10 years ago

10 years ago today we went to war in Iraq.  Under false pretenses, under fear of weapons of mass destruction, since proven never existed as a threat.  I was against it all, still am.  I wrote, I sang, I joined New Yorkers Say NO To War.  I marched.

Today even through my cynical and sad eyes, I can still honor all the fallen, all the victims on all sides, all the heros. men, women, the National Guard members who were swept up into the non-debate of a non-draft country and government which remembered what happened when it's citizens rose up against another misbegotten war in Vietnam. I saw through the slick, tricky, slippery slope creation of "Military Contractors" who were making more money in 1 year than countless US soldiers combined.  And the corporations who really are the  financial "winners" in this human tragedy never could be won war.

I still believe our US entitlement throughout the world is hurting us all.  I continue to support efforts of diplomacy in the name of peace.  You may say I'm a dreamer, but without dreams what's life for?

Here's a song for today.  My song "Dedicate"

10 years ago today peace was still an option, download free Dedicate,  I dedicate my life to peace. Can you dedicate? 

 

Of longing …why sadly Arizona, Oil rigs and Wars continue……

If you’ve been following my blogging you can tell that I like to speak honestly, I have strong opinions and although I might rant, I choose to see the light in the world. I have longings to see the world in a healthier and balanced place. I do want to believe that as an individual I can make the world a better place. Collectively as individuals we make a huge sum of all our parts and collectively we can change the things that weaken us, make us not so proud. I believe that in order to heal, to grow and change our ‘thinking only of me’ ways so prevalent in America, we need to return to basics in our society. Basics like ethics, do they even teach it in school anymore? Honesty? Integrity? Altruism? These are not ideals, these are not concepts, these are not to be only for a few to understand and pursue. These have to be at the core of our foundation. I sing in the subway, underground

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Obama Speaks at West Point Extra, Extra More Troops to Afghanistan

We are so precious. So how could we have gotten to the point of occupation in the name of liberation? For eight years I have been shuddering, pained by the loss of life, rush to war, lingering in war, a ‘renewed’ focus on the war and now this. Continued casualties in the name of national security Continents away. Increasing troops by thirty thousand? How did ‘they’ arrive at this number? And then be so convinced, that’s all they’ll need, only eighteen months and then home as if on a business trip. Hmmmm, makes one question. A speech at West Point, to make a military, might point? Cadets=volunteers who carry the weight of these decisions heavily on their shoulders. Enlisted under what pressure? No conscription
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"Aftermath" at New York Theatre Workshop

Last night I went to New York Theatre Workshop’s Opening of ‘Aftermath’ by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen.  ‘Aftermath’ is a very poignant and disturbing play about the Iraq war. The dialogue came directly from Iraqi refugee interviews held in Jordan.  Theatre is such an amazing place to wrestle with perspective and reality, and this piece hits deep in the gut.  It is clearly bruising yet strangely uplifting, in the way stories of survival amidst terrible tragedy do.  Making it harder and more difficult to experience the theatrical piece was the underlying truth that each character’s tragedy was in reality wrought by our country’s war.