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-Caveat Lector-
I liked this line: "You lead, it seems, through a
blood-lined sense of entitlement."
>This appeared in the Washington Post. Sean Penn paid
$56,000
>to have this appear. It took almost an entire page.
>
>On the weekend of Remembrance Day...it seems fitting
to ponder Mr. Penn's
>words and ask ourselves where our voices can bring
some reason and sanity
>to the acts of insanity taking place in our world. I
applaud Mr. Penn's
>courage to speak up.
>
>An Open Letter to the President of the United States
of America
>
>Mr. Bush:
>
>Good morning sir. Like you, I am a father and an
American. Like you,
>I consider myself a patriot. Like you, I was
horrified by the events
>of this past year, concerned for my family and my
country. However,
>I do not believe in a simplistic and inflammatory
view of good and evil.
>I believe this is a big world full of men, women, and
children who
>struggle to eat, to love, to work, to protect their
families, their
>beliefs, and their dreams. My father, like yours, was
decorated for
>service in World War II. He raised me with a deep
belief in the
>Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as they should
apply to all
>Americans who would sacrifice to maintain them and to
all human beings
>as a matter of principle.
>
>Many of your actions to date and those proposed seem
to violate
>every defining principle of this country over which
you preside:
>intolerance of debate ("with us or against us"),
marginalization of
>your critics, the promoting of fear through
unsubstantiated rhetoric,
>manipulation of a quick comfort media, and position
of your
>administration's deconstruction of civil liberties
all contradict the
>very core of the patriotism you claim. You lead, it
seems, through a
>blood-lined sense of entitlement. Take a close look
at your most
>vehement media supporters. See the fear in their eyes
as their loud
>voices of support ring out with that historically
disastrous
>undercurrent of rage and panic masked as "straight
tough talk."
>How far have we come from understanding what it is to
kill one man,
>one woman, or one child, much less the "collateral
damage" of many
>hundreds of thousands. Your use of the words, "this
is a new kind of
>war" is often accompanied by an odd smile. It
concerns me that what
>you are asking of us is to abandon all previous
lessons of history in
>favor of following you blindly into the future. It
worries me because
>with all your best intentions, an enormous economic
surplus has been
>squandered. Your administration has virtually
dismissed the most
>fundamental environmental concerns and therefore, by
implication, one
>gets the message that, as you seem to be willing to
sacrifice the
>children of the world, would you also be willing to
sacrifice ours.
>
>I know this cannot be your aim so, I beg you Mr.
President, listen to
>Gershwin, read chapters of Stegner, of Saroyan, the
speeches of Martin
>Luther King. Remind yourself of America. Remember the
Iraqi children,
>our children, and your own.
>
>There can be no justification for the actions of Al
Qaeda. Nor
>acceptance of the criminal viciousness of the tyrant,
Saddam Hussein.
>Yet, that bombing is answered by bombing, mutilation
by mutilation,
>killing by killing, is a pattern that only a great
country like ours
>can stop. However, principles cannot be recklessly or
greedily
>abandoned in the guise of preserving them.
>
>Avoiding war while accomplishing national security is
no simple task.
>But you will recall that we Americans had a little
missile problem down
>in Cuba once. Mr. Kennedy's restraint (and that of
the nuclear submarine
>captain, Arkhipov) is to be aspired to. Weapons of
mass destruction are
>clearly a threat to the entire world in any hands.
But as Americans, we
>must ask ourselves, since the potential for Mr.
Hussein to possess them
>threatens not only our country, (and in fact, his
technology to launch is
>likely not yet at that high a level of
sophistication) therefore, many in
>his own region would have the greatest cause for
concern. Why then, is
>the United States, as led by your administration, in
the small minority
>of the world nations predisposed toward a preemptive
military assault on
>Iraq?
>
>Simply put, sir, let us re-introduce inspection
teams, inhibiting
>offensive capability. We buy time, maintain our
principles here and
>abroad and demand of ourselves the ingenuity to be
the strongest
>diplomatic muscle on the planet, perhaps in the
history of the planet.
>
>The answers will come. You are a man of faith, but
your saber is
>rattling the faith of many Americans in you.
>
>I do understand what a tremendously daunting task it
must be to stand
>in your shoes at this moment. As a father of two
young children who
>will live their lives in the world as it will be
affected by
>critical choices today, I have no choice but to
believe that you can
>ultimately stand as a great president. History has
offered you such a
>destiny. So again, sir, I beg you, help save America
before yours is
>a legacy of shame and horror. Don't destroy our
children's future.
>We will support you. You must support us, your fellow
Americans, and
>indeed, mankind.
>
>Defend us from fundamentalism abroad but don't turn a
blind eye to
>the fundamentalism of a diminished citizenry through
loss of civil
>liberties, of dangerously heightened presidential
autonomy through
>acts of Congress, and of this country's mistaken and
pervasive belief
>that its "manifest destiny" is to police the world.
We know that
>Americans are frightened and angry. However,
sacrificing American
>soldiers or innocent civilians in an unprecedented
preemptive attack
>on a separate sovereign nation, may well prove itself
a most temporary
>medicine. On the other hand, should you mine and have
faith in the
>best of this country to support your leadership in
representing a
>strong, thoughtful, and educated United States, you
may well triumph
>for the long haul. Lead us there, Mr. President, and
we will stand
>with you.
>
>Sincerely,
>Sean Penn
>San Francisco, California
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