-Keep in mind that Nampa is in Idaho and is extremely conservative.
Mr. George W. Bush,
Not all residents of Nampa welcomed your visit to our city.
Most of our city’s residents did not vote for you. Like all cities and towns in America, civic apathy has gripped our lives and a slight majority of adults don’t vote at all, most of us don’t read the newspaper or pay attention to what is happening around the world. We are either too engrossed in our own entertainment or too busy working low-wage jobs and caring for our families to take the time and love this country enough to learn about politics and become involved in making this a better world for everyone.
It’s a lot of responsibility being a citizen of the most powerful nation the world has ever known. Jesus said, “Unto whom much has been given, much shall be required.”
I don’t blame you for the apathy in this country Mr. Bush, but I do blame you for your abuse of presidential authority—taking us to war based on lies. I am ashamed of your arrogant speeches and statements that further divide Americans and cause the world to wonder what has happened to the United States.
Your administration has brought shame upon our government and your approval rating among Americans is at its lowest point ever.
Will you humble yourself and end this war? Will you stop pushing for tax cuts for the ultra-rich and dismantling Social Security and instead start investing more in our schools, hospitals, nursing homes, mass transit, and public health & safety services?
You said several things in your speech at the Idaho Center, an event open only to an audience that supports your war. As an American and a resident of Nampa, I would like to respond to a few of your statements.
“America appreciates the service and the sacrifice of the military families.”
Yes, we do. Thank you for acknowledging their pain and loss.
“We’re working to insure that you (National Guard members) and your families are treated with the dignity that you deserve.”
If you truly respected the dignity of our service men and women, you would not have them fighting a war for oil to enrich the pockets of Haliburton and other friends of your administration. The world knows you used the deaths of Americans on September 11th to push for a war on a country that is less of a threat to us than North Korea (which isn’t an oil-rich nation).
“We believe in human rights—the human dignity of every man, woman, and child on this earth. Terrorists…share a hate-full ideology that rejects tolerance and crushes all dissent.”
Your war has brought shame to the American military as pictures and stories of our torture and abuse of Iraqis was aired in homes around the world from the same prison where Saddam Hussein tortured his own citizens. Yet, you defend Donald Rumsfeld and the other corrupt Americans that allowed such an abuse of authority. Your administration attempts to use the media and police power to silence Americans who do not want you as our president and to prevent dissenters wherever you speak (as you did yet again here at the Idaho Center).
“We will complete our work in Afghanistan and Iraq. An immediate withdrawal of our troops in Iraq or the broader Middle East as some have called for would only embolden the terrorists and create a staging ground to launch more attacks against America and free nations. So long as I’m the President, we will stay, we will fight, and we will win the war on terror.”
Why is Afghanistan producing more opium today than ever before? Why are you still allowing fundamentalist Muslim schools to operate? We can never win a war on terror as long as more terrorists are being created every day by fundamentalist religion. I would recommend that you read Karen Armstrong’s books so that you have an understanding of fundamentalism (whether it is your own Christian brand, Jewish, or Muslim) and why democracies can never survive with fundamentalist leadership.
“We’re after the Enemy across the globe. And we’re determined, and we’re relentless, and we will stay on the hunt until the terrorists have no where to run and no where to hide.”
Where is Osama bin Laden?
“In the long run, the only way to defeat the terrorists is by offering an alternative to their ideology of hatred and fear. So, a key component of our strategy is to spread freedom. History has proven that free nations are peaceful nations, that democracies do not fight their neighbors. ”
Mr. Bush, you have your own ideology of hatred and fear that you spread every day. Remember the words of Jesus, “Do not take a speck out of your brother’s eye until you take the log out of your own eye.” You talk of democracy, yet you support one of the most oppressive monarchies in the world—the royal family of Saudi Arabia. You damaged our nation’s neighborly relations with Mexico and Canada when they would not support your war. And, your policies with Mexico have increased undocumented workers coming into our nation only to be greeted by hostile bigots with guns. We are not a peaceful nation, Mr. Bush; we are the most violent “democracy” on earth and you have done nothing to curb our nation’s thirst for violence whether it be by nuclear disarmament or regulating violent video games that prey on our children.
“…freedom is confronting the followers of a murderous ideology. And like the hate-filled ideologies that came before it, the darkness of terror will be defeated and the forces of freedom and moderation will prevail throughout the Muslim world.”
Again, Mr. Bush, learn about the dynamics of fundamentalism—you cannot destroy it with another brand of fundamentalism. The children of the Muslim world (and Christian and Jewish worlds) need to be raised with the best principles of their religion—which means the eradication of fundamentalist schools.
“They seek to exploit a great religion, but in truth they are animated by nothing but their own lust for power and their desire for dominion over others…”
This from the most powerful man in the world?
What American family has more “lust for power” than your own?
What country has more dominion over the planet than our own?
Your war in Iraq was condemned by almost all Christian leaders, including Pope John Paul II, Gordon B. Hinckley, and the leader of your own denomination—The United Methodist Church. Yet, you still exploit Christianity and use it to do the very thing that the Prince of Peace condemned.
All the evidence demonstrates that you, Mr. Bush, are a president for the multi-national corporations, not a president for Americans. Your gods are money and power. Your tyranny has created more terrorists than we have ever known in American history.
I often think of two historical kings when I hear your name—King Saul of Ancient Israel and King George III of Great Britain. You are a “king” like Saul who has become a curse to our nation and her greatness. You are a “king” like the other George that divided the world and sparked a revolution. I pray that you will humble yourself or resign before more people lose their lives in your reign of arrogance and terror.
Sincerely,
Delmar Stone
Chairman, Legislative District 12 (Nampa)
Idaho State Democratic Party
http://www.43rdstateblues.com/?q=nampa_letter_to_the_president&PHPSESSID=6f03cd2ea83bbd9189847d0ae9160686
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