On Wednesday, take a moment out of your busy day to reflect back on what you have done for Peace this year. I should mention that this blog is not a political platform. If you want to argue with my point of view, save your breath because I will tell you ahead of time that you are already right. So with that, and with the troubling state that our country is in, I can not help but reflect upon the nearing holiday. On July 4th the United States will celebrate its independence as a sovereign nation. As American's we should be reflecting on the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Articles of the Confederation and where we now stand in the grand scheme. These documents are important reminders of how we are supposed to treat each other with fairness and dignity. I believe that it is now more crucial than ever that America wakes up to the War that is being waged not only abroad, but on these very documents, and subsequently on its citizens by the current mis-guided administration. Yesterday was particularly troubling for me. I was told by a fellow Veteran about how he and some other Veterans had traveled to Fort Jackson to visit an active duty member of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. These individuals were later confronted and then detained by Military Police without being given a proper reason as to why. As this was happening, one of the members of the group pulled out his "pocket" Constitution and began reading sections concerning the rights of the detained to know why they are being held for questioning. The Military Police simply ignored this. Later, the same individual with the "pocket" Constitution, told the MP's that they were traitors. This is true, I guess, based on the fact that every member of the Armed Forces swears to "uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic". So perhaps prior to enlistment in the Armed Forces, it should be required material to read the Constitution and be tested on it. And what about the members of the White House acting as though they are above the law or that laws do not apply to them at all? What is the Patriot Act, but a tool for obstructing our inalienable rights as stated in the Constitution, the very foundation of our American Democracy. How easy it is to fool the willing, disguising these very real WMD's under the ruse of Patriotism and red, white and blue. Would that not make the current administration domestic enemies of the Constitution? So will America just play along and allow ourselves to be swallowed up and blinded by consumerism and attachment to materialism? The media and Hollywood serve so well as accomplices to the hi-jacking of our country. It has been said that "The best slave is the one the one that thinks he is free". America is more concerned with who the next American Idol is going to be, then they are about how many American's are dying in these illegal and senseless wars. Only one of our Presidential candidates has said that he wants to reinstate the Constitution and get rid of War as a foreign policy (Dennis Kucinich), why only one?. So on the 4th of July, just reflect on some of this, and ask yourself if you are a willing participant in the destruction of American democracy, or are you and advocate for its preservation, and an advocate for Peace.
Gassho,
~Cameron
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