Ken Bradley wrote: > Dear Mayor Rybak and Minneapolis Issues Folks: > > I understand that the Mayor promised in the past to > veto the anti-war resolution. I also understand that > people have argued such a resolution is not relevant > to the city of Minneapolis because the act of war can > only be implemented by the federal government, and > thus the city should not be passing such resolutions. > That position is flawed and misguided and lacks the > understand of our nation and worlds history. > > We only need to look at Nazi Germany and the > extermination of millions of people, the United States > during World War II and the treatment of Japanese > Americans, rounded up and held in concentration camps, > or the slaughter of Native Americans and African > Americans during our nations past to understand that > speaking out as an individual or government is > important to the preservation of the human race.
We need only look at Nazi Germany to understand that wars are sometimes necessary to protect our freedom and the lives of innocent people. Sure there are atrocities that have been committed by our nation, but this is not a valid argument for demilitarization. It is an argument for maintaining a higher moral ground than those who would destroy us. And yes, we should speak out for justice and the rights of individuals (I often take great risks to do so, as I believe our Mayor does). Each council member is free to protest a war with Iraq, but they were not elected to do so. They were elected to manage the City of Minneapolis. I would propose the following, present to the council a petition opposed to the war signed by a majority of citizens of Minneapolis. I would then agree that the council would have a mandate to pass a resolution opposed to the war. Until that time I believe that it is not within the purview of the council because: 1) The war was not a major campaign issue and the council members were not challenged to show that they have the expertise necessary to make such decisions and the voters were not able to cast their ballots knowledgably on the issue of the war. 2) As I've pointed out before, the council does not have the necessary information to make a wise decision as to whether a war with Iraq is advisable or in the best interests of our nation. Michael Atherton Prospect Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
