Op-Ed Commentary
Righteous Anger
It's Easter.... Passover. Time for love and forgiveness and all those wonderful precepts. I buy that. I believe... truly I do. Yet, another part of me knows that love and forgiveness are not absolutes to be followed like some robotic exercise. No, as my dear friend Linda taught me, the Buddhists say " Friendly and assertive ".
My wife and I just canceled our health insurance. Can't afford it. And we earn more than the median income in America. Yet, things are not good for us now. Property taxes almost doubled, our homeowner's insurance was not renewed ( seems most companies won't cover homes in hurricane sensitive areas ), water and other fees have increased...... you know the drill. Everything is going up, except of course wages and commissions. The man, the employer, has to cut labor to keep the status quo. Why? Well, costs are going up. Circle complete.
They say we are in a war..... a war in Iraq that is part of a larger war..... a War On Terror. I say hogwash! There is no war in Iraq, except a civil war. My government lied to me. My government sent thousands of bombs and planes and missiles, and , oh yes, over 100,000 young soldiers.... and we attacked and invaded and now occupy Iraq. The British medical journal, Lancet, estimates that perhaps over 500,000 Iraqi civilians are dead because of our invasion and occupation. All this action and death and destruction for what..... lies and fear mongering? A compliant Congress and a compliant and cheer leading media kept the drum banging louder and louder. I recall Ms. Couric, little cutesy whootsey Katie girl, during the early days of the attack on Iraq. I can see her marching along some military corridor, uttering her famous line " Marines Rock!!" For that, and for her high ratings, Katie girl got herself the news anchor job. How fitting, how cruel!
Easter time. Passover. I remember my New Testament. I remember what Jesus did, when he came into the city and saw what they had done to the Temple. He ran inside, overturned the tables, freed the sacrificial doves, and chased the moneychangers and their ilk with a whipping cord. This was the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, and even He had had enough. I do not have to wonder.... I know what Jesus would do if He was with us in body right now. I know what He would say to the politicians and to Ms. Couric and her compatriots... and of course to Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney et all. Yet, more importantly, I know what Jesus would think of we who dissent, standing on those street corners each and every week for a better, fairer place to live.
Americans, isn't it time you transformed that righteous anger into action.... always with a love in your heart?
Philip A Farruggio
April 6, 2007
Philip A Farruggio is a free lance columnist, small business owner and activist leader. The son of a Brooklyn, N. Y longshoreman, he is blue collar through and through. Since 2000, he has had 60 columns and op-ed posted online in various sites, most notably Op-ed News, After downingstreet .org and counterpunch.com.
