Not that I think it will do any good. Not that I think it will change anyone's mind. But the news I've been reading in the paper every day has gotten so bad, it has almost become a matter of conscience.
This is not the first time I've done so. I sent letters with similar sentiments, maybe less gracefully worded, in 1991, on the eve of the last Gulf War. (I also remember sending an angry letter ending my subscription to Newsweek, for war-related reasons. That thundering exit was received in silence.) I received, in due time, polite form letters thanking me for my concerns, but here's the reason why we need to do it this way, etc., etc.
That was before anthrax scares and homeland security and a lot of other scary issues. Heck, I'm not even sure these letters get opened any more. But for some reason I am compelled to write them.
I am a shameless peacemonger, as are many of the people I know. But what drove me to write, finally, was not only the threat of war but the relentless belligerence of the administration's rhetoric. I got mad, in short, because I don't like their tone. I don't like it, and I don't want to give the impression that it represents me. In the 11 years since I last wrote such letters I have learned the value of diplomacy. I've also learned that bullying, threatening, and pouting in public are not necessarily the best way to get people to do things, at least not in good faith.
Shameless peacemongering follows. Find your elected representatives' addresses here.
Dear President Bush:
(slightly rewritten letters also went to my Congressmen)
I write to you because I am very concerned about the direction my country is headed under your leadership. I am one of the many Americans opposed to the threatened war on Iraq and one of the still many more who are unconvinced that you and your administration have made a justifiable case, with evidence, that such a war is necessary.
Furthermore, I am concerned about the effect of your administration’s actions on our nation’s presence on the world stage. Your administration’s beating the drums of war, abandoning treaties, and applying none-too-subtle pressure on our unwilling allies to join us in an unjustified war are not actions that positively enhance our nation’s stature as a leader of the free world. Rather, they make us look like the world’s most powerful bully. As an American, this is not how I wish to be represented.
I would like to see a more thoughtful, generous, and diplomatic approach to our nation’s problems. I urge you to abandon your call to war and find a peaceful solution to the Iraq situation. In addition, I ask you to realign your administration’s priorities to address issues that truly threaten our country. The economy, the threats of attack from terrorists, the erosion of civil liberties, and the deterioration of our environment are good places to start.
Thank you for your time.
(signature)
amen, sister.
When GHWB II informed me I was either with him or agin' him, well...
Let's just say I had a moment of recollecting another president making the choice to lie to me about his personal affairs.
Posted by: mike on January 26, 2003 06:39 PMYou say, "I ask you to realign your administration’s priorities to address issues that truly threaten our country. The economy, the threats of attack from terrorists, the erosion of civil liberties, and the deterioration of our environment are good places to start."
Hmmm, it seems that ridding the world of the mindless insanity of Iraqi governmental terrorists might perhaps be the first step in promoting the well-being of those who have *no* civil liberties in other countries (e.g. http://www.thespoonsexperience.com/archives/001091.php#001091). Innocent people are pleading for their lives as I type. No wait, they're probably already dead. You are ridiculous.
Posted by: maggabelle on January 27, 2003 02:54 AMhm. Mindless insanity is surely what occurred to me, dear maggabelle, as I perused your rather sharply worded opinion.
There's another phrase which you also use that I find ever so approapriately descriptive.
Anne is surely too polite to respond to you here. But she is an editor, after all. Perhaps she can impose some greater degree of, oh, I don't know, politeness here.
Posted by: mike on January 27, 2003 03:19 AMYou are so quick to respond! I'm sorry. Perhaps the author is not ridiculous, just mal-informed. Perhaps I should have been more polite? But probably not. When dealing with issues of such great magnitude, I don't think that saccharine politeness is of too much worth. Mindless insanity would seem a well-chosen descriptor. What would you call it? Welcome governmental tyranny? The point is that hordes of people in many of these countries in question are being persecuted for their personal opinions and free speech attempts. You (we) are allowed to post what you (we) like in blogs. Our society (at least, that portion which recognizes blogs as credible sources of social commentary) encourages this. Be thankful for that freedom and that we will not be beheaded (yes, it does happen, often, and I do like parentheses) for our opinions.
Posted by: maggabelle on January 27, 2003 03:51 AMWow, a flame war! I feel like a warblogger now! Hooooo doggies!
Seriously, I knew when I posted this that not everyone was going to agree with me. That's OK. As I mentioned in the post, this is what my conscience prompts me to write, not that I think it will change anybody's mind. I hope you, the reader, follow your own conscience as well, even if you don't agree with me.
Posted by: Anne on January 27, 2003 09:36 AMUpon further reflection, two more reactions:
"Saccharine politeness..." good one! It reminds me of the day I got that letter at work from a reader saying we were "reprehensible." There's a perverse journalistic streak in me that says if you get a strong reaction, you're doing a good job.
Perhaps my correspondent is missing the point. Politeness is pretty much the currency around here, as my post points out. If you think it's useless, you and I are pretty much not going to see eye to eye.
Posted by: Anne on January 27, 2003 10:36 AMWell that was fun, wasn't it?! My first ever participation in a flame war. I'm not a routine poster to online anything, but in general, and in person, I'm very polite and non-aggressive. Thank goodness we can't have the war via blogging. It might be much, much, more destructive....
Posted by: Maggabelle on January 27, 2003 01:29 PMi opened and read it it said they were suckers
they wanted me for their army
or whatever
picture me givin' a damn
i said never
Posted by: Six Six on February 22, 2004 03:05 PM