Letter to President Bush
This letter came courtesy of MeFi. It puts into words feelings I've had for several years now.

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

As a young man I was honored to serve our nation as a commissioned
officer and helicopter pilot in the U. S. Navy. Before me in WWII, my
father defended the country spending two years in the Pacific aboard
the U.S.S. Hornet (CV-14). We were patriots sworn to protect and
defend. Today I conclude that you have dishonored our service and the
Constitution and principles of our oath. My dad was buried with full
military honors so I cannot act for him. But for myself, I return
enclosed the symbols of my years of service: the shoulder boards of my
rank and my Naval Aviators wings.

Until your administration, I believed it was inconceivable that the
United States would ever initiate an aggressive and preemptive war
against a country that posed no threat to us. Until your
administration, I thought it was impossible for our nation to take
hundreds of persons into custody without provable charges of any kind,
and to disappear them into holes like Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and
Bagram. Until your administration, in my wildest legal fantasy I could
not imagine a U.S. Attorney General seeking to justify torture or a
President first stating his intent to veto an anti-torture law, and
then adding a signing statement that he intends to ignore such law as
he sees fit. I do not want these things done in my name.

As a citizen, a patriot, a parent and grandparent, a lawyer and law
teacher I am left with such a feeling of loss and helplessness. I
think of myself as a good American and I ask myself what can I do when
I see the face of evil? Illegal and immoral war, torture and
confinement for life without trial have never been part of our
Constitutional tradition. But my vote has become meaningless because I
live in a safe district drawn by your political party. My congressman
is unresponsive to my concerns because his time is filled with
lobbyists largess. Protests are limited to your free speech zones, out
of sight of the parade. Even speaking openly is to risk being labeled
un-American, pro-terrorist or anti-troops. And I am a disciplined
pacifist, so any violent act is out of the question.

Nevertheless, to remain silent is to let you think I approve or
support your actions. I do not. So, I am saddened to give up my wings
and bars. They were hard won and my parents and wife were as proud as
I was when I earned them over forty years ago. But I hate the torture
and death you have caused more than I value their symbolism. Giving
them up makes me cry for my beloved country.

Joseph W. DuRocher

Posted at: 18:43 on 10/03/2006   [ /diary ] #