Message from a Military Dad

Last night 100 people in Knoxville stood in a circle, lit candles, and said the names of soldiers we know and love in Iraq. People did the same in 1500 other vigils in towns like Westport, Connecticut; Goshen, New York; Lumpoc, California; and Norman, Oklahoma. That’s right, Mr. President, there are people in little burgs all over the country who think you have some explaining to do.

Here’s an excerpt from an email I recieved after organizing a candlelight vigil in Knoxville last night. It’s from a Republican father named William:

I spoke to you after the vigil and I told you that I had a son 9 years old and that I thought that he would be of draft age before this is over. You told me that Sec. Rumsfeld had made statements indicating a 12 year military commitment. That old relic will be dead before this is over but my son will be expected to go and die (or kill) in a mess he helped create? I don’t think so.

This war can be ended now. The political rationale was false and therefore the war was lost from the beginning. The US must negotiate with the Sunnis rebels and end this now. There is no longer a military solution.

By the way, I grew up in the military. My father is a disabled Vietnam veteran and retired from the US Air Force. Also, I am probably best classified as a Republican. But like one fellow said when he spoke out at the vigil. He said, “This isn’t about politics, this is about what is right and what we want America to be…“.

Thanks again for your efforts. Please keep me on your mailing list for future action. My contributions to this effort are not heroic, this is what husbands and fathers do to protect their families.

I have done little liberal gatherings before. Rallies, protests, etc. I’m always glad that I did them afterward for myself, but they seem so limited in their effect. I’m glad the tone was solemn last night, and that we avoided the kind of spleen-venting that might drive away people like William — the folks who have “skin in the game,” as Cindy would say.

I have no family members in the military, but a buddy of mine named Jason Purcell is there. He’s engaged to be married stateside in less than a month. I hope he makes it home. I wish he didn’t have to go back, but because of a trumped-up war, he does.

When my mom said she would want to hit President Bush for calling her “Mom,” she wasn’t reacting politically. She was acting like a parent. William was doing the same. I think Cindy Sheehan has remade her mother’s despair into calm, loving, righteous anger — the kind of unstoppable force that can turn the tide in this war. — T