This From the Huffington Post:
Bong Hits 4 Bush -- Marty Kaplan
[L]ook . . . to Mari K. Oye, a high school senior from Wellesley, Massachusetts, who at the White House this week presented President Bush a handwritten letter, signed by her and 49 other Presidential Scholars, protesting his Administration's use of torture.
When these Presidential Scholars from all over the country met one another in Washington, they discovered how many of them felt so strongly about the issue, and about seizing the opportunity to be heard. As Leah Libresco. . . said . . . , the view among many of them was that torture is a non-partisan issue: "I don't think this is a controversial issue. I don't think human dignity and human rights is a controversial issue, so once we started talking to people about the idea of speaking up, people kept coming forward and saying yes, this is important."
So Mari and Leah and others drafted a thoughtful statement to hand to the President when it came time for their big moment with him . . . .
[T]he President "said that it's important to treat others as you wish to be treated, and he said that we really need to think about the choices that we make in our lives." What a cue! "As he lined up to take the photo with us," Colin continued, "Mari handed him the note, and said, 'Mr. President, some of us have made a choice, and we want you to have this.'"
How did he respond? "We agree. Americans do not use torture." He tells the kids to treat others as you want to be treated yourself -- the essence of the Geneva Conventions, which he and Cheney and Gonzales have contemptuously reconstrued as the Swiss Suggestions. . . .
Click here for the complete text.
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Later in the article, Kaplan states: 'Despite the criminalization of dissent by the Bush Administration, its Court, and its courtiers, there's something going on among young Americans.' He cites the New York Times/CBS News/MTV poll, which shows that [s]eventy percent of them say the country is on the wrong track, and 77 percent of them "said they thought the votes of their generation would have a great bearing on who becomes the next president."
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My generation found a country we disliked and set about changing it. May these young people do the same-- and do a better job than we did.
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3 comments:
I used to be frightened of the latest generations. Too many of them seemed more interested in things I found to be a little strange, but since I started my activism 2.0 - the Beta version took place in the late '60s and early '70s - I have met many intelligent and deep thinking youngsters. They give me hope for tomorrow. Then again, it helps that many of them look up to me for guidance and as an example. It makes my old bones feel good. One good thing for me - I waited late in life to have children, so I have a 5 year old and a three year old who seem ready to take up the mantle - or so I hope.
I know what you mean, Robert--
only, most of my info came via the msm, so maybe my concerns were misplaced.
in any case, reading what these kids did certainly gave me hope for the future of the country and the world.
congrats on your littl'uns. hope we can hand them a better world than the current one when it IS their
turn to take up the challenge.
Robert, I fully agree. Great find TC. How Bush sleeps at night is a mystery to me.
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