- Wake up, America stop believing in the illusion
-
- Americans blindly move through the fog, running from
themselves, believing in saviors who will pull them above the fray just
before they go over the edge. We don't face anything head-on. When the
going gets tough, Americans go drinking. We have Prozac, Zyprexa, Ambien,
Xanex - and a world of chemicals to thicken the fog. There's the building
on the hill where we gather to pray for forgiveness from our sins and wait
for the man to come and save us. We believe that man died so long ago to
forgive our sins. NO, he did not. He died because of them. The story became
one of glorification to hide our own weaknesses and justify our avoidance
of the truth.
-
- America spends a fortune on our military. We sing songs
to honor them, raise the flag in their name, and lower it to honor their
death. We build walls to remember them by - crazy - walls built up to remember
those who died under the pretense of making us free.
-
- Wake up, America. Stop believing in the illusion. Our
soldiers are not protecting our freedoms by dying - not the freedoms we
profess.
-
- Men and women are imprisoned every day for speaking their
mind in this land of the free. Soldiers died for that?
-
- Children are abused and murdered every day for actions
of parents who assert that they are free to raise their children as they
choose. Soldiers died for that?
-
- Elderly parents and grandparents are lost in the system
of nursing homes and assisted living facilities with care givers who just
don't care, while sons and daughters remember their birthdays in cards
mailed from around the corner, to avoid facing the guilt from not visiting
sooner. Soldiers died for that?
-
- Americans waste more lives than we dare to realize.
Rather than do the work to live by a higher standard, we make laws that
justify our right to "freedoms." Freedom from what?
-
- Responsibility.
-
- It's not about blind obedience to laws designed to justify
our weaknesses. It is being strong enough to question laws that deny human
rights and protect a lie. It is about taking a stand, and recognizing
that an evil act is an evil act, regardless of how it is justified. If
someone's life is at risk by the action, then the action is wrong - laws
can't cover the truth.
-
- The greatest test of a man's morality is not if he is
willing to kill a perceived enemy to prevent an attack, but if he is willing
to use moral courage to recognize his own weaknesses as the reason for
his fear, to strengthen those weaknesses and thus disarm his enemy.
-
- Veterans served to defend the constitution and the freedoms
it gives; to make the right choice, and when it is a crime against humanity,
to take a stand and recognize that it is the wrong choice, to walk away
as a conscientious objector and be honored for taking the higher ground.
Don't kid yourselves. America has not repaid these veterans for their
service - Americans pile on the honors, medals, speeches, a street in a
veteran's name. America, it's an illusion. The honor you give is empty
when your actions do not back up your words. Veterans put their lives
on the line to defend the right to humanity, not so Americans could shirk
their responsibility to humanity.
-
- Veterans should be respected and honored, because they
stood for what they believed. They faced the demons, and dared to stand
for the ideal of freedom - even while Americans were taking their sacrifice
for granted. Veterans do not need another medal. They need Americans
facing their weaknesses and accepting responsibility for what this country
has become.
-
- Veterans are fighting to save themselves. America you
do not deserve the sacrifice you claim they have made in your name. You
most assuredly do not deserve to look a veteran in the eye and thank him
with words void of any meaning, and medals to honor his bravery. Empty
words and hollow symbols that merely hide your weakness at not daring to
defend yourselves mean nothing to a veteran who has walked through fire
for what he believes.
-
- Wake up America - no one is going to save you - except
you. As long as you believe in illusions this country will never heal.
Take a stand for your beliefs, and act to save yourselves. One more Veterans'
Day has arrived. Will you rise to the occasion, honor the high standards
our veterans have set in defending our constitution, or will you make another
empty promise to believe in an empty cause? It is only a coward who hides
in a building and waits in prayer for a savior to come.
-
- Sgt. Kevin Benderman is a prisoner of conscience serving
a 15 month sentence for filing a Conscientious Objector application and
refusing to participate in this war. Please visit his websites at www.BendermanTimeline.com
and www.BendermanDefense.org.
-
- Monica Benderman may be reached at mdawnb@coastalnow.net.
|
