Impeachment, the moral imperative

There is much discussion in peace organizations, bogged down as they are with attempting to create a peaceful environment in a warrior society, on the issue of impeachment. It is sometimes feared that an impeachment initiative might steer us away from our immediate goals with regard to declaring peace now.

I do not believe that pursuing impeachment would divert us from our main focus of defunding and bringing the troops home now, so as to end the illegal occupation of Irak and aggression against other nations.

If we are to be a people and a movement that is true and genuine, peace at all costs should not be the rallying cry. The cry should be peace with social justice, a peace that is moral, a peace that is genuine. That means that we must, at some level, face our own immorality, our own bloody past and present, and include, among the things to happen once the aggression is ended, full reparation, which is a wider term than reconstruction, because while reconstruction is physical, reparation is emotional and spiritual as well.

Reparation requires facing all that was done wrong. As a first condition of reparation, in this particular aggression, we must look at the architects of inhuman and all-encompassing evil, which includes all of the Bush cadre, including any who are no longer apparently 'in service' such as Mr. Rumsfeld. This is not a partisan issue; it is a moral issue. Morality and truth are non-partisan.

There is nothing violent about seeking reparation, impeachment, the rule of law. If we are to join the nations of the world as a civilized society, which I submit we are not at present, and in some respects, never have been, we must accept the rule of law. The rule of law is fairly well set forth in the documents under which the United Nations was incorporated, including compacts entered into by the nations of the planet such as the Geneva Convention, which we have thumbed our noses at and have broken at every opportunity. These are well thought out prescriptions for collaborative and cooperative coexistence on our wounded planet, without which we will not survive as a (human) race.

Allowing injustice and impunity to thrive and to remain without consequence is against the rule of law, against the basic physical rules of the universe, which state that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Reaction is required to the wholesale murder, maiming, torture, oppression, of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in Irak and elsewhere...

The true violence: to allow impunity.

Statistics show that there is a very small percentage of any population that will in fact take the steps to change things, no matter how bad the conditions, until that 100th monkey effect takes place, until critical mass is achieved. For that reason, those who undertake true activism must work at the risk of their health, family lives, personal comfort, and even at the risk of their lives, to enable the creation of that critical mass.

Some of us work to end torture and to end social injustice and perhaps have been working most of our lives to do this, but I submit that to have a group of committed individuals with the resources of the global village, including internet communication and teleconferencing, gives us an unparalleled opportunity to effect TRUE CHANGE, a true teachable moment to bring forth upon this planet a new global village, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all human beings are created equal and are meant to enjoy the bounties of this planet.

The nations of Latin America, to which most recently are added Bolivia, Ecuador and once again, Venezuela, are saying no to US imperial aggression, are saying, yes, otro mundo es posible, and are frequently saying so with their blood, as in Oaxaca. They do not participate in violence but stand as witnesses, as the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo stood for thirty long years, and as such, stand tall despite the consequences. Once again, this is not violence, although unfortunately it frequently leads to violence against the witness, against the woman or man who says PRESENTE with their last breath.

We must have the courage of our convictions. We must be ready to stand for something, without having to worry about the framing of our most innate and core beliefs. Perennial principles cannot be framed; they simply are.

There is a new world right outside our peripheral vision. But it cannot take place until we stand up to the issues of the day, and demand full investigations, and that people face the consequences of their acts.

For all of the victims, all the desaparecidos, all the abused and wounded and vilified, I cast my vote for impeachment. I will continue to work to right the wrongs, because I need to do so in order to remain sane (as sane as anyone can be in this society/world/planet).

Respectfully,

Silvia Antonia Brandon Pérez
PRESENTE