I have never been given to exercises in futility, whether in dealing with Cardinal Archbishops or anti-war demonstrators. Now that our president has moved this nation inexorably into war with Iraq I see no point in joining my friends who call me daily with plans for vigils, protest marches, or acts of civil disobedience.
In 1986 I was one of those representing the gay and lesbian community in an attempt to negotiate with the Chicago Roman Catholic Archdiocese. In an 11th-hour move the Cardinal had come out against the gay-rights bill just days before it was to be called out for a vote before the City Council. I withdrew from the negotiating team after the first meeting; it was apparent to me that the position of the church was unalterable. I shared my frustration at a community meeting challenging the church to ditch its medieval drag and come to terms with the 20th century. While other, more hopeful, members of the team ( Jim Bussen, Bill Kelley, Larry Rolla, Mary Mack, Karl Rubesch and Vince Samar ) returned to the pointless exercise, I moved on to other areas of activism. So too, now.
My concern now shifts to the fight to protect what we have come to expect as American citizens. The button I designed for our City Hall protests a generation ago 'The Issue is Human Rights,' still could be the clarion call to battle with an Administration that wants to constrain our rights. Theirs is a frightening domestic agenda. Electronic invasions of privacy make Nixon's Grand Jury Network of the 1970s look like a kindergarten exercise. Individuals have been 'detained' without due process; pointing fingers at enemies, hearsay, and rumor have not had such a field day since Uncle Joe McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee fishing expeditions of the 1950s.
Religious intolerance, suspicion, stereotypes, echo everywhere.
One of the great axioms of war is that the first thing to die in battle is truth. The truth seen at the core of the vast majority of religions was love. The truth at the core of America was freedom. Over centuries and generations men have danced around these central truths embellishing or detracting from them to suit the need of the moment. As a lesbian I have seen the ugly face of religious hatred. I have fought against the denial of my civil rights.
It doesn't matter whether the war with Iraq goes on for six days or 600, the end is already telegraphed. A totalitarian tyrant will eventually be ousted. But at what cost? The body count and billions of dollars spent that could have been put to better use will be tabulated at war's end. Something more intangible will come to an end as well. Pro- and anti-war commentators agree that this decision to go to war will be one of the watershed events in our history and the history of the world. America will never be seen in the same light again. Even many pro-war commentators allow that the Administration failed to utilize diplomacy fully and that American foreign policy will be affected forever.
Whether we realize it or not our elected representatives are handing over to the Administration, carte blanche, rights we have had since the framers signed the Constitution. The right to privacy, to be secure in our homes, to confront our accusers, to have a speedy trial. They have done it with the so-called Patriot Act and the spurious corporate add-ons to other Congressional Bills. The right of Congress to declare war was suborned, and now that U.S. troops are deployed, the power of the purse must be yielded in their support.
The Administration claimed 100% support of the Congress in voting war powers to the president. A Congressman from Michigan said he would not have so voted if he hadn't been given false information by the Administration. Congress was led to believe that Iraq was on the brink of receiving nuclear material from Africa. Such material in their hands would easily have been a direct threat to U.S. security. Now the UN and our government agree that these reports were based on forged documents. You have to ask: 'Whose interest was served by the forgery?' We are told that the war will clarify whether Iraq has forbidden weapons or not. I have no doubt our troops/inspectors will find such weapons. I suggest it is necessary to find them to vindicate the actions of the Administration. I cannot believe what this Administration says anymore than I believe John F. Kennedy actually spoke to Forrest Gump.
My father died six years after World War II; he had served aboard an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. The only things I have of his are souvenirs of that war. His dog tags, photos in uniform, and a small gold-plated lapel pin that was given to veterans. The pin depicts the American Eagle surrounded by a circle, with one wing tucked beneath an arc. I remember him telling me vets called it 'the ruptured duck.' Years later, on a PBS series about that war, I learned that the pin was commissioned because many returning veterans in their civvies were unjustly harassed as shirkers by patriotic zealots who did not know they had served and were honorably discharged. It seems to me, today, there are zealots who are unable or unwilling to see the patriotism and loyalty of those who use their Constitutional right to dissent. The people who say 'my country right or wrong,' are those in leadership positions of both countries in this war, and the men and women they send to face death on the frontlines.
We are in the endgame. One General said: 'This won't be a Cakewalk.' This is the real tragedy. We must support our servicemen and women who responded when asked to put their lives on the line. At the same time we are told that if you speak out in criticism or dissent you are not with us, you are against us; against the war, the administration, our service people, patriotism. You are, in effect, tantamount to a traitor.
I would rather speak out, as is my Constitutional right, than merely sit home numbly watching the war as ultimate reality TV. No doubt, complete with commercial interludes that encourage me to do my patriotic best by running out to buy, buy, buy, and be the good little consumer that will save the American economy. The eagle may have a busted wing, but it is still the symbol of my country. I hope it can be mended and fly free again. In the meantime, I will wear my father's 'ruptured duck' as a reminder that we are all fighters in the war against tyranny, no matter what its guise.
Copyright 2003 by Marie J. Kuda
