[Oe List ...] Letter from a soldier

[george]

One of the members of the church I pastor sent me this email and I 
thought you would want to read it.  Here deep in the heart of Texas, 
Travis County that is, where Austin is, we voted overwhelmingly for 
John Kerry.

 This is from the son of a great couple I met the day I saw Outfoxed. 
He was a UT student before being deployed to Iraq. Thought you might 
want
to read the thoughts of a young soldier from Austin who cared greatly 
about this election...  I certainly could never express myself nearly 
so well. 
============

Well it looks as though Bush won the election. I won't pretend
otherwise - I am crushed. I have never been so disappointed in my life. 
I cannot
fathom that this is what a majority of Americans want, yet there it is, 
right
in front of me. I don't even feel angry. I feel far worse. I feel as
though a loved one has died.

I don't know why I take it so hard - after all, a Bush victory does not
effect me personally. Hundreds of thousands face deployment to Iraq,
but I'm already a veteran. My time is almost up. I'm also not poor, not 
a
minority, not a single mother, not a farmer or a blue collar worker. 
It's not me
that a Bush victory hurts.

I don't know why it is that I have taken it upon myself to carry this
burden, but I carry it nevertheless. And his re-election is such a
heavy load for me to bear, on top of so many other burdens. Right now I 
don't
know how I can carry on. I guess I'll simply shut down for a while, 
until I
feel strong enough to pick myself up and keep going.

I don't understand this world. I suppose that ignorance and fear have
always been more powerful than justice, but that's little consolation.

America represents 6% of the world's population. 50% of Americans
voted. Half voted for Bush. Therefore, 1.5% of the world's population 
are Bush
Americans. But the rest of mankind, 98.5% of humans, every living
person who breathes the planet's air, drinks the water, and longs to 
live with
their families in peace is shackled to their whims. It is a curiousity 
of our
age that the policies of the United States government have more of an
impact on most people than the policies of their own governments. And no
other faction is so proud of it's indifference to the outside world 
than right-wing
Americans. Most proclaim as a red-blooded, macho badge of honor that
they don't give a damn about the rest of the world (symbolized by 
France,
the UN, etc.) They say asinine things like "Those with the guns make the
rules."

This is very sad to me. If I were not in the military, I would almost 
certainly leave the
United States. I feel privileged to be a soldier and I have never known 
a
finer organization than the US Army, but I may leave the service and go
abroad anyway. I will have to think deeply about it.

It pains me to say this, but if Bush accurately represents the majority
of America, then I don't want to be an American anymore.

We will now see if the predictions I made in the past will come true:
The war will escalate. More Americans will be sent out here. The troop
level will rise to an all-time high. Attacks against us will increase. 
Next
up: The Battle of Fallujah.

I want to be held to each and every one of those predictions. I would
like to be wrong, but I know better than that.

One thing is for sure now: I'm done with politics. Let America nail
itself on a cross of gold - I'm done caring. I know millions of people 
have
been offended deep in their souls (as Walter Cronkite put it) by the 
Bush
administration, but people who are stronger than me will have to carry
on the fight because I just can't do it anymore. The ignorance we're up
against is too monumental, and there is so much money invested in 
keeping
Americans afraid, it's impossible to compete.

One last thing: In the past I have kept up an engaging debate with at
least a dozen Republicans who receive these emails. I apologize to you 
all,
but that will have to stop now. I am afraid I will not be able to 
maintain
the diplomatic tone I have used in the past, and personal relationships
could suffer as a result. The problem for me is that you are home in a
wealthy cocoon in Suburbia, cheerfully enabling the war to go on, while 
I have
to live the reality every day. I cannot debate across such a deep 
divide.

In fact, unless you are related to me by blood, I would prefer Bush's
supporters not contact me again. I have no doubt that many of you are
good people at heart, but I simply have no desire to have any further
contacts with you. This one issue far outweighs any friendly ties we 
may have.
It pains me to say this, but you have chosen to align yourself with a
group that is my sworn enemy, people whom I would go to any lengths, 
pay any
price, sacrificing everything, to bring down. Not only that, but if you
can look at this war and continue to support Bush, then we live in
completely different moral universes, and I don't want anything to do 
with yours.

And with all due respect to your right to hold your own beliefs, you
have never seen a person killed as a direct result of Bush's actions. 
And
neither has Bush himself.

I can't think of anything else to say, except that I am immensely proud
to have taken a stand against Bush America. I gave it everything I had.

Seth

All the best

George Holcombe
14900 Yellowleaf Tr.
Austin TX 78728
512/252-2756
512/294-5952