George W. Bush,
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
You have said that
Jesus Christ is your favorite philosopher and you’ve frequently professed your
Christian faith.
As you are a
Christian, then please ask yourself: Who would Jesus bomb? Who would Jesus
kill? Who would Jesus torture? Would Jesus say that killing anyone is the way
to build peace? Would Jesus try to exert an unchallenged military dominance
over the whole planet (as outlined in your National Security Strategy in 2002)?
Since October 2001,
U.S. bombing and invasions have targeted and destroyed vital civilian infrastructure,
homes, and human lives in Bagdad, Fallujah, and Kabul, piling misery on loss,
adding to human suffering.
Killing and bombing
to stop terrorism only brings more hate, more terrorists, and ceaselessly
escalating violence. Hunting down every terrorist is mathematically impossible
when our violent tactics inflict so much suffering and create more terrorists
every day. Your stated goal to win the war on terror and lay the foundation for
a lasting peace can never be achieved with an endless blood sacrifice.
Christian, Islamic,
Buddhist, and Jewish traditions universally teach that the path toward peace is
forgiveness, humility, and compassionate actions, not physical brutality. At
the sermon on the mount, Jesus commanded his followers to “love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you”
(Matthew 5:44) and the 6th commandment of Mosaic law unequivocally states,
“thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13).
To forge a lasting
peace built on compassion and humility, our nation can demonstrate that it is
prepared to meet the great responsibility that accompanies great wealth and
power, and seek a very different course than its present one.
Mr. President, you
have the power to declare a withdrawal of U.S. military forces from sovereign
nations, to honor and enforce our commitment to international conventions on
human rights and nuclear disarmament treaties, to earnestly support the United
Nations and its peacekeeping missions, and to act rapidly to address the
emerging challenges of energy production and global climate change.
To honor all of
those killed or wounded in the name of freedom, our government must live up to
its obligations under the rule of law. We must protect all of our
Constitutional rights. We must provide for all the wounded returning soldiers
who have given so much for their country. We must honor our dead. We must honor
the tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans killed by our actions, and whose
violent ends were often noted merely as uncounted “collateral damage”,
but whose human lives were no less precious than any American’s.
Of course, this is
not an easy choice to make. As you have noted on several occasions, Mr.
President, your job would be a lot easier if this were a dictatorship, but our
republic is not a dictatorship and terrorism can not be stopped with force or
the blood of adversaries and innocents.
By choosing
humility and a path toward peaceful cooperation, not violent domination, our
nation can cease to provide the fuel for hatred and terrorism, inspire the
noblest aspirations of our long-time allies, and encourage the voices of
moderation and democratic freedom in every nation. By building bridges rather
than bombing them, this nation can lead by example, illuminating the way toward
a lasting peace for the world.
—
Jonathan Woolson
Fredonia, NY