If your heart isn't broken, check your pocketbook

If Your Heart Isn't Broken, Check Your Pocketbook

Patricia Ernest

If you aren't mad as hell, you sure should be! If you don't care about the fact that more Americans are out of work, or that the economy stinks, or that the environment is going to hell, or that the rest of world thinks we're insane to continue to be ruled by the bush administration, then think about this. Think about the fact that our soldiers have been used. Yes they have. They have been used by this administration and an awful lot of them have been severely injured and many too many have been killed. Think about what those men and women might be doing today if bush hadn't misled you into supporting this war.

If you bought a product that was advertised to make your hair shine, but instead it ruined your hair, you would be raising hell with the manufacturer. You would threaten suit and you would demand your money back. See? This is what Americans do when they've been sold a bill of goods. Usually that's what they do. But now, when the administration makes false claims and false assertions, and our soldiers die, the public simply makes excuses for their continued support for the administration and the war. We were duped. Where's the outrage? Where's the American demand for justice? Why would we raise hell over a false claim by a company, but we say nothing about a false claim by the government? The result of this false claim damaged far more than our looks, it killed people. False claim kills over five hundred Americans would ordinarily raise a major raucous in these United States.

There will be more American soldiers die between the time I am writing this and the time you are reading it. That's the way it has been for many months now, and I see no reason that it won't continue. Bush promised you would be safer because of this war. Are you? Are you really any safer than you were? Did you really and truly think Saddam was a threat to the US? You have no reason to believe that, other than bush told you to, and you know now that so much of what bush has told you before was false. You were sold a bill of goods, so why aren't you mad? Where's your American spirit?

Okay, if it doesn't bother you that over 500 of our soldiers have died unnecessarily, think about the money. Think about the billions of our dollars that have been spent on this war. Think about the billions more that will be spent on this war. If you don't give a damn about the human lives, both military and civilian, think about your pocketbook. That's your money that is being spent in Iraq to build schools. That's your money that won't be spent in the US to build our schools. If you are so happy about where your money is going today, why are you so against repealing the tax cuts? You want to help Iraq don't you? Is rebuilding Iraq the Christian thing to do? Do you still believe this war is good and making you feel all safe and sound? Well, if that's the case, why be stingy with your money? If you really and truly are so generous with money, give more to the government. Give it freely and make a note that it is designated for rebuilding Iraq. When the Democrats speak of repealing the tax cuts you should be the first to cheer. Personally, I would happily give up my tax cut, but not to rebuild Iraq, I want to rebuild our country first. Repealing the tax cuts does not raise taxes it un-lowers them. You know that is exactly how the bush administration would state it if they had the sense to do it. We can either pay higher taxes now or we can pay them later, but make no mistake.........we will pay them. Would you pay off your credit card if you had a thousand dollar balance or would you just let the debt go until the interest accumulated to exorbitant heights? Common sense dictates that answer.

Common sense, now there's a thought. When was the last time common sense factored into the American way of life? It's been a while hasn't it? Common sense would have told us that 9-11 was not about Iraq. Common sense would have told us that there were no weapons in Iraq, because professional inspectors who were in Iraq, were sniffing all around, and they told us they found nothing. Common sense would have told us that you can't bomb the holy hell out of a country and then build it back in a few months for a couple of million dollars. Common sense would have told us that bush wasn't rushing into this war because he didn't want our soldiers to be in Iraq during the miserable hot summers. Remember when they told us that the summers in Iraq were deadly, and our soldiers would suffer too much in that heat? Now they have suffered through one summer, one winter and they're going to go through a lot more summers. Common sense would have told us that if Iraq had any weapons they sure as hell would have used them in war. Why have them if you aren't going to use them when your country is being invaded?

This war was based on hype. You can spin it any way you like but that's the truth. If they "find" a vial of some sort of biological weapon at this point, no one in his right mind is going to believe it wasn't planted. If about October, the Calvary rides into town with Osama thrown across the saddle, no one in his right mind will believe he has "just been captured". The reason no one will believe all this is because nothing else has been real, so why this and why now? When the dust settles and the blood stops flowing, when the picture is finally clear to those who have been watching through a haze of ignorance, there should be some disturbed people in the US. I don't know which will disturb them more. I don't know if it will be because of all the unnecessary deaths or the fact that their pocketbook is empty. I hope it's both.

patricia