A dear childhood friend

A dear childhood friend who now lives in America emailed me that he had not corresponded with me as his views were diametrically opposed to mine.

I sent him this as my reply:

Dear XXXX,

Everyone is entitled to their own political opinion in a Free World.

On this we can agree to disagree. That is what Cathedral taught me! (Note: Cathedral was the school in which we both studied India.)

The reason I am so committed to my anti-Bush / Blair cause and their continued lies is that I have been working with helping hundreds of Iraqi refugees (as also refugees from Kovsovo, Albanian, etc.) here in Finland as part of my job for the City of Oulu before my retirement.

Every single Iraqi refugee of the Saddam era here in Finland hates Bush and his American supporters even more than me as they have all lost innocent relatives in this illegal invasion and occupation.

I was among the 14 million people around the world, who, before the war, protested on the streets as we knew there was NO Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. Even Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice publicly stated one year before the invasion that Iraq had no WMD.

But yet the great lie was promulgated by Bush despite our protests.

If even an idiot like me knew there were no WMD how could Bush claim there was?

I am so committed to the cause that I do not want even a single penny of my money used to kill Innocent Iraqis, especially as already more than a dozen close friends in Iraq have been indiscriminately killed by Americans.

I even gave up my writing contracts with my English Publishers as I did not want my money to be used to kill innocent human beings.

But that is my opinion and I do not expect anyone to agree with me.

By the way, my letter to Helen Thomas (the fantastic 80+ year old White House correspondent who dared to question Bush and was therefore relegated from the front to the back) has appeared in the latest edition of The Nation (dated May 8th 2006). It has appeared on the internet today. (Unfortunately to read The Nation you have to subscribe.)

XXXX, under Bush, America has become the most hated nation in the world from one of the most respected. I do not have to live with that, but sadly, Americans have to. Bush cannot go anywhere without hundreds of thousands protesting his visit!

Compare that with Bill Clinton who has been received as a great statesman in every corner of this world, during and after his Presidency. I am not a Clinton fan, but what a change in just 5 years.

What a tragedy for a nation which was once a great America.

Regards

So he had to put your friendship on hold?

Doesn't sound like a very good friend, I must say.

Your note is perfect. Thank you.

:thumbsup: as an American I am humbled by it

Maybe one day your friend will awaken to the truth.