The America I Believe In

Growing up in New Orleans, the only child of an immigrant family, I realized at a very young age that I was blessed to be a citizen of the greatest nation in the world. My father's great love of America, and faith that America stood as a beacon for freedom, security and economic opportunity were expressed not only in words.

As a teenager, my cousins and I were dispatched to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and other Latin American countries on our summer vacations to help with humanitarian lay ministries, and to "give back" to communities less fortunate than our own. Of course, we complained about it. We wanted to spend summers with our friends, swimming, dancing, having fun -- not another summer of being eaten alive by mosquitos while teaching children the alphabet, reading to the elderly, scrubbing floors and baking bread.

Once we arrived, no one complained and we had many wonderful summers that went by all too quickly. I remember vividly my shock and outrage at conditions of extreme poverty, fear of government, fear of neighbors who may or may not have the ear of secret police, lack of medicine, first aid supplies, clean drinking water and food. The oppression and hopelessness made a lasting impression on me. The dream of living in America was a luxury that few afforded themselves.

The promises and possibilities of America disintegrated within a few short years.

The America I believe in was stolen away by Straussian neoconservatives, a president who violated the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Legislative branch of government. George Bush has arrogantly pursued an agenda of perpetual war, driven by a messianic belief that God speaks directly to him. We, the people, are "owned" in every sense of the word.

After seven years of tyranny, we have an opportunity to change our leadership. We can choose to continue with Bush's policies (and a vote for a Republican assures this). We can and I believe we need to think about what kind of government we want before voting. When you cast your vote, you are a participant in the process of government. It is your both your right and your responsibility to educate yourself about the two Democratic candidates and vote for either Senator Hillary Clinton or Senator Barack Obama. Consider the America you believe in carefully.

The America I believe in does not torture, does not justify or argue semantics of legislature for a "right" to torture, and leads the world in championing human rights.

Instead of allowing this President - or any President - to decide what does and does not constitute torture, we could have left the definition up to our own laws and to the Geneva Conventions, as we would have if we passed the bill that the Armed Services committee originally offered.

And the sad part about all of this is that this betrayal of American values is unnecessary. We could've drafted a bipartisan, well-structured bill that provided adequate due process through the military courts, had an effective review process that would've prevented frivolous lawsuits being filed and kept lawyers from clogging our courts, but upheld the basic ideals that have made this country great.

(Source: Senator Obama on the Military Commissions Act of 2006.)  

"When I am president, America will reject torture without exception. America is the country that stood against that kind of behavior, and we will do so again," and made the following pledge with regard to Guantanamo, "I also will reject a legal framework that does not work. There has been only one conviction at Guantanamo. It was for a guilty plea on material support for terrorism. The sentence was nine months. There has not been one conviction of a terrorist act. I have faith in America's courts, and I have faith in our JAGs [the military lawyers of the Judge Advocate General's Corps]. As president, I will close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act, and adhere to the Geneva Conventions. Our Constitution and our Uniform Code of Military Justice provide a framework for dealing with the terrorists."

(Source: Andy Worthington in Huffington Post.)

Consider also the open letter from Habeas Lawyers for Obama, a group of 75 defense attorneys representing those illegally imprisoned at Guantanamo.

Some politicians are all talk and no action. But we know from first-hand experience that Senator Obama has demonstrated extraordinary leadership on this critical and controversial issue. When others stood back, Senator Obama helped lead the fight in the Senate against the Administration's efforts in the Fall of 2006 to strip the courts of jurisdiction, and when we were walking the halls of the Capitol trying to win over enough Senators to beat back the Administration's bill, Senator Obama made his key staffers and even his offices available to help us.

Senator Obama worked with us to count the votes, and he personally lobbied colleagues who worried about the political ramifications of voting to preserve habeas corpus for the men held at Guantanamo. He has understood that our strength as a nation stems from our commitment to our core values, and that we are strong enough to protect both our security and those values. Senator Obama demonstrated real leadership then and since, continuing to raise Guantanamo and habeas corpus in his speeches and in the debates.

The America I believe in does not spy on its citizens.

I strongly oppose retroactive immunity in the FISA bill.

Ever since 9/11, this Administration has put forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand.

The FISA court works. The separation of power works. We can trace, track down and take out terrorists while ensuring that our actions are subject to vigorous oversight, and do not undermine the very laws and freedom that we are fighting to defend.

No one should get a free pass to violate the basic civil liberties of the American people - not the President of the United States, and not the telecommunications companies that fell in line with his warrantless surveillance program. We have to make clear the lines that cannot be crossed.

That is why I am co-sponsoring Senator Dodd's amendment to remove the immunity provision. Secrecy must not trump accountability. We must show our citizens – and set an example to the world – that laws cannot be ignored when it is inconvenient.

Spying on ordinary American citizens have never made America safe or free. -- and never will. President Bush's recent State of the Union address again underscored the cynical politics of appealing to our fears to justify forsaking our civil rights.

To protect America, we need to know who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they're planning. Last year, Congress passed legislation to help us do that. Unfortunately, Congress set the legislation to expire on February the 1st. That means if you don't act by Friday, our ability to track terrorist threats would be weakened and our citizens will be in greater danger. Congress must ensure the flow of vital intelligence is not disrupted. Congress must pass liability protection for companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America.

(Source: George W. Bush, 2008 State of the Union address.)

In point of fact, we are less secure as a nation than we were when Bush took office.

America is a great nation precisely because Americans have been willing to stand up when it was hard; to serve on stages both great and small; to rise above moments of great challenge and terrible trial.

One of those moments took place on September 11, 2001. Whether you lived in Manhattan or here in Mount Vernon, you felt the pain and loss of that day not just as an individual, but as an American. That’s why we lined up to give blood. That’s why we held vigils and flew flags. That’s why we rallied behind our President. <b<We had a chance to step into the currents of history. We were ready to answer a new call for our country. But the call never came. Instead, we were asked to go shopping, and to prove our patriotism by supporting a war in Iraq that should never have been authorized, and never been waged.</strong>

We have lost precious time. Our nation is less secure and less respected in the world. Our energy dependence has risen, and so has the specter of climate change. More of our children have been left behind. Instead of a call to unity, we got a political strategy of division. The burden of service has fallen, more and more, on the brave men and women of our military who heroically serve tour after tour of duty in a war without end."

(Source: Speech by Barack Obama in Mount Vernon, Iowa, December 5, 2007.)

The burden of 3,954 families who have lost a loved one in Iraq is literally more than I can imagine. The fact that 3,954 Americans made the ultimate sacrifice and died in service is beyond tragic. To the parents who have lost their beloved son or daughter, to the children who will grow up without a parent, to the thousands of families and friends who mourn a fallen soldier they knew and loved to an unnecessary war, we can offer little or no gratitude or comfort. What we can do is try to support our troops by electing a president who has never wavered on his stance against war. What we can do is elect a president who will end this war.

This Administration acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our security. It is not. There are no short-cuts to protecting America, and that is why the fifth part of my strategy is doing the hard and patient work to secure a more resilient homeland.

Too often this Administration's approach to homeland security has been to scatter money around and avoid hard choices, or to scare Americans without telling them what to be scared of, or what to do. <b<A Department set up to make Americans feel safer didn't even show up when bodies drifted through the streets in New Orleans.</strong> That's not acceptable.

(Source: BarackObama.com)

The America I believe in will end the tragic occupation of Iraq. Not in 100 years, not in five years, but immediately upon Barack Obama's inauguration.

Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.

(Source: Barack Obama.com)

Having opposed the war in Iraq at its inception and consistently thereafter, having voted against the Authorization to use Military Force in Iraq, Barack Obama has always known there is no military solution to war in Iraq.

The consequences of war are dire, the sacrifices immeasurable. We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war. But we ought not – we will not – travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain.

(Source: Barack Obama, 26 October 2002.

The America I Believe In doesn't rattle sabers at Iran.

Obama opposed the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which says we should use our military presence in Iraq to counter the threat from Iran. Obama believes that it was reckless for Congress to give George Bush any justification to extend the Iraq War or to attack Iran. Obama also introduced a resolution in the Senate declaring that no act of Congress – including Kyl-Lieberman – gives the Bush administration authorization to attack Iran.

(Source: Baack Obama.com.)

The America I believe in will end the war in Aghanistan.

We did not finish the job against al Qaeda in Afghanistan. We did not develop new capabilities to defeat a new enemy, or launch a comprehensive strategy to dry up the terrorists' base of support. We did not reaffirm our basic values, or secure our homeland.

Instead, we got a color-coded politics of fear. Patriotism as the possession of one political party. The diplomacy of refusing to talk to other countries. A rigid 20th century ideology that insisted that the 21st century's stateless terrorism could be defeated through the invasion and occupation of a state. A deliberate strategy to misrepresent 9/11 to sell a war against a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.

To end this overly lengthy diary, I've been asked exactly what Barack Obama means when he says "change." What is the "hope" he speaks of? In previous diaries, I've written about Obama's exit plan for Iraq and about his belief in the one American family we're all part of and the need for citizens to actively engage in government and invest in one another for the well-being of every American.

Peace.