So, you're not the "voice of the anti-war left" -- according to whom? AT the very least, you
A voice of the anti-war left -- a damned important voice.
The politicians who truly want this war endednow aren't just saying what they think we want to hear so we re-elect them and they can then return to fucking us all over every chance they get . And there ARE politicians who want the war ended now. And guess what? YOU were a huge part in making it "safe" for these people to speak against the war without fear of being called "unpatriotic" or some other such nonsense... Because YOU stood up first and took everything they could throw at you -- and not only weren't you defeated, you fucking WON.
When you began speaking out, you were spat on by everyone but liberals. I remember it, because I felt so proud of your tenacity and courage in the face of such callous inhumanity.
And now you're spat upon by many of the people who applauded you at first -- because you reject the cowardice of the Democrats in Congress, and to speak out against the Democrats is simply unacceptable to those who call themselves "liberal" when it is convenient, but revert to their true colours as conservative blue attack dogs as soon as they sense their centrist, appeasing, cowards' agenda threatened.
... when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the "left" started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used. I guess no one paid attention to me when I said that the issue of peace and people dying for no reason is not a matter of "right or left", but "right and wrong."
I know a little something about that kind of disillusionment, though not on the scale you must feel. I, too, am past the point of patience with these people. Frankly, if Al Gore doesn't enter the Democratic presidential primary and Hillary Clinton ends up winning the nomination, I am not altogether certain I'll be voting Democratic next year. I simply do not see the point.
This is my favourite part of your post:
I am deemed a radical because I believe that partisan politics should be left to the wayside when hundreds of thousands of people are dying for a war based on lies that is supported by Democrats and Republican alike. It amazes me that people who are sharp on the issues and can zero in like a laser beam on lies, misrepresentations, and political expediency when it comes to one party refuse to recognize it in their own party. Blind party loyalty is dangerous whatever side it occurs on. People of the world look on us Americans as jokes because we allow our political leaders so much murderous latitude and if we don’t find alternatives to this corrupt "two" party system our Representative Republic will die and be replaced with what we are rapidly descending into with nary a check or balance: a fascist corporate wasteland.
I am demonized because I don’t see party affiliation or nationality when I look at a person, I see that person’s heart. If someone looks, dresses, acts, talks and votes like a Republican, then why do they deserve support just because he/she calls him/herself a Democrat?
Brava, Ms. Sheehan. I only wish you would come over here and make MLW your blog-home. If only you knew of its existence; I am absolutely convinced you and MLW would be a perfect fit.
In closing, I want to tell you -- though of course you know it, you must know it -- that you are not alone. Not by a long shot. You have moved so many people, helped so many people -- you are a true American patriot and hero, and don't let anyone tell you any different.'
Sincerely,
Maryscott O'Connor
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