As a child, I used to hold a special fondness for Saturday mornings, full
of cartoons, sugar-coated cereals laced with potential, optimism and freedom.
Even as children, I believe we learned the liberating essence of 'the weekend.'
Recently, waking at sunrise and excited to begin my Saturday, I happened upon
Oliver Stone's edited film version of Ron Kovic's text Born on the Fourth
of July, starring Tom Cruise as Kovic, on the Turner network. The irony abounds!
Hanoi Jane's ex-husband's cable station is playing a movie about Kovic's interruption
of the Republican National Convention, by his protests. I am quickly reminded
of several other cinematic into the 18-year occupation of Vietnam- Platoon,
Apocalypse Now, Coming Home, The Deer Hunter, Full Metal Jacket.
It is important to remind ourselves of our collective history, other wars,
and the gathering of the progressive forces. History does repeat itself, and
we only need to look back upon history to understand where our near future
is headed. How many films do we have to look forward to, now that we have
occupied Iraq for the last 13 years? How many wheelchair-bound veterans will
it take to interrupt the repeating of our horrible mistakes of the past?
We must remind John Kerry of his famous plea from 1971, "How do you ask
a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" We cannot afford a presidential
campaign where there is no debate on the occupation, while a majority of voters
support ending it as soon as possible.
During the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, in its thirteen
year of occupying a small country named Vietnam, America watched as Grant
Park was turned into a war zone. While Hubert Humphrey was receiving the party's
nomination for president, the streets in Chicago were filling with blood spilled
over an unofficial war in a far away place.
Later this month, the Democratic National Convention will take place in Boston,
MA, the home of that raucous tea party of rebellion, so very long ago. In
a bizarre twist of fate, this year, a Vietnam War veteran will receive the
nomination nod from the Democratic Party to run as president, while a multitude
of voices will be protesting outside in the streets. Unable to provide a date
for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq, much less a resolution when
we will be seeing an end to this war on terrorism, John (Mr. Anticipation
Heinz) Kerry provides a lukewarm continuation of the status quo in terms of
administrative policy. A Clintonite, Kerry and the Democratic Party have whitewashed
themselves in a moderate spectrum to the right of Dr. Dennis Kucinich and
the independent Ralph Nader.
From June 23rd until the 28th, the Green Party National Convention will take
place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. One is left to wonder if there will be much
protesting going on, outside, particularly if the Green Party nominates Pirate
Ralph to captain their sinking ship. Torn to tatters by the spoiler accusations,
played up by both of the major political parties of the last four years, and
the need to address their key value to decentralize government, the Green
party has two distinctly different schools of thought. On the one hand, it
can be argued that the sheer name recognition of Pirate Ralph is a viable
reason for the Green Party to nominate Nader for President again. There are
others that would argue that it is more important for the Green Party to focus
on "thinking globally, and acting locally." There has yet to be
a Green governor elected to office. Instead of protests outside the convention,
the Greens find themselves protesting their very nature, and all in the name
of a pirate.
