Some walk the walk

The Times has a piece on a local group, including a mother whose son is soon to ship out to Iraq, who have had the courage and conviction to not just talk the talk, but walk the walk as well.

For Caryn Unsicker and about 25 other people who joined her as usual on the corner of 16th Street and John Deere Road in Moline protesting the conflict in Iraq, Wednesday marked another emotional milestone in the war.

They joined people in communities across the nation conducting vigils to mark the 2,000th death of a U.S. service person.

“We’ve been out here every Wednesday at this time for the past seven weeks,” Unsicker said. “I’ve now heard that 2,001 young men and women have died.”

Unsicker, of Silvis, Ill., drove to Crawford, Texas, in August to support Cindy Sheehan who lost a son in Iraq and was trying to get an audience with President Bush.

She said that each death in Iraq has been needless and should be lamented.

“I had a problem with marking the 2,000th death,” she said. “Each death, beginning with the first, is equally important. Every time one dies my heart breaks.

“My 20-year-old son, a Marine, will be heading to Iraq in March,” she added. “He’s gung-ho and believes in his cause.”

But she said she believes him to be wrongheaded.

“I’m just a Midwest mother and I even knew there were no weapons of mass destruction,” she said.

Mary Woods of Moline said she cannot believe the state of things.

“I just keep shaking my head,” she said. “It just seems to get worse.

“I can’t believe the apathy of the people,” she added. “They don’t seem to care how badly they’ve been treated. We’re becoming a third-world country and nobody seems to care.”

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If you happen to see them at their spot, give them a thumbs up or honk in support for what they're doing. I'm sure that they get constant abuse from wing-nuts and anything positive must be appreciated. Those who disagree with this government should not be made to feel isolated and alone.

Better yet, if you agree that the war is a mistake, by all means consider joining these patriots even if only for a short while.

The apathy about what our government is doing in our names and with our money by the American public is nothing short of appaling. Our cozy little consumer culture stupor is what Bush and his ilk depend on to get away with their thefts and quest for empire.

This is OUR government people, no matter how much it often appears otherwise. Sometimes you just have to snap out of it, as these people have. Your grandchildren will wonder why you sat by and did nothing.