In 1994, President Bill Clinton proclaimed the last Sunday in September to be Gold Star Mothers Day. He said that we should " honor women whose sons and daughters have pledged their lives to securing for all Americans the blessings of liberty. These mothers have made tremendous sacrifices, the most painful being the loss of their children, and deserve the respect and recognition of the nation."
Gold Star Mothers Day is not a Hallmark holiday to send flowers or cards. Gold Star Mothers Day 2006 should be a day for sober reflection about how President Bush set in place a new generation of Gold Star Mothers when he sent our children to fight his illegal war in Iraq. These new Gold Star Mothers will be his legacy as the War President, he proudly claims himself to be.
The current president says we must honor the sacrifices of fallen soldiers by completing the mission. How will more bloodshed and more dying honor my son, who was killed in Iraq more than 2 years ago? The president can prevent the creation of new Gold Star Mothers. It is time for this president to put ALL options on the table and make necessary and immediate changes to his disastrous course in Iraq. He can start by bringing the troops home now.
We will never forget our loved ones; they will live forever in our hearts. On Sunday, the citizens of this country must remember our sacrifice and consider the human cost of this war. That and our broken hearts are something that Gold Star Mothers live with forever.
I AM the proud Gold Star Mother of Lt Ken Ballard, KIA 5.30.04, Najaf, Iraq
3 comments:
Karen, please accept my condolences on the death of your boy. I wonder if Bushco. members ever grasp the enormity of the horrors they've unleashed. Do they ever think of young people like Ken, the future of our country, cut down in a senseless war built on lies? Oh, that's right: Almost no memebers of Congress or of the Bush inner circle have loved ones in the military, so why should they worry?
From your web site and blog, I have the idea that your Ken was worth the whole lot of them put together. May you heal to the extent that you can.
I know that next to having Ken back, you want most to have not one more mother hear that deeply dreaded knock at the door for which one is always always listening until one's child comes home.
We can phone the key congressional districts all over the country off the computer now with MoveOn. I have an article with all the phoning details on my blog. It is very easy tho unglamorous phoning. Those who want this war are phoning seven days a week.
Please help clean up the voter lists so GOTV (Get Out The Vote) will be efficient and effective for progressive candidates!
How do I say this? I hope you are one of the last people who ever has to observe Gold Star Mother's Day.
Somehow, that seems unlikely, but we can all hope.
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