This statement seems as accessible as they come, one that can really reach
people. The importance of which we learned in the sixties, I think.
Paula
> This appeared in the Nov. 11 Washington Post. Sean
> Penn paid $56,000 to have this appear. It took almost
> an entire page.
>
>
> An Open Letter to the President of the United States
> of America
>
> Mr. Bush:
>
> Good morning sir. Like you, I am a father and an
> American. Like you, I consider myself a patriot. Like
> you, I was horrified by the events of this past year,
> concerned for my family and my country. However, I do
> not believe in a simplistic and inflammatory view of
> good and evil. I believe this is a big world full of
> men, women, and children who struggle to eat, to love,
> to work, to protect their families, their beliefs, and
> their dreams. My father, like yours, was decorated for
> service in World War II. He raised me with a deep
> belief in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as
> they should apply to all Americans who would sacrifice
> to maintain them and to all human beings as a matter
> of principle.
>
> Many of your actions to date and those proposed seem
> to violate every defining principle of this country
> over which you preside: intolerance of debate ("with
> us or against us"), marginalization of your critics,
> the promoting of fear through unsubstantiated
> rhetoric, manipulation of a quick comfort media, and
> position of your administration's deconstruction of
> civil liberties all contradict the very core of the
> patriotism you claim. You lead, it seems, through a
> blood-lined sense of entitlement. Take a close look at
> your most vehement media supporters. See the fear in
> their eyes as their loud voices of support ring out
> with that historically disastrous undercurrent of rage
> and panic masked as "straight tough talk." How far
> have we come from understanding what it is to kill one
> man, one woman, or one child, much less the
> "collateral damage" of many hundreds of thousands.
> Your use of the words, "this is a new kind of war" is
> often accompanied by an odd smile. It concerns me that
> what you are asking of us is to abandon all previous
> lessons of history in favor of following you blindly
> into the future. It worries me because with all your
> best intentions, an enormous economic surplus has been
> squandered. Your administration has virtually
> dismissed the most fundamental environmental concerns
> and therefore, by implication, one gets the message
> that, as you seem to be willing to sacrifice the
> children of the world, would you also be willing to
> sacrifice ours.
>
> I know this cannot be your aim so, I beg you Mr.
> President, listen to Gershwin, read chapters of
> Stegner, of Saroyan, the speeches of Martin Luther
> King. Remind yourself of America. Remember the Iraqi
> children, our children, and your own.
>
> There can be no justification for the actions of Al
> Qaeda. Nor acceptance of the criminal viciousness of
> the tyrant, Saddam Hussein. Yet, that bombing is
> answered by bombing, mutilation by mutilation, killing
> by killing, is a pattern that only a great country
> like ours can stop. However, principles cannot be
> recklessly or greedily abandoned in the guise of
> preserving them.
>
> Avoiding war while accomplishing national security is
> no simple task. But you will recall that we Americans
> had a little missile problem down in Cuba once. Mr.
> Kennedy's restraint (and that of the nuclear submarine
> captain, Arkhipov) is to be aspired to. Weapons of
> mass destruction are clearly a threat to the entire
> world in any hands. But as Americans, we must ask
> ourselves, since the potential for Mr. Hussein to
> possess them threatens not only our country, (and in
> fact, his technology to launch is likely not yet at
> that high a level of sophistication) therefore, many
> in his own region would have the greatest cause for
> concern. Why then, is the United States, as led by
> your administration, in the small minority of the
> world nations predisposed toward a preemptive military
> assault on Iraq?
>
> Simply put, sir, let us re-introduce inspection teams,
> inhibiting offensive capability. We buy time, maintain
> our principles here and abroad and demand of ourselves
> the ingenuity to be the strongest diplomatic muscle on
> the planet, perhaps in the history of the planet.
>
> The answers will come. You are a man of faith, but
> your saber is rattling the faith of many Americans in
> you.
>
> I do understand what a tremendously daunting task it
> must be to stand in your shoes at this moment. As a
> father of two young children who will live their lives
> in the world as it will be affected by critical
> choices today, I have no choice but to believe that
> you can ultimately stand as a great president. History
> has offered you such a destiny. So again, sir, I beg
> you, help save America before yours is a legacy of
> shame and horror. Don't destroy our children's future.
> We will support you. You must support us, your fellow
> Americans, and indeed, mankind.
>
> Defend us from fundamentalism abroad but don't turn a
> blind eye to the fundamentalism of a diminished
> citizenry through loss of civil liberties, of
> dangerously heightened presidential autonomy through
> acts of Congress, and of this country's mistaken and
> pervasive belief that its "manifest destiny" is to
> police the world. We know that Americans are
> frightened and angry. However, sacrificing American
> soldiers or innocent civilians in an unprecedented
> preemptive attack on a separate sovereign nation, may
> well prove itself a most temporary medicine. On the
> other hand, should you mind and have faith in the best
> of this country to support your leadership in
> representing a strong, thoughtful, and educated United
> States, you may well triumph for the long haul. Lead
> us there, Mr. President, and we will stand with you.
>
> Sincerely,
> Sean Penn
> San Francisco, California >>
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