Dear Editor:
As one of the organizers of the End The War March and Rally, I would like to respond to Josh McKinney ‘s commentary. First, I wish to comment on what he didn’t write about. He poses a few well-worn stereotypes of the so-called left- and right-wing “elites.” These are not elites. They are a minority. While the elite are often the minority, it is erroneous to conclude they are one and the same. These stereotypes were conveniently created to gain an advantage by one group over the other (take your pick of which group is on top, depending on which way you lean) and to prevent people from seeing each other. Make fun of the “elite ” stereotype in each group and you don’t actually have to defend your arguments.
Now, on to the puppet: I am fascinated at how someone will take as a symbol one image, such as the puppet of George W. Bush, and then claim it “was crude, shameless and demeaning ” to those who are fighting and who have died or been catastrophically injured by this war – Bush’s war. Talk about climbing onto a pile of bodies! Every person who has fought in this war has been used by George W. Bush (the puppet or the decider again, take your pick), and those who defend the war.
McKinney also claims that by having the puppet there, participants in the rally were “using the war in Iraq as a platform to attack and make fun of President Bush.” That is correct, Josh. We were. And here’s why: this war would not be happening if it were not for George W. Bush. He is the “decider.” He decided to either be used by the New American Centurions or to exact some notion of revenge (for his father or on his father for not having gone far enough, I can’t tell), or to simply play war with real people. He decided to use over 800 signing statements that place him outside the laws he decided to enact. He decided to thrust a conveniently packaged Patriot Act at a scared and nervous Congress in the middle of the night. He decided to leave all children behind unfunded mandates and inadequate health care in order to pay for his little war game. He decided to stay the course, then stay the course, they stay the course some more.
But, I do have to admit one thing: he should not be alone in the lineup. We should have had other puppets in the rally as well. But even though it was the largest anti-war turnout here since the Vietnam War, we just didn’t have enough people to carry the puppets of Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Gonzales and the members of the 109th and 110th Congresses who have helped him along the way.
-Sandra Garrett
Co-founder, Concerned TN Citizens

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