Dear
Republican Voters.
George Bush claims to be a president for all Americans. He believes that with
hard work he will be able to heal the wounds created in this country by an ugly,
divisive campaign. I am willing to work towards that end. I too want to heal the
damage that has been done to this country over the last four years. Here is all
that I require from you and the man you placed in the White House. If this
really is the greatest country on earth, the most powerful, the most benevolent,
I am not asking for too much.
First, I would like the president to admit the truth about the Iraq war. There
was no imminent threat from Saddam Hussein. We have killed over 13,000 Iraqis,
including women and children; I want an apology for their deaths. I want you and
the man you placed into power to tell the people of Iraq that we have behaved no
differently than those who flew planes into the towers on Nine eleven. That we
have attacked a sovereign nation - without cause - and that we will do whatever
it takes to rebuild their country.
I want you and the man you placed into power to contact each family of each
soldier that has died in Iraq and apologize for the death of their loved one. I
want you to accept that you deliberately put those young men and women into
harms way for reasons that you have not been honest about. I want you to reach
out to those families and tell them that you feel responsibility for their
deaths, and that you will never put a soldier’s life at risk without cause
again.
I want you to explain to all the children in this country whose parents have
lost their jobs due to outsourcing why this has happened. I want you to explain
to them that because it saves big corporations money to keep jobs and money
overseas, you have chosen to allow more Americans to lose their jobs than at any
time since the great depression. I want you and the man that you placed in the
White House to contact each of those families and explain that the profit
margins of big businesses are more important than American livelihoods.
I want you, and the man that you placed into power, to contact all the people
that have lost their health insurance and explain to them why saving $300 in
income taxes was more important than insuring the lives of your fellow
Americans. I want you to justify, face to face, why tax breaks to the wealthiest
1% of Americans is more important than insuring people who work multiple part
time jobs, hold down minimum wage jobs, work to support their children, work in
the arts, work in education, work in your fields, your factories, your
restaurants, and clean your homes. I want you to explain why saving those that
have the most, millions of dollars on their taxes, is more important then
protecting the health of millions of other Americans, who did not have the sense
to be born wealthy and privileged.
I want you, who claim to stand for family values, to contact all the gay and
lesbian families and explain to the children that their mommies and daddies are
not good enough to be considered equal under the law. I want you, and the man
that you put into power, to explain to those children why it is more important
to go against the constitution of the United States of America than it is to
allow loving couples to marry. That although our constitution states that we are
all equal, having the right to the pursuit of happiness, you only believe that
to be true for part of the population. I want you to look those children in the
eye, the thousands of children of gay and lesbian couples, and tell them that
because your religious beliefs look down on certain people, that they are less
than you, that their relationships are less valued, less important, and not
worthy of support and equal protection.
I want you to explain to me why family values should be decided by a religious
agenda.
I want you to explain to me why I work several jobs- have committed my life to
promoting arts, compassion, and tolerance, and I cannot afford health care.
I want you to explain to me why my country is using my tax dollars to fund a war
that I find morally reprehensible, while I am considered un-American for
speaking out.
I want you to explain to me why you found it more important to jeopardize the
environment around the globe, than to vote for a man that would have protected
our natural resources.
I want you to explain to me why you found it more important to jeopardize a
woman’s right to choose what is best for her than to consider the division
created in our constitution between Church and State.
I want you to explain to me how we will continue to fight on all the fronts that
this president has created around the world without reinstating the draft.
I want you to explain to me - and the future generations - why mortgaging our
country by creating the largest deficit in American history is more important
than taxing the wealthiest people in this country.
When you and the man that you placed into the White House can look me in the
eye, and explain these things to me, I am more than willing to heal the damage
that has been done in this country.
But until that time, until I see a move towards these things on the part of
Republicans and the government that you have created- prepare for a fight. I am
prepared to wage a battle against intolerance, ignorance, and big business
interests that go against common people.
I will fight against the corruption that threatens our safety in the world.
Haliburton is earning millions in the “war against terror.” I will not stop
speaking until that comes to an end.
I will stand behind those who cannot stand for themselves.
I will speak for those that cannot speak for themselves.
And I will not rest until the wrongs have been righted, and I will not be quiet
until those that are culpable are brought to light.
And I will be heard. And I will be strong, and there are millions more behind
me. And we will prevail.
Sincerely,
Dr. Elena Hartwell