[Peace-discuss] A letter from a patriot…

[Morton K. Brussel]

FYI.  It would be good to have this read before our city council.  --mkb


Letter to President Bush
By Joseph W. DuRocher
t r u t h o u t |    Saturday 04 March 2006
Forwarded from Marni Harmony, the minister of a
church in Orlando. Joe is one of her parishioners.

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

     Dear Mr. President:

     As a young man I was honored to serve our
nation as a commissioned officer and helicopter
pilot in the US Navy. Before me in WWII, my father
defended the country, spending two years in the
Pacific aboard the USS Hornet (CV-14). We were
patriots sworn "to protect and defend". Today I
conclude that you have dishonored our service and
the Constitution and principles of our oath. My
dad was buried with full military honors so I
cannot act for him. But for myself, I return
enclosed the symbols of my years of service: the
shoulder boards of my rank and my Naval Aviator's
wings.

     Until your administration, I believed it was
inconceivable that the United States would ever
initiate an aggressive and preemptive war against
a country that posed no threat to us. Until your
administration, I thought it was impossible for
our nation to take hundreds of persons into
custody without provable charges of any kind, and
to "disappear" them into holes like Gitmo, Abu
Ghraib and Bagram. Until your administration, in
my wildest legal fantasy I could not imagine a US
Attorney General seeking to justify torture or a
President first stating his intent to veto an
anti-torture law, and then adding a "signing
statement" that he intends to ignore such law as
he sees fit. I do not want these things done in my
name.

     As a citizen, a patriot, a parent and
grandparent, a lawyer and law teacher I am left
with such a feeling of loss and helplessness. I
think of myself as a good American and I ask
myself what can I do when I see the face of evil?
Illegal and immoral war, torture and confinement
for life without trial have never been part of our
Constitutional tradition. But my vote has become
meaningless because I live in a safe district
drawn by your political party. My congressman is
unresponsive to my concerns because his time is
filled with lobbyists' largess. Protests are
limited to your "free speech zones", out of sight
of the parade. Even speaking openly is to risk
being labeled un-American, pro-terrorist or
anti-troops. And I am a disciplined pacifist, so
any violent act is out of the question.

     Nevertheless, to remain silent is to let you
think I approve or support your actions. I do not.
So, I am saddened to give up my wings and bars.
They were hard won and my parents and wife were as
proud as I was when I earned them over forty years
ago. But I hate the torture and death you have
caused more than I value their symbolism. Giving
them up makes me cry for my beloved country.

     Joseph W. DuRocher 
  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/private/peace-discuss/attachments/20060312/06a7749b/attachment.html