What Else Can I Do?

Today is Day 14,260 of the Maintenance of the Immoral (and Illegal) West Bank Settlements and almost the 40th anniversary of the start of the immoral (and illegal) occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Micah.6:8 “He has told you, O man, Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God

This morning a friend sent me this excerpt from Lee Iacocca's new book entitled Where Have All the Leaders Gone" which you can find at

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/iacocca.asp

In response, this is what I wrote:


Hi

“Where have all the leaders gone? … You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re not outraged.”

We watched the debate Thursday night. Have you read the comments about Gravel? Is that what happens when a candidate gets outraged?

BUT then again, I have a still vivid memory involving Gravel.

I was a delegate to the 1972 Democratic. Some of us met with Gravel and I became a supporter of his for the vice-presidential nomination. Our “outraged” delegation (headed by Father Robert Drinan) was upset with McGovern because although he committed himself to an “open” nomination of Vice-President (that meant he would ask for the delegates’ thoughts about nominations) appeared to be poised to unilaterally announce that Kevin White would be the nominee. We caused a ruckus and while Mike Gravel was giving his own nominating speech, some of us were hearing that he had used red-baiting techniques to defeat Ernest Greuning and become the senator from Alaska. I still picture myself standing near a wall on the side of the convention hall becoming more and more anxious. I had this ominous vision unlike anything I have ever experienced. I heard what I thought were the words of a demagogue, one who was going to be elected Vice-President and then somehow become President and then ……….. But eventually, McGovern nominated Eagleton. The next night, the Massachusetts delegation plastered the hall with fliers about something, we asked for a roll call, and McGovern gave an acceptance speech about 1 or 2 AM heard by no one, Nixon was reelected by a landslide and Gravel never did become VP.

I wonder now … Was I so traditional in 1972 that I did not recognize that Gravel’s speech was appropriate “outrage” and what we should have listened to during the Nixon presidency seeing as Gravel now has been given some credit for his 1971 filibuster that ended the draft and his release of the Pentagon Papers.

OR is the lesson that you should be careful what you do when you are outraged for fear you might elect someone who would form an administration that is willing to pretend that it is totally incompetent to simply cover its being totally corrupt - one that would trample on the constitution?

Whoops, didn’t we ALL do that because we were NOT outraged.

SO I am outraged and don’t know what to do about it. Lee Iacocca has written about it. What will he DO? Maybe he is waiting for a Republican draft for the Presidential nomination.

Perhaps, in default, the only thing I can think about doing is writing. For me the outrage is directed primarily against the Israeli government with special emphasis on the Jewish Israeli settlers (who I refer to as squatters) in Hebron so I write and write http://judaismandisrael.blogspot.com/

But there must be more I can do. I don’t blame the leaders? I sadly believe that the politicians are followers. They will do what we tell them to do. To some extent I believe it is a waste of time to watch these people debate. While I am not doing it, I believe that what is important is that WE decide what should happen and DEMAND that our congressional “followers” do it.

I know what I think should happen – George W. Bush and Richard Cheney should realize that they are the worst President and Vice-President this country has ever had, that they have formed the worst administration this country has ever had, that they are a shameful embarrassment, and should resign effective immediately.

Word, words, words.

What else can I do??

Ron

Deutoronomy 16:20 – “Justice, justice shall you pursue that you may live and inherit the land which God gave you” and the footnote in the 1980 Hertz Edition “(T)here is international justice, which demands respect for the personality of every national group, and proclaims that no people can of right be robbed of its national life or territory, its language or spiritual heritage.