Please remember who the enemy is

[DesertRat]

While everyone is busy fighting over which candidate we should nominate, the right wing attack machine is gearing up to rip him or her to shreds. We need to fight THEM, not each other.

I'm reminded of this because of an email I received from an old friend yesterday. It was a forward attacking one of our presidential candidates, saying how "frightening" he is, etc. Since we go way back to college days and only see each other a 2-3 times a year, I was surprised at how right wing he has become. I wrote back saying that while this candidate isn't my first choice, I will vote for them in a heartbeat over a warmonger like John McCain who supports another 100 years in Iraq and joked about bombing Iran. I said that I vote for peace and that the $12 Billion a Month that we are spending in Iraq could be spent on so many other things. I ended by saying "The past 8 years have been a political and humanitarian disaster. We're ready for a change. I'm ready to give peace a chance." In the interest of a 30 year friendship, that was it. His wife and I have also become friends and she is dealing with a terminal illness so I didn't want to get into a fight. I was hopefully sending a message that we aren't on the same page politically.

Well, this morning I received this email back from him which just took my breath away. Here it is:

"Wow!!! I must watch more CNN so I too can be informed.
Consider this little math project: $3T budget, 300M Americans, $12B/month for Iraq, family of 5 and 12 months in the year( unless global warming has changed this)...That's a cost of $4,000 per family member per month, and $240,000/yr for the 5 member family which has a budget of $5M year (works out to 4.8% of your income). I think that's still expensive, given all the taxes I have to pay anyway, but I am willing to pay it (from savings, income, or loan) to keep my family safe and intact, and hopefully avoid their being killed in NYC, Chapel Hill,or elsewhere, by scum bags. Now, if one loved his/her country as much as their family...the costs of this war would be worth it. You cannot throw flowers at your enemy and blow up aspirin factories like some past leaders, and expect a optimistic future for your family.
Have a good day."

My heart is still pounding and my instinct is to pounce. But I won't because it's not worth it and certainly won't change his mind. But it I thought of DU and how everyone is pouncing on each other. WE are not the enemy. Rice and Gates are in Russia right now. Why? Probably gearing up for an attack on Iran!
We must do whatever we can to defeat the Republicans in November!!

Thank you DU for allowing me to vent.

PEACE

[uppityperson]

1. He tied Iraq, 9/11 and Chapel Hill together? And flowers and clenis?

What can you say.

[DesertRat]

5. I know. He's too far gone

He's a physician and adamantly against universal healthcare. It's sad.

[angrycarpenter]

2. Write back

send him some flowers with a note saying have a nice day.

People who think of war in dollars and cents have ruined us as a nation.

[DesertRat]

6. Your last sentence should be on a billboard.

It's so true.

[louis-t]

3. Send him a quote.

"Those who give up liberty for security deserve neither." -Ben Franklin

[DesertRat]

7. That's one of my favorites. n/t

[Warpy]

4. My enemies are and always have been CONSERVATIVES

and it doesn't matter which party they are in. They're universally wrong headed and incapable of adaptation to changing circumstances. They have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to do the right thing at the right time.

I'm sick of them.

Democratic conservatives are marginally better than Republic conservatives, if only because our party has a progressive wing that can tell them what to do when the shit really hits the fan.