Bring Them Home Now – South Tour: Tallahassee and Gainesville, FL

September 7th, 2005

By Michael T. McPhearson, Veterans for Peace I joined the tour Tuesday. Everyone is great and has such moving stories. I love being with courageous people standing up for what they believe. However, sometimes it is hard to listen to the stories. Our first event in Gainesville, FL was a press conference hosted by the Civic Media Center. Our audience welcomed us with open arms and enthusiasm ready to hear what we had to say. We were introduced by a young man who runs the center. I thought he was probably a college student. I later found out that he is a local high school student! Brooke Beasley spoke first. She talked about growing up in a military family and loving her country. She made it clear that we as citizens have a responsibility to stand up when we see our government taking the wrong path. We must look out for our soldiers. We need to bring them home now. She and her mother Julie Cuniglio are members of Gold Star Families for Peace. They talked about Brooke's cousin and Julie's nephew Aaron Dean White a fallen soldier. He was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq during the month of May 2003. It is clear that their family has suffered and they miss Aaron. Brooke and Julie expressed that the only way to honor their family's loss and Aaron's service is to admit we made a mistake and bring our troops home now. I must say I found myself getting a bit fired up as I listened to Brooke and Julie. I'm already pissed off at this administration. But people's stories get me going more. Next came Linda and Phil Waste. They have five children and grandchildren in the military with 59 months of collective service in Iraq. Certainly this family has given enough. How much longer must they give? Linda and Phil are a kind of tag team as they talk about the service their family has given this nation and continues to give. Phil is himself a veteran and his children have carried on the family tradition. They have no problem with their children defending the country. But this war based on lies and deceit is unacceptable. They do not want their family or anyone else to spend any more time in Iraq. The only right thing to do is bring our troops home now. The more I listened, the angrier I got. How dare this administration take advantage of these good people who want our country to be what we claim to be? How dare this administration ask this family to continue to deal with the possible death of loved ones to fill the pockets of war profiteers, oil companies and other corporate interest? I was next. In brief, I talked about patriotism. All of us here have either served; have family members serving or both. Most of the people questioning our patriotism have not served and have no one in harms way. I may disagree with you about the war. Disagreement and discussion is part of the democratic process. You may think the war is right. I am not going to question your patriotism. I will question your judgment. You are misguided. It does not mean you do not love your nation. Most of the time I don't get mad when I am called a traitor. It is too silly. I have a son in the Army heading to Iraq this month. I served my nation and many of my uncles have served. So I usually blow it off. But today I don't want to hear it. Sacrifice: George Bush visited my hometown, Fayetteville NC trying to persuade the nation to stay the course. The men and women in harms way are there for a noble cause. I ask, if the cause is so noble and important that my son must go and fight, what about Bush's kids. Not that I want them to go. I don't want anyone's child to go to Iraq. But his kids must not believe the cause is so great or important. So tell me why should I believe it? Why should my son go? Don't come to me with such BS. You, Bush, have no credibility. Bush says stay the course. We say it is time to change course. Bring our troops home now. Let me tell you about Jimmy Massey. Jimmy served in Iraq as a Marine. He has written a book called Cowboys From Hell. In the book he shares many of the horrors he has experienced. He told us about an incident where his unit killed several civilian protesters. The account is horrifying and moving. I respect Jimmy's honesty and courage to tell this story in an effort to uncover the horror and real cost of war. I am not going to try to retell his words. You should read the book. It will be out in October. Unfortunately he could not find a U.S. publisher to take the book. So a French company has the honor. Later we went to a local church for potluck dinner. It was followed by lively discussion that turned into a kind of town hall meeting. Julie put forth a challenge to change a mind a day from pro war to Bring Them Home Now! Talk to your neighbor, your friends and family. Write your congressperson and local media. Get out and make a difference. The momentum is on our side. Cindy has lit a fire. It's up to us. We can make it happen. Real Support for the Troops Means Bring Them Home Now and Take Care of Them Once They Get Here.