Ribbons, flags, crosses...

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Fri, 06/23/2006 - 3:04pm

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Joined: 05/19/2006

>. <hr><h2 align="center">Bush supporter, please take down your American flag</h2> In view of what we have seen and heard for the past few years, and especially in the last few months, it is time for any who still support George W. Bush and this Administration to take down American flags. Remove them from your front porch, from the flagpole. Pack away your stars-and-stripes T-shirts, and remove the flag-pins from your lapels. The display of the American flag is meant for the patriotic, for those who love their country. This president has plunged our beloved nation into unconscionable debt, and compromised its security for the sake of corporations' bottom lines. He has steadfastly looked the other way while American jobs have been irretrievably lost, while citizens go without affordable medical care. He has stolen from the poor and working class by promoting the under-funding of their schools, their hospitals, and the social programs that feed and shelter the most unfortunate among us. Instead, the money has gone into the pockets of the wealthy. Time and again, he has turned his back on the victims of disaster, and left them to fend for themselves. He has destroyed a way of life that rewarded hard work, that offered opportunity for all. He has diminished our country's standing in the world, and has made a mockery of our laws, our rights, and our Constitution. A true patriot doesn't ignore the needs of the nation, nor its citizenry, and does not systematically revoke the very freedoms our democracy was founded upon. If you support the Bush regime, what it stands for, and what it has done, you are no patriot. <h2 align="center">Support the troops? </h2>If you support this president, remove the Support the Troops stickers from your cars, and the symbolic yellow ribbons from your front doors. Those symbols are meant to represent care and concern for our military, both in battle and upon their return. This president, and his fellow Republican Party members, have placed our troops in harm's way for a lie, and have ignored their safety and well-being at every turn. They have initiated policies that gut veterans' benefits and pensions. They have sent troops into combat without the basic equipment to protect themselves, and ignore the consequences of placing the battle-fatigued, the sick, the psychologically and emotionally damaged on the front lines. They have handed the tax dollars meant to feed, equip and house our forces over to Administration cronies, who devote mere pennies to the needs of our fighting men and women. If you support those kinds of policies and the people who promote them for their own political and/or financial gain, you do not support the troops. On the contrary, you speed their demise. Pretending to support the very troops you dishonor is not only hypocritical, it is an insult to their sacrifice. <h2 align="center">Christian?</h2>If you support this president, remove the cross from around your neck, the rosary beads strung over your rear view mirror, the crucifixes and prayer cards you display in your homes. Those revered signs of faith are reserved for those who honor the principles set forth by a man who taught love, tolerance and understanding. The present Administration and those who blindly follow it have not only condoned but embraced torture, unlawful imprisonment without hope of a fair hearing, and secret prisons. In addition, they have smuggled human beings to other countries where the most heinous conduct can be indulged. This president and his minions have made a mockery of the Christian faith, and spit in the face of those who adhere to its tenets. Bush's illegal and immoral war has killed thousands upon thousands of innocent men, women and children, while ignoring laudable principles such as feeding the hungry and caring for the sick. He preys upon the unsuspecting sheep by offering money and influence to their corrupt, money-grubbing pastors in exchange for votes based on hatred, bigotry and intolerance. If you have transferred your religious faith away from the teachings of a forgiving and merciful God, and placed it instead in a president who promotes violence and torture, you are not a Christian. Once you have dispensed with displaying the symbols of true patriotism, troop support and Christianity, you are free to flaunt your W stickers, and all of the other pro-Bush, pro-Administration paraphernalia you are so fond of. In fact, I would encourage you to do so. It's always helpful to know who the real enemies of America are. <