Journal Entry for January 2003

January 24, 2003

San Francisco Peace March

My online journal has been on hold because I have been involved with remodeling my house. We had to move out and live in a motel, so the home situation has been chaotic.

After the remodeling, I felt a moral obligation to participate in the San Francisco peace march. I realized that I weighed more and that I was older than when I participated in the peace marches in the 60s and 70s. I participated in those marches after being in the Marine Corps for 9 1/2 years. Back then I was in a conflict while marching because I had several friends in the Marines. I wanted people to know that I supported the soldiers but that I did not support the violence my country was perpetrating on Vietnam. In fact, I felt that to march in the Vietnam protest marches was supporting the soldiers. My goal in marching was to get them out of combat.

The San Francisco peace march was a march to let our country know we do not support war. To march for peace is a patriotic act. During the Vietnam era, I witnessed what war did to my fellow Marines. I am not in conflict about not supporting the Bush war. Remember that several times we were told that bombing would end the Vietnam War and save a lot of lives.

Bush is the president who was selected, not elected. He evaded the Vietnam draft, and now he wants war. What a hypocrite. He is the president, so now he is a brave, patriotic American. The rich seldom go to war unless they're career military or volunteer for the draft.

The San Francisco march was nonviolent and peaceful. The marchers were Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, and young and old; they are tired of the government not listening.

The Power Elite is running our government. The Power Elite owns and uses the mass media for war propaganda to get Americans to support the bombing of Iraq. As Americans, we will all be guilty of murdering innocent children if we let the mass media pro-war propaganda replace our individual conscience, by convincing us to support the war. We as individual Americans are guilty of genocide if we do not try to stop our government from attacking Iraq.