle to create a > more just, peaceful, > healthful and equitable world, a world in which > human creativity is > celebrated rather than the human capacity for great > violence. > Tonight we must call on the world to forgive us OUR > sins, forgive us OUR > sordid and calamitous acts of violence that we have > pursued without pause > for over 50 years. Let this be the beginning of our > reconciliation with the > world. We now, to some degree, understand the pain, > misery and suffering we > have caused, the turmoil we have perpetrated, the > hate we have elicited, > the destruction we have imparted, the physical, > emotional, psychological > and spiritual scars and unconscionable hurt we have > created and that much > of the world has endured because of our rapacious > and destructive pursuit > of wealth, power and privilege at the expense of > human concerns and human > lives. We humbly beg the forgiveness of all > humanity, as we pray that you > will offer your support, your compassion, your > understanding, and your love > in our time of suffering, mourning and loss. > This is not a time, as it is never a time, to seek > vengeance, but a time to > seek the courage to forgive, to harbor the power of > anger to be used in > acts of love, and to uncover insights that will > allow us to direct our > indignation at the institutions of power, violence > and === message truncated == ===="All the wolves in the wolf factory paused at noon, for a moment of silence." ........from laughing Gravy by John Ashbery. --------------------------------------------------------- Looking for something good and original to read? Check out: http://www.mesopotamia.free-online.co.uk __________________________________________________ Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help? 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