A Letter to Bush Jr.

[Guest guest]

Letter to President Bush

By Joseph W. DuRocher

t r u t h o u t | Letter

 

Saturday 04 March 2006

 

Forwarded from Marni Harmony, the minister of a church in Orlando.

Joe is one of her parishioners.

President George W. Bush

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

 

Dear Mr. President:

 

As a young man I was honored to serve our nation as a

commissioned officer and helicopter pilot in the US Navy. Before me

in WWII, my father defended the country spending two years in the

Pacific aboard the USS Hornet (CV-14). We were patriots sworn " to

protect and defend " . Today I conclude that you have dishonored our

service and the Constitution and principles of our oath. My dad was

buried with full military honors so I cannot act for him. But for

myself, I return enclosed the symbols of my years of service: the

shoulder boards of my rank and my Naval Aviator's wings.

 

Until your administration, I believed it was inconceivable that

the United States would ever initiate an aggressive and preemptive

war against a country that posed no threat to us. Until your

administration, I thought it was impossible for our nation to take

hundreds of persons into custody without provable charges of any

kind, and to " disappear " them into holes like Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and

Bagram. Until your administration, in my wildest legal fantasy I

could not imagine a US Attorney General seeking to justify torture or

a President first stating his intent to veto an anti-torture law, and

then adding a " signing statement " that he intends to ignore such law

as he sees fit. I do not want these things done in my name.

 

As a citizen, a patriot, a parent and grandparent, a lawyer and

law teacher I am left with such a feeling of loss and helplessness. I

think of myself as a good American and I ask myself what can I do

when I see the face of evil? Illegal and immoral war, torture and

confinement for life without trial have never been part of our

Constitutional tradition. But my vote has become meaningless because

I live in a safe district drawn by your political party. My

congressman is unresponsive to my concerns because his time is filled

with lobbyists' largess. Protests are limited to your " free speech

zones " , out of sight of the parade. Even speaking openly is to risk

being labeled un-American, pro-terrorist or anti-troops. And I am a

disciplined pacifist, so any violent act is out of the question.

 

Nevertheless, to remain silent is to let you think I approve or

support your actions. I do not. So, I am saddened to give up my wings

and bars. They were hard won and my parents and wife were as proud as

I was when I earned them over forty years ago. But I hate the torture

and death you have caused more than I value their symbolism. Giving

them up makes me cry for my beloved country.

 

Joseph W. DuRocher