The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
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Dear Ghazwan & List, A response to some of your recent thinking. Firstly, of course, there are multitudes of interest groups, & individuals, opposed to the war- plans. But differences in opinions doesn't have to mean there is no common ground. I have participated in rallies & marches on behalf of various causes, & the atmosphere has often been quite electric & joyous. The occasion may have been heightened by some good speakers - not neccessarily in agreement with each other on every single issue. Yet they still, quite happily, share the same platform. One inspiring speaker, you may be familiar with the name, is (now retired) Tony Benn, who has, recently, been visiting Baghdad. Yes, I suppose demonstrations can act as a form of safety-valve. Good leaders (I don't wish to be unduly cynical about politicians!) will listen to, & observe, moods & views expressed. Sometimes elections are, more or less, genuine, sometimes a mere "circus", to entertain the people, or simply for politicians to retain their power-base. Some people vote with their ballot papers (sometimes according to strict directives, from above, i.e. the ruling authorities), others with their feet. Fate(?) has decreed that I am in the UK, so I would tend to be influenced by customs from my immediate environment - but not unquestioningly! The discovery, by a CASI member, of fabricated governmental documents, was quite amazing. That is an advantage of free expression, in the media. We do know that the media can, frequently, misrepresent, actual reality, whether inadvertently or with intent. CNN & Fox News are powerful agents for public information and/or propaganda. But nothing much wrong with an old-fashioned soap-box, esp. when communicating a good message, even to a fairly small group of people. There are no excuses for crimes against civilian populations, yet world history has seen all too many examples of such brutal behaviour. Iraq is, presently, exposed to very grave danger (as you would realise, better than myself). There is, so it seems, very little ordinary people, even with the utmost of goodwill, can do to counteract the situation. We may well find that our voices are disregarded, for some time. Yet, what could be more worthwhile than sincere people uniting in truth? Bombs & missiles are the instruments of fear & destruction, which have caused so much destruction to our world, including against Iraq. Are you familiar with the saying, "The pen is mightier than the sword"? Greetings, Bert Gedin (Birmingham, UK). _________________________________________________________________ Chat online in real time with MSN Messenger http://messenger.msn.co.uk _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk