Sean, you are genuine
This was posted by my friend Sean Pearce, who is currently stationed in Baghdad:
"i read an article about sean penn...he took out a full page spread in the new york times...it must of cost him about half a million dollars to do, but he had something to say...he's been put into a place where he can express his views and unlike this blog...lots of people will read it...
i remember watching him on the larry king show a week or two before i deployed...he had, at that time, taken out a full page spread in the washington post...it was a letter to the president and it made sense to me...i found myself nodding along and speaking out words of agreement towards the t.v...he had just arrived back at home from his trip over here...he wanted to put a face on our "enemy"...he wanted to do this for america...i appreciate what he did...the media ate him alive...as any normal person would have guessed...they will probably name him the fonda of our war...i hope not...
in his article, in the new york post, he spoke of america losing it's flag...it's identity...he feared such things happening...america losing all that it stands for...but in my humble opinion it is already to late...it is in the process of being erased as we speak...there are good ol' boys running the country and making the rules...deals under the table...eyes looking the other way...
when i was in kuwait i flew a flag that i had bought while i was deployed in afghanistan...it was to replace the flag i had flown there for six months...i've never really thought of myself as patriotic but putting that flag up over our site gave me a sense of pride...i liked it on the inside...when ever i looked at it i couldn't help but think that it was a wonderful, beautiful, flag flying in the kandahar winds...to me it had purpose...it meant something...i guess it actually gave me a reason to be there...in that hard, hard land filled with sorrow and remorse...it was a being unto which i could point and proclaim in my largest big man voice..."that is the reason i am here"...we eventually left kandahar...and i had entertained the idea of leaving a flag there as a symbol of where we had been...a monument to our life there in the dirt and heat...but for some reason i didn't put it up...the flag that had flown is now at my home in arizona and it means so much to me now that i can hardly imagine what it might mean in 50 years...
i'm glad i bought the second flag...it came with me to kuwait...i flew it over my rig for 2 months...until the war officially took off...it flew high and my team and i enjoyed it...it proved our motivation...our obligation as soldiers...it was a beacon to all who passed that, yes, we are proud of the shared toils and hardships we endure...we are here and we are the rock of the marne...we are standing strong and firm for america in it's time of need...
they made us take it down...some big wig in some big wig meeting put out a big wig decision that we could not fly our flag...that no one could...this war was to be without the star and stripes...i was rocked...stunned flabbergasted...i wanted to nash teeth and rip fur...i couldn't understand...why...it was put out that we didn't want to "offend the iraqi's"...offend???were we not bombing them...have we not sanctioned their country into oblivion...are we not preparing to invade...aww...there is that word..."invade"...such a harsh word and i did not fully comprehend this word until i read sean penn's article...
he spoke of america, as a whole, losing it's flag...it's pride and meaning...america losing what it stands for due to back handed tactics and political jargon...we do not invade...we liberate...it all makes so much sense to me now...we could not fly the flag because of a word...we could not fly the flag because where our flag goes it brings a trail of war with it...we conquer...we assimilate...we americanize...we outpost and fortify......we do these things and the world sees it...the world bears witness and it testifies...
flying flag=invading force
hidden flag=friendly, helpful neighbor
the american flag does not fly in iraq...soldiers are dying everyday, not to preserve the american way of life (because our way of life isn't really affected by iraq) but to implement and protect american interests...what is an interest...that word sounds so business like...so unworthy of the death that has pounded it's way to the very core of this country...
saddam was not innocent in this matter...he was a bad bad man...but are we innocent...are we truly "liberating" iraq out of the goodness of our hearts...are we fighting and dying to free a nation...or to enslave it in commerce and oil contracts...
i read another article about dick cheney...our illustrious vice president...who happens to hold a considerable amount of stock in an oil company that was "awarded" the contract to control the iraqi oil supply...a company that continued to do business with siria and iran even after the sanctions by started subsidiary company's in in european countries...he used to be the chairman of this company and now one of his close friends chairs this organization...things like this make me sick...in the pit of my stomach...they make me sore...is that the real reason i'm here in the iraqi sun...is that the real reason soldiers are being shot...is that the real reason we are slaughtering the iraqi forces...someone help me to understand...this cannot be the all...the reason...the sum total of our actions...
or is it............
i want to move to new zealand"
Posted by: sean / 17:56
"i read an article about sean penn...he took out a full page spread in the new york times...it must of cost him about half a million dollars to do, but he had something to say...he's been put into a place where he can express his views and unlike this blog...lots of people will read it...
i remember watching him on the larry king show a week or two before i deployed...he had, at that time, taken out a full page spread in the washington post...it was a letter to the president and it made sense to me...i found myself nodding along and speaking out words of agreement towards the t.v...he had just arrived back at home from his trip over here...he wanted to put a face on our "enemy"...he wanted to do this for america...i appreciate what he did...the media ate him alive...as any normal person would have guessed...they will probably name him the fonda of our war...i hope not...
in his article, in the new york post, he spoke of america losing it's flag...it's identity...he feared such things happening...america losing all that it stands for...but in my humble opinion it is already to late...it is in the process of being erased as we speak...there are good ol' boys running the country and making the rules...deals under the table...eyes looking the other way...
when i was in kuwait i flew a flag that i had bought while i was deployed in afghanistan...it was to replace the flag i had flown there for six months...i've never really thought of myself as patriotic but putting that flag up over our site gave me a sense of pride...i liked it on the inside...when ever i looked at it i couldn't help but think that it was a wonderful, beautiful, flag flying in the kandahar winds...to me it had purpose...it meant something...i guess it actually gave me a reason to be there...in that hard, hard land filled with sorrow and remorse...it was a being unto which i could point and proclaim in my largest big man voice..."that is the reason i am here"...we eventually left kandahar...and i had entertained the idea of leaving a flag there as a symbol of where we had been...a monument to our life there in the dirt and heat...but for some reason i didn't put it up...the flag that had flown is now at my home in arizona and it means so much to me now that i can hardly imagine what it might mean in 50 years...
i'm glad i bought the second flag...it came with me to kuwait...i flew it over my rig for 2 months...until the war officially took off...it flew high and my team and i enjoyed it...it proved our motivation...our obligation as soldiers...it was a beacon to all who passed that, yes, we are proud of the shared toils and hardships we endure...we are here and we are the rock of the marne...we are standing strong and firm for america in it's time of need...
they made us take it down...some big wig in some big wig meeting put out a big wig decision that we could not fly our flag...that no one could...this war was to be without the star and stripes...i was rocked...stunned flabbergasted...i wanted to nash teeth and rip fur...i couldn't understand...why...it was put out that we didn't want to "offend the iraqi's"...offend???were we not bombing them...have we not sanctioned their country into oblivion...are we not preparing to invade...aww...there is that word..."invade"...such a harsh word and i did not fully comprehend this word until i read sean penn's article...
he spoke of america, as a whole, losing it's flag...it's pride and meaning...america losing what it stands for due to back handed tactics and political jargon...we do not invade...we liberate...it all makes so much sense to me now...we could not fly the flag because of a word...we could not fly the flag because where our flag goes it brings a trail of war with it...we conquer...we assimilate...we americanize...we outpost and fortify......we do these things and the world sees it...the world bears witness and it testifies...
flying flag=invading force
hidden flag=friendly, helpful neighbor
the american flag does not fly in iraq...soldiers are dying everyday, not to preserve the american way of life (because our way of life isn't really affected by iraq) but to implement and protect american interests...what is an interest...that word sounds so business like...so unworthy of the death that has pounded it's way to the very core of this country...
saddam was not innocent in this matter...he was a bad bad man...but are we innocent...are we truly "liberating" iraq out of the goodness of our hearts...are we fighting and dying to free a nation...or to enslave it in commerce and oil contracts...
i read another article about dick cheney...our illustrious vice president...who happens to hold a considerable amount of stock in an oil company that was "awarded" the contract to control the iraqi oil supply...a company that continued to do business with siria and iran even after the sanctions by started subsidiary company's in in european countries...he used to be the chairman of this company and now one of his close friends chairs this organization...things like this make me sick...in the pit of my stomach...they make me sore...is that the real reason i'm here in the iraqi sun...is that the real reason soldiers are being shot...is that the real reason we are slaughtering the iraqi forces...someone help me to understand...this cannot be the all...the reason...the sum total of our actions...
or is it............
i want to move to new zealand"
Posted by: sean / 17:56