I'm flying my flag July 4, Mr. President.

stevedeshazer

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Jun-28-05 09:41 PM
Original message

I'm flying my flag July 4, Mr. President.

You bet I will.

I'll fly it for our troops, just as you suggested tonight. They're doing the job you sent them to do, even the ones who don't agree with you.

Hell, it's my flag just as much as it is yours, since both our daddies fought for it and the freedom it represents. But it means much more to me than just that. I hope you'll hear me out.

We have some things in common, Mr. President. Our fathers both fought honorably in World War II. And you and I avoided service in Viet Nam.

We both got lucky on that Viet Nam thing, Mr. President. You were lucky enough to have your dad get you off the hook so someone else could take your place. I was lucky enough to have the government end the war just soon enough so I wouldn't be conscripted. Like I said, we were both lucky.

I just heard you speak tonight of the war on terror. Of murderous ideology, of images of violence and bloodshed. You linked the terror we all felt on September 11, 2001 to the current "war on terror", as you call it, in Iraq.

Mr. President, I must say, do you really think we're that gullible?

I'll give you credit where it's due, Mr. President. You had either the courage or the gumption tonight to quote the very person whose name you've avoided for months: Osama bin Laden, whom you credit here:

"This Third World War is raging'' in Iraq. "The whole world is watching this war.'' He says it will end in "victory and glory or misery and humiliation.''

Mr. President, I despise Osama bin Laden, and I supported you, perhaps for the only time, when you promised to go after him and hunt him down. But Osama bin Laden is right about how all this will end. Which will it be, in the end? Victory and glory? Or misery and humiliation?

So we all want to know, why are we in Iraq instead? Why did you lie to us? Do you think we haven't figured it out? Come on, Mr. President. Let's keep it real for once, just you and me. You've gotten us into a real mess here, fella. Folks are starting to think you're in over your head.

Mr. President, we're of the same generation. Like I said, we have some things in common. But I must say, I think you've forgotten something very important that I was brought up with.

You've forgotten the American people. You know, the ones you represent.

Among us are the sick and old.

There are veterans who have returned from wars and paid the price asked of them only to find they can't get health care.

There are moms and dads who have lost their jobs, and sometimes their kids in your war.

There are people who work hard every day just to get by and feed their kids who have had their jobs sent to foreign lands so your rich friends can make more money.

Across the land, regular folks who have lost their children to this war expected more from you tonight. Instead, they got more of the same. They deserve better. We forgot Poland.

You forgot America.

Mr. President, my flag will fly on July 4th. Not because of you, but in spite of you. You see, I flew this flag long before you and your supporters wrapped yourself in it for personal gain. I flew it then and I fly it now because I believe in what it really stands for, not as a Republican Party trademark but as the banner of a free nation, worthy of respect and admiration around the world.

The flag belongs to the American people, and it represents all of us. Not some; all. Even those who choose to burn it.

I'm flying my flag July 4, Mr. President. Just like you said.