Don’t assume …

March 15, 2012 a world of progress, progressive living No comments

This image reminds me of my friend, Jerry Donnellan, who left his war medals at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. I asked whether, in his experience, liberals hate soldiers. As a rule, he said, they do not.

Yesterday, as I was doing my regular Wednesday co-host gig with Blake Butler on Local Edge Radio (880 The Revolution), we had a caller who identified himself as conservative. That doesn’t bother me — I’m happy to talk to people who disagree with me as long as we keep the conversation civil.

“I was born in 1969, so I remember the tail end of the Vietnam thing,” he said. “All you liberals spat on the soldiers when they came home.”

I had news for him: We did not. I was born in 1952 and I had a lot of friends who went to that war. Some didn’t come home; most came home much different people than the ones who left.

I mentioned I’m a Christian and he broke in. “A Christian and  a Democrat? Ain’t no such thing!”

Blake cut him off, but I was deeply offended.

I spent the Vietnam war writing to men I didn’t know and sending care packages so they would know someone back home was thinking about them and praying for their safe return.

When I lived in Rockland County, NY, one of my good friends was Jerry Donnellan, who now heads the Veterans’ Services Agency in the county.

“I ‘m good,” he said when I called him today. “I got me a government job. Of course, it was my first government job that led to the need for this government job.”

Jerry came home with three Purple Hearts and minus a leg. He is one of the funniest people I know, and to hear him tell the story of his second Purple Heart made me laugh till I cried. He was shot by a sniper, but a ration can of pineapple chunks saved his life.

“I thought I was gone,” he says. “I felt my chest and there was a warm, sticky liquid. I couldn’t look. But then I looked at my hand and there wasn’t any blood. That sonofabitch  had ruined my pineapple chunks!”

In the end, Jerry took out the sniper. A few months later, he stepped on a land mine and blew off half his leg.

My friend, Jerry Donnellan, a Vietnam Vet, wasn't spat on when he returned home; in fact, a he counts a whole lot of liberals as his friends. He is receiving an honorary doctorate from Dominican College in Rockland County, NY

So, as the liberal old friend of an old Vietnam soldier, I figured I could ask Jerry whether he knew any liberal people who care about veterans.

“There are plenty of conservatives who wave the flag and don’t do anything more,” Jerry said. “My father used to say you have to watch out for someone waving a flag because he had a stick and could be dangerous.”

Jerry and other vets came back from Vietnam and they founded Vietnam Vets against the War.

“We didn’t join the traditional peace groups because there were people among them who thought we all were war criminals,” he said. “But most of us were drafted.”

Jerry once told me he “still had pieces of my mama’s porch under my fingernails when I got there.”

During the Vietnam War, those with connections (George W. Bush and Dan Quayle among them) got into the National Guard and didn’t have to risk their lives on the front lines; they stayed stateside. Today, however, National Guard men and women serve two, three — up to six — deployments. The soldier who opened fire on Afghan civilians last week was in his fourth deployment. After all that, he likely will face the death penalty.

“Can you imagine how much sooner this thing would have ended if there had been a draft?” Jerry asked. “But you don’t see college campuses erupting because their lives aren’t at risk. Back during Vietnam if you were warm and not pregnant, you got drafted.

“But we came back and we formed Vietnam Veterans against the war. … We were saying, ‘We went, we fought your stupid war and now we’re back to tell you it’s wrong. Stop it.'”

People who go to war come back changed, Jerry said.

“Imagine being taken away from your family and sent anywhere for a year, let alone being sent to war,” he said. “Then imagine it happening four or five times. You come home changed each time. It’s a lot to ask.”

My heart is, and always has been, with the men and women who risk their lives to fight the stupid wars our politicians get us into. They are heroes, and I am deeply offended when someone says I don’t support them.

Don’t assume that because I’m liberal that I hate soldiers and don’t believe in the redemptive power of Jesus.  Don’t make assumptions about me, don’t call me names and I’ll show the same respect toward you.

 

 

July 4 isn’t for chest-thumping

July 5, 2011 a world of progress, progressive living No comments

I celebrated the Fourth by going to a baseball game, which was followed by fireworks. Seemed like a good, all-American evening, and it included a tribute to veterans, which I found quite moving.

During the seventh inning, the Rev. Scott Rogers to0k to the field to talk about the vets who didn’t come back. He named the people from our area who have died on foreign soil, and introduced a flag-folding ceremony.

I always get emotional at flag-folding ceremonies because I’ve seen far too many of them as a newspaper reporter covering the funerals of fallen soldiers. Every time I see the ceremony, I’m reminded of the mother who insisted her son’s casket remain open, even though his face was replaced by a mask because it had been blown away. She kept reaching into the casket to touch his gloved hand. I’m reminded of the devastated young wife trying to comfort her weeping child who just wants his Daddy. I’m reminded of families and friends whose lives will never again be whole because of their loss. I’m reminded of the lost potential of this life cut short on a battlefield halfway around the world.

I know first-hand what it is to lose a child, but I can’t comprehend losing one in a war. I at least got to say goodbye to my son.

As the flag was being folded, a woman near me started chanting “USA!” She stopped pretty quilckly. I’m hoping it was because someone gave her the reality slap she deserved.

This ceremony was to honor the dead, not to chest-thump as though the whole thing was a sports event. Patriotism is about a lot more than chanting simplistic slogans. It’s not about, “America, right or wrong,” nor is it about allowing our freedoms to be swallowed up by a war on terrorism that does little more than kill innocent people and enrich corporations.

Part of our problem in the world is that we’re arrogant; we’re convinced we’re better than anyone else, and we impose our will whether our way is appropriate or not. Those in power — the very wealthy and huge corporations — love war, and their sons and daughters are rarely the ones who are maimed or killed in these conflicts.

The people who serve in our military believe they are doing what’s right for their country. They are honorable and brave, and they deserve our respect, although many come home wounded and emotionally damaged and we don’t give them what they need. They become homeless, and often become addicted to drugs and or alcohol in an attempt to numb the pain. We slash veterans’ programs and figure they should just buck up and get on with their lives after repeated deployments. But when we see someone in uniform, we thank them for their service as though that’s all we need to do.

This nebulous thing they’re fighting for, “freedom,” isn’t about competition and us being Number One. When we say freedom isn’t free, it shouldn’t be about spending innocent lives on the battlefield, but about participating in Democracy. We need to learn about the issues, understand and see through the crap that’s being thrown at us by the media and our politicians, and take our country back.

Democracy is participatory. If we the people are too lazy to vote intelligently, our country loses its greatness. We are at the threshhold of disaster now. It’s time to stop chanting stupid slogans and work to really understand the issues. That’s the price of freedom, and if we don’t pay that price, we will lose our freedoms.

Back stage pass – Speaking truth to power

May 9, 2011 a world of progress, progressive living Comments Off on Back stage pass – Speaking truth to power

Publisher’s note:

I met Tamara at the Speaking Truth to Power – a permanent state of war event in Asheville last month and asked her to give us a glimpse into the behind the scene world of putting together this great event. She was kind to take the time to do so for us!

Speaking Truth to Power EventWhen I was asked to share my experiences of working on this event, I wasn’t really sure where to start or how to go about it. First off, let me just say that I do not consider myself to be a peace activist of any kind. I have never attended a peace rally or been thrown in jail for standing up for my beliefs. I am, however, a liberal individual who believes in the greater good of mankind and believes that violence begets violence and therefore peace is the only way for us to move forward in our world today.

With that being said, in January of this year, I was asked to be a part of a small team of four whose mission was to put on an event called Speaking Truth to Power: a permanent state of war. I was tasked as the social media and marketing specialist for this first-time ever event.  It would also be the first time for all of us to work together on an event such as this one and it would be a great learning opportunity for all of us.

The event itself would be held at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, NC on Saturday, April 9th, 2011. We would be showcasing two keynote speakers, Gareth Porter and Ray McGovern, along with four young Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Our goal was to bring attention to the permanency of war and how the American people need to know the truth regarding the political power and financial policies that drive our nation.

At this point, I had never heard of neither keynote speakers, nor any of the vets. The genre of peace activism and those organizations in that field were all very new to me. I realized early on that I was going to learn a lot about something I had little knowledge of or had taken any personal interest in up to that point.

The creators of the event, Paul Turner and Ymani Simmons, wanted desperately to get this message out to everyone they could possibly get to listen. As Americans, we need to know the truth and see it for what it truly is and hear about it from those who have experienced it first hand. This is no small task and I greatly admire their sheer devotion and commitment to this very worthy cause.

This event was their first step in helping to get that truth out to the public at large. We brought in seven incredibly bright, intelligent and dynamic speakers. We tweeted, Facebooked, emailed, hung posters, contacted media, contacted college professors and like-minded organizations, placed ads, set-up radio interviews and did everything else we possibly could to promote this event. Over the course of three months, we made hundreds of decisions that all culminated into a three-hour event. And the evening was beautiful!

Behind the scenes, we worked as a team the whole time. No stone went unturned. Our speakers were impressed and graciously applauded us on our professionalism and attention to detail for each of their experiences. The audience stayed in that theatre until almost 11:30 at night listening and singing to John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, which was being played instrumentally. It may have been a small and intimate audience in the theatre that night but every single person was moved by what they had witnessed. Once the DVD of this event comes out it will begin to ripple out to the mainstream via YouTube…and I can’t wait! And if all things go as expected, this event will begin to make it out to other cities and continue to spread the word.

I met several new people while working on this project and I observed and learned several things. I learned that it only takes a few willing and devoted people to begin to make a difference. I learned that the smaller you keep a group with a common goal ahead of them, the easy it will be to accomplish that goal and find success. I witnessed the passion and fierce determination that one person has can quickly impact those around them. At a time when people are fatigued and depressed by our political and financial systems, there are several people out there energized and working feverishly to show us the light to a situation. The beauty of working on an event of this nature is to see people at their best and to actually see into their hearts and feel what they feel in real time.

I feel blessed to have been able to work on this event. I stated earlier that I wasn’t familiar with this particular subject matter when I started working on this project. Well, I am now. I felt a direct experience during the event that will stay with me forever. I look forward to being a part of future projects like this one and know that I will continue on my path of speaking truth to power as I move through my own life.

Tamara Lee
Talee Professional Services