If we continue down the road we're on, there may be a conflagration of misery and sorrow that will make the damage done by the Vietnam War seem like little more than the results of a barroom brawl. A procession of grief will spread so deep and wide and far that we may begin to forget what an ordinary day of sunshine and contentment feels like.

As a free people, we must stop following the swindlers who tell us that it's in our interest to sacrifice the lives of our children, and the wealth of the nation, in small countries that pose no real threat to the United States.

If George Bush is reelected, there may be a draft. Our sons and daughters and grandchildren will be called upon to leave their homes and families and travel to training camps, where they will be taught to fight and kill sons and daughters and grandchildren from countries like Iraq, Iran, and North Korean.

If George Bush really believes the war in Iraq is the right thing to do, then he should prove it by asking his own daughters to join the fight and volunteer to go to Iraq. If he's willing to send his own children to fight in Iraq, then at least we'll know that he is sincere when he says the war is necessary. Until then, we shouldn't believe a word he says.

If John Kerry wins the election, and he insists on prosecuting the war in the same way as his predecessor, then he should also ask his sons and daughters to volunteer to go to Iraq.

The warning fire set by Carlos Arredondo must not be ignored. If it is, what started out as a warning could eventually become the method of our own self-destruction. This fire of self-destruction will have been brought about because we allowed ourselves to be led like blind fools, and because we were willing to allow our children to be led to the slaughter like sheep. This fire will envelope us because we allowed hustlers and con-artists to turn the US from being the 'Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave' into being the 'Land of the Enslaved and the Home of the Fearful.'

Carlos Arredondo! I see your fire and I will try to help others avoid following the path that you have been forced to tread!

Carlos Arredondo! I will try to steer our children away from the road your son was persuaded to walk upon!

Carlos Arredondo! My tears are too small to be noticed in the river of your unbearable grief, but I can't stop them from falling! Carlos, I can't stop them from falling!

Copyright: Jim Bush

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