feel like i should go. could use some company (i actually can have good manners in public - particularly in that i intend to return home in a timely and safe fashion).
gary devan
Thousands of demonstrators are expected in Washington tomorrow for an antiwar march from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon.
- The march is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m.
- Demonstrators will follow roughly the same route across the Memorial Bridge to the Pentagon's north parking lot that was used in a 1967 protest against the Vietnam War.
- A stage will be set up in the parking area for a rally at 2 p.m. that will feature speakers and music.
- A counter-demonstration will be held near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Organizers said they will remain there from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. in honor of the armed forces.
March to the Pentagon
Tomorrow's antiwar march will begin at 12:30 p.m. Participants will start assembling at 8 a.m.
Christian Groups To Stage Protest
Several thousand Christian peace activists plan to march on the White House tonight to demonstrate their opposition to the war in Iraq, organizers said yesterday.
why i think america is the bestest country on earth, by gary devan:
spent most of my time sat'd afternoon at the vietnam veterans memorial (unplanned), reflecting on then and now. took a nice stroll through the streets of the nations capital, on a beautiful day, in good company, actually appreciating the hecklers. whereas i had been somewhat reluctant to go, i arrived back home feeling reverent (also unplanned). sometime last night, stood with a couple of other kooks with our hands over our hearts while an awesome guitardude played the national anthem - Jimmy Hendrix version - me wearing a fedora and shades and a four leaf clover on my cheek, drinking green beer. and nobody is looking to throw me in jail (as far as i know).
maybe/perhaps . . . some of us get so worked up about, what we perceive to be, this administrations abrogation of the constitution, the congress, the courts, the laws of this country - maybe it comes from a keen awareness that those are the only Real protections available to us - having voluntarily relinquished the fall-back-position of 'a false-certainty' in there being another, "higher", power.
maybe we Do feel more vulnerable than the likes of Marco . . .probably for good reason(!)
whereas He and other Charleton Heston types can feel rather plucky about their prospects - can confidently promote a "shoot All the bastards and trust god to sort it out" movie-like view of the world - the rest of us just see dead bodies as 'the last scene of the movie before the credits roll'. no 'special scenes' of the chosen Rising Up! from the carnage. no special 'DVD directers cuts' for us.
( we're still pretty okay with that 'living without false certainties' thing - right? (brian?) (right?!) . . . told ya, i accepted it - don't necessarily mean i Like it (!). )
[ it's just that i'd thought that that "silent majority" ascription of the previous generation wasn't all that flattering - not something i thought one would want to aspire to ].
might as well get the whole way up onto my 'high horse':
i had started out composing that last, feeling calm and reflective. by the end - now - i'm almost startled to realize how fricking pissed off i am. i'm debating just counting to ten - but - i'm not going to.
marco, don't EVER - if you have ANY reason to believe that i'm in hearing range . . . 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 . . .
. . . listen dude, would you Please just stop with the "we want the terrorists to win" and the "we would willingly sacrifice the lives of american troops just so it would make GW look bad" stuff?
it just Really pisses me off even thinking about it.
Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm proud of you and Joe (and anyone else who made it) for going down to the Mall last weekend. I wish I could heve joined you but it's a bit of a trip from Florida.
You mentioned going to the Vietnam Memorial. I remember my visit there many years back. My name could have easily been on that wall but I was lucky enough to have been born to parents with the financial ability to keep my sorry ass in school. It was a gut wrenching emotional experience and it's probably why you said what you did in your last post.
You might want to back off a bit with Marco. He's been extremely quiet lately and I think perhaps he's had an epiphany and is considering voting for Barack Obama........Naw!!!!!!!
deveil wrote:
. . . listen dude, would you Please just stop with the "we want the terrorists to win" and the "we would willingly sacrifice the lives of american troops just so it would make GW look bad" stuff?
it just Really pisses me off even thinking about it.
Sometimes the truth is painful to hear or consider.....if I were not telling you these things...where else would you hear them? Certainly not from the libs in the MSM and on this listserve. You need to have the courage to face the truth, and accept it.
As for the vote, I would venture to say that, by a factor of 10000, more people watched the college basketball tournament then participated in any war protests.
gotta run....gonna make some more fundraising calls for Barak.
marco, thanks.
thanks for restoring balance and evening things up.
now i don't feel so all alone in having exhibited stupid self-righteous jerky behavior.
granted, i opened the door. but i have faith that you'll capably stagger around on your own 'til you eventually crash into enough things and eventually knock yourself out - i'll try to get back to envisioning you less as Charleton Hesston and more properly as Charlie Chaplin.
but, once again, you're following the white house example to a 'T'.
problem is, whereas you're mostly harmless - their Keystone Kops routine is not.
you Do however provide a convenient diversionary target. i'll try to keep that perspective - and thanks, at least, for that.
and 'molotov marc' (used affectionately (!) - it would appear, is actually a keen observer.
it seems that 'marco the macabre' IS attracted to the sound of a grenade (whether it be fired intentionally or not). it's probably not worth the trouble of trying to lure him, subtley through an obstacle course, to a thoughtful ambush.
[the Monty Python sketch of the " Inbred upper-class english Twits " attempting to negotiate an obstacle course to obtain a prize came to mind. even the ones (the Twits) who eventually - mostly haphazardly, some sadly pathetic, but all hilariously - stumble, stagger, and trip their way to the prize (the prize being a bride) . . . haven't a Clue what to do with it when they get there! (i did what i could, but of course, it's a visual sketch.) ]
(( i figured i 'owed it' - to re-establish a proper tone to things. ))
