Below is an excerpt from Cindy's blog, remembering when she jump-started Camp Casey in 2005. Above is a picture Doug took of me while we were at Camp Casey, after driving from Seattle to Crawford. It shows one of our black & white banners that we took with to train folks on how to make them. This style has since used in many many demos -- Doug's amazing contribution to the antiwar movement (if such a thing still exists). I am so grateful for Cindy. She (together with Doug) encourages my trust and optimism in humanity. Everything she writes these days seems to come out of my own thoughts. As she says, the feistiness is still there, but it is chary.
EXCERPT from http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-reflections-on-5th-anniversary-of.html :
Not only is the 6th of August the fifth anniversary of the beginning of Camp Casey, but it will also be the 65th anniversary of the first time the USA used an atomic weapon. I didn’t plan on marching on Crawford the first time on Hiroshima Day, but I think it’s fitting and a perfect example of the insanity of Empire.
To me, everyday is exactly like a nightmare that I can't wake up from. The powers that be lied to the world about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction and lied about some kind of connection between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and then admitted to lying--and the entire world yawned and the killing continued and continues. The kicker in all this is that I have to live each and every day for the rest of my life knowing that my son died for these lies and that the people who have perpetrated these mass crimes against humanity walk among us freely and, as a matter of fact, are doing quite well for themselves. It's totally mind blowing to me and I get accused of being "angry." The thing about Casey dying in a war based on lies is because his recruiter lied to him. Our entire Imperial structure is constructed on lies and functions off of heartache.
The feistiness in me remains, but now I know that the enemies of peace are not just George Bush and the Republicans—the enemies of peace are widespread, diverse, in all segments of our society, and include the first female Speaker of the US House of Representatives and Nobel Laureates.
Camp Casey was a miracle to me and I will never forget that summer and the high we were on thinking that we were going to finally make a difference but the Empire knows how to neutralize those movements and we were distressed that the energy was inappropriately used to elect Democrats. But five years later, I am older and wiser and the proud grandmother of three grandbabies two years and under that have given me more love and joy than I thought was still possible in my life. The babies have also given me a renewed sense of urgency and commitment to making this planet a better place for all the babies.
No comments:
Post a Comment