[AGL] Fwd: DRANT # 308: VETERANS: DON'T TAKE THE MONEY, START THE HEALING

[Frances Morey]

Hi, 
  I agree with David Rubinson most of the time. It may be easy for him to advise veterans to leave the money on the table. I find it interesting that he is able to widen the responsible people for what our nation does to every individual living here. In a sense that is true but it doesn't work well in assigning guilt for war crimes? 
  On that cheery thought I am off to West Texas to celebrate the Fourth. 
  Enjoy the fireworks--the bombs bursting in air proving through the night that Our Flag is still there..."
  Best,
  Frances

David Rubinson <rubinson at kab.com> wrote:
  From: David Rubinson <rubinson at kab.com>
Subject: DRANT # 308: VETERANS: DON'T TAKE THE MONEY, START THE HEALING
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 09:05:19 -0700
To: undisclosed-recipients:;

DRANT DAILY
Number 308
June 30, 2008
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Today's DRANT
---Ill-tempered, Iconoclastic, Impatient and Ideologically- 
unpredictable views, comments, and sources about the World, how we 
humans are messing it up, and how we can all DO SOMETHING about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WARNING
By Presidential Executive Order, the National Security Agency (NSA) 
may be reading this email without warning, warrant, or notice, 
judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse, or protection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a vast tragic irony, proudly exposing the bleeding sores that 
evidence our murderous national cancer, Bush spoke for all of Us 
today when he signed the latest bill funding the war
and said: "Our nation has no greater responsibility than to support 
our men and women in uniform..."

How terribly terribly painfully murderously true this is, and what a 
searing if totally unconscious commentary.
Its true: We don't have any greater responsibility. We can't even 
imagine a greater responsibility.
It's all about Us.
Once again, "our nation" -- which means me and you and your Aunt 
Betty too- has acted from pure self-interest.
Once again We all have acted as if We have "no greater 
responsibility" than to----- ourselves.
The War Funding Bill was brilliantly and purposefully packaged by a 
bipartisan coalition to democratically provide bribes for everyone. 
And we all took the bribes, and couldn't opt in fast enough.
Little we care, less we even notice, that we have made a pact to 
commit another year and a half of unspeakable murder and torture on 
others.
Why should we ? This is all about US, and we got OURS.
Bush definitely got his. He gets to go out in style, unopposed, and 
heave the dungpile on the next guy's lap.
The Congrassholes got theirs, cause now they can fly home in their 
private jets, and crow about how they supported the troops, and 
helped the poor, and the farmers, and created forceful anti-drug 
programs, and of course, sent money to rebuild the Katrina levees. 
Right on time, that one.

And We get Ours- cause we're going to get longer unemployment 
benefits, and we get to feel good about supporting our men and women 
in uniform, and we get paid for crops we couldn't grow, and dontcha 
forget the shameful "stimulus" hush money payments.
And the Veterans- they got theirs: a new complement of benefits and 
programs worth billions.
As the IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) said in an 
email blast today : "WE DID IT ! " Well, they sure did. We all did.

We have ALL of us made a helluva deal, and all we have to do is 
commit unspeakable acts on some unpronounceable Arabs for another 
year or so ? Hey, where do I sign up ?

Well, now that we got ours, and the Veterans got theirs - I wanna 
know- what are we going to do for the VICTIMS ?
If we think that our Troops suffer - from Post-Traumatic Stress, 
wounds, disease, destruction of family - what the hell do we think 
our victims suffer from ? Many of them are victims themselves, but 
ALL of them are perpetrators.
I am now asking all the Winter Soldiers to step up and put the same 
all-out effort into forcing Congress to put up billions in 
reparations -- and begin to make amends for all we have done. I am 
asking them, and I am asking you and me and all of us.
How perfect it is that we have rushed to the aid of our fellow 
perpetrators - and have lifted not an eyebrow for our real victims.
How indescribably vile it is that the Veterans' Benefits were 
appended to the very same bill that continued to fund the ongoing 
killing. And so, the Veterans supported the bill because THEY got 
THEIR money- while simultaneously facilitating the next 18 months of 
murder. And we all did nothing that stopped it.

We are ALL of us perpetrators: we who carried out their orders and 
did not refuse; who killed because we were told to, and did not 
refuse; who followed some genocidal testosterone-poisoned code of 
honor and protected or defended our fellow perpetrators, and did not 
refuse; who blamed somebody or something else- and did not stand up 
for ourselves and refuse; and above all others-
We The Complicit, who have achieved exactly nothing by our feeble 
efforts to stop six years of war and murder and torture, and have 
exercised no control over our employees in Congress who have taken 
OUR money and funded and aided and abetted the war and the murder and 
the torture.

The healing must begin NOW.
And that healing must itself begin with each of us taking full 
responsibility for what we have done, and dedicating our lives to 
making amends.
There can be and there will be no healing unless and until this happens.
Step number one: we must ALL refuse to take any of the money that 
this new bill bestows on us.
Every veteran must refuse to use the money he/she gets from this new 
bill - and give it instead to our victims.
The veterans can NOT accept the blood money they are getting for 
having done the killing, while perpetuating the funding of murder.
We need the veterans to show us the way- show Congress and each and 
every one of US- what we must do.
This can be their greatest and most redeeming mission of honor. This 
is their monumental and historic chance truly to change the course of 
the world. They can and must lead us -- to begin the enormous task of 
healing.
Taking money for evil deeds well done serves only to perpetuate the 
symbiosis of killing. Turning that money to healing can change the 
world.
Imagine- thousands of Vets- lining up in front of Congress, with 
their new benefit checks, announcing that they are taking the money 
to Iraq or Afghanistan- to bring aid to the victims. And then we see 
them board the planes. And then we see them re-building homes and 
hospitals and schools, and repairing the water and electrical 
systems, and delivering massive medical aid. And we may even see a 
few of them with individual victims - the very sons and daughters of 
people they killed or tortured or "detained."
And then, we must ALL join them. For we have not just failed to stop 
them in their killing, not merely been complicit- we have paid for 
it, and we have - all of us- been war profiteers- hoarding and 
spending the trickle-down pecuniary profits of the war economy on 
ourselves. We each of us, must take our OWN checks, and stand in 
front of Congress, and follow the model that the Veterans set-- and 
get the money to our victims.
It is clear that as things now stand, We The People will not rise up, 
will not stand up on our own, will not change the murderous and 
inhuman direction we have taken.
I pray that once that spark is lit, and we are shown the path, we 
will jump and run to follow it.
Please, let the healing begin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DRANT · POB 411197 · San Francisco · CA · 94141 1197
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Thanks.
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