Wars are not acts of God. They are caused by man, by man-made institutions, by the way in which man has organized his society. What man has made, man can change.

--- Frederick Moore Vinson (1890-1953) in a speech  at Arlington

National Cemetery, Arlington VA, USA  (Memorial Day, 1945)

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.

---  George Bernard Shaw  1856-1950

 

Over the centuries, nation after nation has struggled for freedom...the right be allowed to determine its own destiny.  In that time, empires have fallen and been replaced by thousands of individual countries with diverse political structures.  However, whether by democracy, dictatorship, monarchy, or other...in all the cases but one...those nations are self-ruled.   The sole exception are those nations under the rule of England as part of the United Kingdom.

How is that we in the Free World, who were so adamantly opposed to the Soviet Union and Moscow's control over satellite states, can turn a blind eye to the struggles of the people of Northern Ireland to be free to make their own choice?  How can we in the United States...a nation which itself fought to be free of the shackles of British rule...allow this situation to exist?  How can we in the United States, who make such an issue of equality for all,  tolerate a situation that is clearly prejudiced? How can we as Americans who are engaged in a war in Iraq to preserve a nation's right to be free, not take steps to ensure that a "free" people actually ARE free?

Over the past century, the United States and Great Britain have been the closest of allies.  However, it is exactly the strength of that alliance that should enable the United States to exert its influence on the British Parliament to release its stranglehold on Northern Ireland.  While nations may be influenced by other nations, they should never be ruled by them.

The military and paramilitary factions in Northern Ireland do not fight each other...instead they inflict their damage on the people of Northern Ireland. The so called "war" in the North is not a war at all.  It is neither fought on the battlefield nor in the skies...it is waged in the streets and alleys...among the people. As a result, the casualties are rarely among  the "combatants"...they are invariably among the innocents. How much longer must children suffer for the ignorance of their parents?  Sectarian violence must stop.  Continued British military presence in the North is a visible irritant which has caused the thug-ridden Continuity IRA to resume violence against authority.  Remove the irritant, remove the excuse for violence.

Urge your politicians to put an end to this travesty of justice. Ask them to oppose British presence in Northern Ireland.  It is time that the last vestige of territorial imprisonment be dismantled.  The 1998 Belfast Agreement (Good Friday Agreement) set the stage for a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland but now, almost a decade later, British troops remain in Northern Ireland. The time is past due...the time is NOW!!

Peace is merely the beginning...communication, the method...mutual respect, the answer...and freedom the end.