March 03, 2006
Operation Empty Gesture
I recieved the following via a local Milwaukee email list which on rare occasions has something of interest. A quick googling turned up a mention at DU; Technorati has nothing about it yet. It is just about the most amazingly stupid political action I have ever heard of.
OPERATION EMPTY CHAIRI love the suggestion that everyone, regardless of their beliefs about this war, whether they oppose or support its continuance, would want to take part in this. Other than a replica of Saddam Hussein's throne, I cannot think of a chair I could set out which would show that I am not as oblivious as the people who think this will accomplish anything other than making them feel as good as singing Kumbayah does. Posted by triticale at March 3, 2006 10:07 AM | TrackBack
MARCH 19, 2006It is clear now that we will lose our 3000th American military member before the March 19th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Three years in, untold thousands of innocent Iraqis have also perished. And then there are the thousands upon thousands wounded, and those who will never be the same though they appear unmarked by the violence. These include soldiers and their spouses and children, parents and siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, cousins and best friends. All of these lives have been irrevocably reduced by the loss of what ‘should have been.’
We don’t notice much about this unless we have a family member or friend in the military. We have not been asked to sacrifice, or do much more than stick a decal on our cars. This is unseemly. Such catastrophic events deserve at least that we witness the sacrifices of so many.
Regardless of your beliefs about this war, whether you oppose or support its continuance, those who continue to bear the burden deserve our acknowledgement.
Please join me on March 19th, 2006 in placing an empty chair outside, in front of your home, where it can be seen by all who pass by.
Do this as an act of witnessing that we are a nation at war, to signify that you recognize and have thought deeply about the costs. It can only be a good thing for every street in America to be lined with empty chairs, so that those who fight and those who send them into battle know that we are not oblivious.
Since it is only proper that a citizen should have an informed position on such a momentous act by our government, feel free to embellish your chair in whatever way seems appropriate to you.