A MOM'S FYI
WHAT WILL I DO IF MY CHILD IS DRAFTED?
November 10, 2004

Dear________,

There is a question that has been haunting my soul lately. It's been keeping me up late at night. It awakens me in the wee hours of
the morning. It occupies my day-time thoughts......

"What will I do if my child is drafted?"

You see, a few weeks back I watched an incredibly moving video called "Arlington West". In one scene, a baby boomer told about when he was 12 years old in the 1960's, when the Vietnam War was in its 'infancy'. He had heard then that there was a chance that he would one day be participating in that war.....And low and behold, six years later.....he was drafted and is now a Vietnam Vet.

Fast forward to today. My 12-year-old son......Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran....oil quest...oil quest....oil quest. Even though I am a peace activist, my son still is in awe of military equipment, Hummers, aggression. He's bright, but he's a perfect candidate to 'be all that he can be' when the recruiters hit his high school campus in two years.

And what can this distraught mother do? How can I protect my CHILD, my SON? Will he, too, slaughter innocent life one day for the cause of, of, of....global corporate greed? Will he be yet another insignificant casualty in this ever-expanding, corporate-driven, preemptive global war?

Well, in my humble opinion, I feel that there is an obvious solution to this preemptive war prescription that is being overlooked by we, the anti-war community......

BOYCOTT.

Let me repeat....

BOYCOTT.

A simple, focused anti-war boycott. A SIMPLE, FOCUSED, MASSIVE BOYCOTT.

A boycott that is structured to unite, not splinter into smaller factions, different causes.

A boycott of some simple product in the U.S. that we all use in our daily lives.

A product that isn't expensive, yet in its totality of sales, yields huge corporate profits.

A product that anti-war folk can easily and readily refuse to purchase, that will cause a corporate entity to falter, a corporate entity with ties to political lobbyists, with ties to U.S. senators/congresspeople in any ONE chosen state.

A boycott so massive and effective that those lobbyists who represent this product will be on their hands and knees begging their political representatives to change their pro-war stance lest they lose their fat-cat, multi-multi-digit paychecks.

But an effective boycott will take research, brainstorming, education, long-range planning, thinking, rethinking, organizing, uniting, and outreach. It will mean strength, perseverance, mobilization, enthusiasm, PATIENCE, INTELLIGENCE, work, work, work, and commitment.

Is the anti-war movement up to the challenge of a BOYCOTT? A UNITED BOYCOTT? A boycott with an absolute, resolute fervor?

ARE YOU?

It is ultimately money that will change how our government representatives run this country. Money from our pocketbooks....Remember?....Money talks! We, the people, have the power to change how they, the corporate-driven political representatives, deal with global problems.

So, I ask, will my 12-year-old son someday find himself as a fallen soldier, a killing soldier in the midst of these protracted, preemptive Iraqi/Afghani/Irani wars for fossil fuel?

Well, this particular hard-nosed, driven, anti-war mom will give it all that I can (including my life) to insure that this polluted tide of U.S. global aggression subsides.

Corporate America & Politicians have forgotten:

NEVER MESS WITH A MOTHER'S OFFSPRING.
YOU ARE STEPPING ON MY TURF NOW.
AND I WON'T BACK DOWN!!!

MAY THE BOYCOTT-THINK BEGIN!!!!
Please send your suggestion/comments my way.
(Stay tuned!)

Peace.
DF, mom, educator, peace activist, author: A MOM'S FYI series,
a Citizen for World Peace
Orange, CA U.S.A.
ps4erth(AT)yahoo.com