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An email I just received:
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I have an important favor to ask of you, but I want to review some recent history first. When the Bush administration decided to wage war on Iraq, we raised our voices in opposition. Across Massachusetts and across the nation, millions of us participated in marches and rallies, wrote to our congressmen and newspaper editors, and engaged in meaningful dialogue with our neighbors, family, and friends. Joined by activists from across the globe, we significantly raised the political pressure on George Bush and Tony Blair as they made the fateful decision to go to war in the Middle East.
Conspicuously absent from the chorus decrying the invasion of Iraq were the voices of our elected officials. At every level of government, the overwhelming majority of them chose to either support the war or to remain silent as Bush and his accomplices in the mainstream media whipped the American citizenry into a pro-war frenzy.
In Boston, however, a courageous city councillor named Felix Arroyo stood up for peace by offering a resolution against the war, like dozens of others our movement passed around the country. He was told that the proposal would not be heard by the council because it was "not germane" to the City of Boston.
Arroyo had this to say when an obscure rule was invoked to stifle debate on the anti-war resolution: "Only one week into serving as a Boston city councillor, I am already being confronted with the harsh realities of inevitable budget cuts. I simply cannot support using valuable human and financial resources towards a military engagement."
Felix Arroyo has supported our movement in two important ways: he is a strong and dependable voice for peace through social and economic justice and he has consistently drawn the connection between military spending and the high price our communities pay in lost services and lost lives. He understands the impact of U.S. foreign and economic policy on our neighborhoods, and tirelessly advocates for what Dr. Martin Luther King referred to forty years ago as "a revolution in values."
For all he has done for us, I am asking you to support Councillor Arroyo's re-election to Boston's city council. We simply cannot afford to allow his voice to be silenced. Join me in sending a check made out to "Friends of Felix" to:
P.O. Box 1421
Boston, MA 02130
Felix Arroyo's re-election will be an important victory for all of us. It will demonstrate our ability to elect representatives whose actions reflect our ideals. Please give as generously as you can up to the maximum allowable donation ($500). Thank you.
For peace through justice,
Howard Zinn
The election is November 4th. To volunteer for Felix Arroyo's campaign: 617-522-VOTE
Website: www.felixarroyo.net
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