"It is only the maimed that finally know war. And we are the maimed. We are the broken and the lame. We ask for forgiveness. We seek redemption. We carry on our backs this awful cross of death, for the essence of war is death, and the weight of it digs into our shoulders and eats away at our souls. We drag it through life, up hills and down hills, along the roads, into the most intimate recesses of our lives. It never leaves us. Those who know us best know that there is something unspeakable and evil many of us harbor within us. This evil is intimate. It is personal. We do not speak its name. It is the evil of things done and things left undone. It is the evil of war."
For the full piece go here.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_maimed_20121007/
Retired Episcopal Bishop George Packard served in Vietnam and was arrested with Occupy Wall Street calls these wars a "lethal and toxic absurdly from corporate America" and continues "America has lost it's conscience. An entire generation has gone to waste in this insanity."
http://www.thejournal.ie/bishop-arrested-during-occupy-new-york-protest-307498-Dec2011/
Reverend Eric Johnson, a son of a Veteran talks about the pain and stress of war and how wars don't end at 10 p.m. "We want justice. We are witnesses. They close the memorial at 10 p.m. but war does not end at 10 p.m. " He asks, "What do we want?" And the crowd shouts back, "Justice!" "What do we stand for today?" Again we reply, "Justice!"
Then, a handsome young soldier I'd noticed earlier and taken a few photos of speaks and my heart breaks. "My name is Mika Turner. I'm 24 years old and I've served 4 combat tours. More soldiers have committed suicide then have been killed in these wars. One month ago today I deserted my unit and tonight I will turn myself into the military police. Thank you for letting me speak."
Kevin Zeese from Occupy D.C. emphasizes, "The empire economy is not working for us or others. We steal resources and workers in other countries. These wars are for transnational corporations. We must 1. Take the profits out of war and 2. Live by the rule of law. Both parties are guilty. These presidents should be in prison. We have the right to peaceful assembly."
Dr. Margaret Flowers, the amazing activist and proponent of single payer healthcare for all, has been arrested more than once for this worthy cause. She calls these wars a health crisis and assures us, "This is not the ruling class but the looting class." Here's her powerful open letter to President Obama regarding Single-Payer healthcare
Dr. Flowers, a pediatrician who, like many of her colleagues, left the medical profession because it was impossible to deliver high quality health care in this environment.
You can also watch Dr. Flowers in action as she Confronts Wall Street investors trying to profit from health care.
One young soldier, Javier Ocasio, told the story of how he became involved in anti war activism. He was suffering from horrible PTSD and was unable to communicate with his young daughter. His wife would implore him to please spend time with her but he just couldn't. And then the unthinkable happened, his daughter died suddenly and he asked if he could carry her body to the morgue. He recounts how heavy her lifeless body was and that's when he made the connection. He thought of all the parents in the Middle East who have to carry their dead children's bodies and miracle of miracles he woke up.
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