Getting ready to go to Washington DC for the anti-war march. Over half a million people expected in DC and 250,000 expected in the San Francisco area march on the same day. Last month over 400,000 thousand people marched in London against this war and in Italy it was about 150,000. times have changed. Perhaps people aren't as asleep as one would guess. 

But wait… earlier this week I emailed my intentions to go and an invitation to a bunch of my friends and associates not just here in Miami but all over the States. I have been so surprised at the small number of responses I have received back. No one I know is going. In fact no one even knows about it. I received a lot of “you go Ed,” type replies. But nothing of any real substance. Everyone seems more interested in this weekend’s Halloween festivities rather than anything else. Derek Cintron did reply back, with a very passionate but convoluted letter promoting total annihilation to Iraq due to some connection at least in his mind between Iraq and the September 11^th attacks. I love Derek. And I love his passion. I cannot wait for him to make that subtle switch in his thinking that takes place just before a person joins the light side of the Force. He and many others continue to fail to realize year after year and century after century that fighting force with force and violence with violence will only lead to more death and more murder of all of us. 

That on September 11^th, we lost some 4000 of our people. In 1991 Iraq lost over 200,000 of theirs at our hands. Over the next ten years they lost an additional 1,000,000 people (that is one million) due to our economic sanctions and this maniac that is in power Saddam Hussein. My feeling is that before we go to war with anyone else, we really need to decide as a people if we want these figures on our heads and if we are willing to continue to let them build up. not just on our side but their side too. 

I don’t think anyone who is against war or murder is pro-Saddam. That's just a fallacy, a false conclusion used by pro-war-mongers to try to get you to be more pro-war like they are. Obviously Saddam needs to shape up or better yet ship out. I'm no more a politician than a fire man. I don’t know what the answer is. But at the least I do see very clearly a human species in the not too distant future that is smart enough and capable enough to live and work and play together without killing each other all the time. Again what people don’t yet realize is yes America is beautiful and wonderful and the world leaders and the smartest and all that crap (does anyone remember Rome—just checking), and so yes we do have a responsibility to try to maintain peace and stability around the globe (again, this is arguable—I am just playing the advocate here because this is what all these pro-American-interference-in-other-countrie’s-business-types will tell you), so if they are right, if we are the leaders, then lets lead. Let’s lead for real. Let’s lead into the future. Not the past. We already know what happens to empires when they continue to try to conquer and use force to get their way. Eventually they are brought down. History has already shown that. Eventually other countries will get so mad and so resentful that they will do anything and everything to bring us down. And that my friends is already starting to happen. Right now. all around us. That’s what September 11^th was all about. That's what the Washington DC sniper was all about. And we haven't seen the end of it. More and more countries are going to get sick of our law breaking, bully style of foreign policy and keep trying to bring down the big horse. It's not just foreigners mind you. Lets not forget timothy McVeigh and his act of revenge because of what our government did at Waco. There are a lot American citizens even who are just totally resentful and sick of the way our government breaks the rules sometimes. Let’s just try to remember that it isn't us. We aren't the enemy. If anything, we the people, are the victims. It's our government. It's our elected leaders. So it's up to us to speak up and tell them how we feel. It's our right, and more than that, it's our duty.

America is already a nation full of people asleep. Just like all the other empires who have crumbled before ours. Most people not only don’t care about this upcoming war with Iraq, worse yet, they don’t think they can do anything about it if they did care. they think it's out of our hands, that bush will do whatever he wants to regardless of what the people say. Well that certainly does seem to be the case. He is breaking many international laws and breaking several UN Treaty codes to do what he wants to. It is a shame, because he has a real chance here. He has a chance to make a difference. To show the rest of the world that America is not just a war-monger bully nation ready to kill anyone who gets in their way just because we are the strongest. This is our reputation around the world unfortunately. And bush is playing right into it. I resent him for that. And everyone else who cares about America and what we stand for should resent him as well. We have a shot here. In the short amount of time we have been the world’s strongest most powerful empire—200 years—such a small amount of time compared to other world empires of the past, we have had a rare opportunity to be an example to the rest of the world. And what a great example we have been in so many ways. Yes there are a few things we need to clean up—can anyone say native Americans and African Americans injustice?—but overall we are at least trying to do the right thing. I think most people know that. but this type of irreverence that George W. Bush is showing towards the American people and the world at large, this type of blatant disregard for rules, laws, treaties, and what is morally right is an outrage. The saddest part about this whole affair is that there won't be 5 million people marching on Saturday.  

So yea I'm going to march for that. I am going to march for peace. I am going to march to say ‘no I don’t know what the answer is, but I know now, after 6,000 years of human beings being here that killing isn't the answer anymore.’ Down with old ways, and in with the new. In with the new humanity. In with the new civilization. An enlightened planetary civilization.

Subject: Help prevent a war on Iraq; http://www.moveon.org/nowarworld/

MoveOn.org, ;