Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 12:29:18 -0400 From: "Charles D. Johnson" <•••@••.•••> Subject: FullPage Letter to Pres Bush in NYT Dear friends - Just reading this letter from a former Marine seargent to President Bush did my soul good. When I found that it will appear as a full page ad in the NYT I became excited. So I am sending it on to all of you, good souls one and all. Please read the letter, and if you feel moved to contribute, that would be good too. We need to get the word out that war is NOT the only answer, even if it does cost $100 a word ! We should also be thankful to Tom Atlee for his huge contributions to peace and justice. There are rays of hope, Charles ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: A deeply sane letter to Pres. Bush Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 20:42:09 -0700 From: Tom Atlee <•••@••.•••> To: •••@••.••• (undisclosed list) To: •••@••.••• (NYT Donor list) From: Tom Atlee <•••@••.•••> Subject: Urgent: The NYT Marine Letter Miracle To all the friends from my list who offered to contribute to getting former Marine Sgt. Greg Nees’ letter to President Bush (see below) into the New York Times: I am writing you because of a miracle. When Greg and I found out that a full page ad in the NYT costs around $100,000, we almost hung up our hats. But Yumi Kikuchi—an environmental activist, farmer and mother of four in Japan—didn’t. She’s on my list, too. And she called together some friends—all of whom were moved by Greg’s letter—and recruited some big-name help—like the fellow who was the main grassroots rescue and recovery organizer after the Kobe earthquake, who is nationally famous there—and they started the Global Peace Campaign, whose primary purpose was to get Greg’s letter into the New York Times. Well, last Friday they started fundraising. On Saturday they put up a website http://www.peace2001.org. Within 24 hours, it had gotten 25,000 hits. By Sunday, they had $20,000 raised. When I talked to Yumi Tuesday, they had $50,000 raised. This is beyond amazing. And now its our turn to do what we can to push it towards the $100,000 mark. For the last several days it’s felt like I was clinging to a wild bronco. I’ve been totally preoccupied dealing with the incredibly complex issues that (totally unexpected by me) have cropped up around this— not the least of which has been how to deal with the money that would be raised FROM (not for) the NYT ad. We hadn’t even thought of that earlier, but Yumi did, and she insisted that it be done. So Greg and I recruited the Veterans for Peace (VFP) http://www.veteransforpeace.org , whose work is very much aligned with the energy of Greg and his letter— they help countries who’ve been hurt in US wars AND they investigate and protest militarism, advocating non-military approaches to global relations. One of their members just finished an 18-month term in jail for protesting at the School of the Americas (a US government school which trains Latin American soldiers in torture, suppression and counter-insurgency operations). VFP will be carrying on the work after the ad has done it’s job. Greg, who has never done anything like this before and thought he was just writing a letter to the President and sharing it with some friends, is very involved (he’s writing an update PS to his original letter and is joining VFP), but wants very much to get back to his life. Currently we expect the ad will appear in the October 9th NY Times. We’d love to have it sooner, but we couldn’t get a good placement (right side, first news section, Mon/Tues/Weds) guaranteed before then. The money has to be enroute to the NYTimes by Wednesday October 3rd. That means we need your contributions ASAP. Although we arehoping we’ll have adequate funds raised from Japan, we don’t know what’s going to happen and it is very important that we have donors from America and elsewhere, as well. There are 48 of you receiving this and your donations may make the critical difference. Credit card donations will be quickest and best (although you can send check donations to the Co-Intelligence Institute at POBox 493, Eugene, OR 97440; please write "NYT AD" in the "for" blank). Here’s how to donate through VFP using your credit card: 1) Go to the Veterans for Peace (VFP) website http://www.veteransforpeace.org . 2) In the upper left there’s a big button for donations. Click it. 3) You’ll find yourself on the www.donate.net site, where you’ll see a list of VFP programs and products. "The NYT ad" item is at the end of the list (although you are free to donate to other programs, or to join, even if you’re not a veteran). 4) Read the directions and proceed. When you hit the "matching funds" page, just click "continue". After entering your credit card number (with no spaces or dashes), click "Submit" and wait for the confirmation page to show up. That’s it. Thank you SO much for your participation in this. Now we pray—not only that the ad comes out but that it comes true... Coheartedly, Tom (Atlee) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------- Dear Friends and Family, Below is a copy of a letter I have written to the President. While I don’t know whether it will ever reach him, I urge you to read it, reflect upon it and pass it on as you see fit. And if you can find the time and inspiration, to write letters of your own. I believe this could be a unique turning point as we move into the 21st century - let all your voicces be heard that we may turn the corner safely and not shoot out over the cliff. Love to all, Greg President George W. Bush The White House Washington, DC September 13, 2001 Dear Mr. President, I am a former Marine Corps sergeant who served his country well and was honorably discharged in 1970. I have never written such a letter before and I pray that it will somehow get through the bureaucratic filters to reach you. Like so many Americans, I was appalled and shocked by the death and destruction we witnessed two days ago. I am now coming out of my shock and am very concerned about the grievous state in which our country and the world find themselves. We have suffered a horrible attack and far too many of us have suffered and died. I am greatly saddened and sickened by the carnage and suffering of the victims and their families. I know you too are suffering and I can feel your anger and frustration as well as your desire for active retaliation and I understand it well. It is a natural and justifiable reaction to such a heinous criminal act. And yet I would counsel you to proceed carefully. I fear we are in a perilous situation and a mistake on our part could easily widen the already huge spiral of violence in which the world finds itself. Mr. President, you now have the great opportunity to prove to the world that the United States is more than just a great economic and military power to be feared. It is up to you to show all of the world that the United States is also a law abiding and civilized country which can be trusted to follow the laws of the world as well as let itself be guided by the wisdom of human understanding and compassion. I urge you to use all legal means at your disposal to determine who perpetrated this horrible crime and to bring them to trial before the appropriate court. Let them indeed find the justice the world awaits and needs. But I beg you, let not one more innocent life - be it American, Israeli, Palestinian or any other - be lost because of this horrible crime. Too often our bombs and weapons have taken the lives of innocent victims. I believe the military euphemism is "collateral damage" but in reality it is manslaughter if not outright murder. What right can we claim that allows us to take more innocent lives? Is that not also a form of terrorism? Should we lower ourselves to the level of those who attacked the World Trade Center or should we stand tall and take the legal and moral high ground? You have chosen to describe this as an act of evil. I fear using such inflammatory language will only worsen the situation. Such language will all too easily incite a lynch mob mentality, when what we need is the compassion which Jesus taught as well as the cool reason which will help us reach our true goals of global peace, prosperity and democracy for all people of the world. Lead us, Mr. President, with dignity and wisdom and do not pander to the primitive parts of our beings that are all too powerfully calling out at this moment. Show the world that you too are a leader with the greatness, strength and courage to seek true understanding and restorative justice, just as Nelson Mandela did in South Africa. Rather than characterizing the attack as an act of evil, I see it as a terrible last act of desperation by people who believed they had no other way to make themselves heard than to resort to violence and mayhem. It is absolutely critical that we see not only their willingness to use horrible, illegal means, but that we also hear their desperation which makes them view such means as the highest form of heroism including the sacrifice of their very lives. As a former Marine, I know what it means to be willing to sacrifice one’s life for a cause one truly believes in. While I see these people as horribly misguided, hate-filled and desperate, I do not believe they are cowardly or evil. If we are to truly resolve the hatred and violence, we need to understand that in their eyes, they see themselves as a tiny, heroic David fighting against a huge, monstrous Goliath who seeks to kill them and their way of life. We certainly need not agree with their views, but we must understand them if we ever hope to achieve a lasting peace and not a world that is locked down and bereft of all the civil rights and freedoms we cherish so highly. Months ago we saw magazine pictures of a young Palestinian child being cradled for hours in the arms of his father. Innocently caught in a gun battle the child died from bullet wounds and the father could not move to save him. Can you begin to imagine the anguish, pain and sense of injustice this father must have felt? As a father yourself, how would you have felt in such a situation as the life oozed out of your child and you were pinned down and absolutely helpless? It is such intensely unbearable images and feelings that drive people to such desperate measures as we witnessed on Wednesday in New York and Washington. In this moment of deep crisis, is also a moment of immense opportunity. I urge you to take this opportunity to move our world away from violence and suffering and towards peace, freedom and abundance for all. Let these voices of desperation be heard and let the perpetrators have their day in court. Show them that we truly do believe in law and justice for all. Let us not make the mistake we did recently at Durban, but rather let us bring all voices to the table, even if they are screaming and telling the stories we would like not to hear. We are truly a superpower and we are too used to talking and expecting others to listen. Show the world that we are also strong enough to learn to listen. I know you are a Christian and I pray that you will indeed do what Jesus Christ counseled and not rashly lash out in violence. May God give you the wisdom to find the great opportunity for peace that lies in this horrible tragedy. I hope that later in this century historians will look back and applaud your greatness of spirit and cool sense of reason that moved our globalizing world closer to justice and democracy for all. Respectfully, Greg Nees From: •••@••.••• Received: from •••@••.••• by imo-r09.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v31_r1.4.) id w.4f.112d804a (3960); Thu, 13 Sep 2001 13:46:41 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <•••@••.•••> Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 13:46:41 EDT Subject: Urgent! To: •••@••.•••, •••@••.•••, ------------------------------------------------ Charles D. Johnson Joyce A. Johnson 82 Lakeview Avenue Falmouth, MA 02540 508-540-2238 •••@••.••• This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown . . . reexamine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency. Walt Whitman - preface to _Leaves of Grass_
