Uplifting Change We Can Hope For

Together the American people working in one spirit, the spirit of possibilities and a positive state of mind, can definitely have a significant impact to cause change for the future generations. First of all in the people's agenda is the War in Iraq, We all need to take a stand -- one that is ethical, moral, and spiritual. I have always been against since the very beginning the invasion of their sovereign country. And that's where I clearly stand. After having served on military active duty in the United States Navy, I believe that the Iraq War is a war that is unjust and downright wrong!

How did the United States get in this situation in the first place? Perhaps there should be a requirement written down to ensure that whoever sits in the throne of the President of the United States of America, the most influential country in the world, to have not just a thinking cap but a moral mind and a compassionate heart. I'm sure the one sitting there has one, he just needs to apply his gears! Should I apologize for my political sarcasm? I sometimes think that when one is tired of his or her tax dollars going into a war that the great majority of the citizens do not agree with or support, people will never understand why we are in Iraq! There are better ways to spend our taxes, such as on education, healthcare, the green revolution to get rid of those nasty and dirty coal business to run our economy, immigration issues, straightening out the retirement funds of people's social security where they invested their money in good faith, and so many more important social issues! These need to take precedence before focusing American funds on the war in Iraq!

Diplomacy is the only thing that makes sense if the current administration still decides to keep our troops in that part of the world. Diplomacy will make our troops stay in Iraq much shorted and they can go home finally to their families. It is the right thing to do! Diplomacy is a way of life -- the right way to live. Nonviolence is moral and ethical and the productive thing to do where one can clearly see win-win situations. The United States can not go on bombing people and countries whenever it wishes. We can not just invade a sovereign country whenever we feel that they have the resources that we need, and say "We're probably gonna be there for a 100 more years!" This is illogical and like what my son stated to me, "it is absurd!"

If we pull out now, the United States must have the responsibility to make sure that Iraq is not unstable. When we pull our forces out of there, I strongly believe that there should be an accountability of what we have done in Iraq in the first place. If and when we do, we will lose our credibility in the entire world! Where is our accountability? We went in -- bomb, bomb, bomb -- then decided to leave without planning, instability and chaos awaits that nation-state. We should not have been in Iraq in the first place. DIPLOMACY is the better alternative in this quagmire that we Americans are in. Any candidate who proposes to end the war will surely have my vote. One candidate, Senator Barack Obama, is about ending not just the war in Iraq, but the war here at home, the remnant of the Vietnam era, the war against the social problems that we have. It seems to me, and this is merely my humble opinion, his experiences as an advocate and a grassroots organizer coupled with his ability to unite people across religious and social lines, is more capable of confronting conflict and political instability than any candidate. Somehow I sense a littel ray of hope that he represents, not only for myself but for so many others. This man reflects the hope of a different America, one that is more accepting, kind, and thoughtful. If given the chance, America can refocus in the direction of not only tolerance of other races and cultural way of life but toward acceptanc. And we can finally admit to the entire world that we are not the hegemony of life on this planet.