The war on women is real and it is being waged on many fronts.
The Invisible War is a documentary exposing the systemic coverup of the rape of U.S. military women by U.S. service members.
There is something very, very wrong with our military. I suspect it is related to being “all volunteer” when it is actually a military maintained by an economic draft that feeds off of the ever increasingly institutionalized socio-economic inequality in the United States.
We have never been a society of equals. We have always had an underclass that has not been allowed to have self-determination, be allowed to vote, have equal access to resources, and so on. Slaves, original peoples, women, immigrants, and so on have made up the underclasses. Only landed men originally had a say in the colonies. It has been less than 100 years that women have had the vote. Our country changes. How? Either by allowing change to happen or by attempting to influence the change that happens.
I suggest you watch this trailer:
What kind of a society allows and, by refusing to address it, sanctions rape? We create society. We can change it. Your tax dollars support this. Please do not ignore this atrocity. There is a Facebook Group, check that out to find out more.
And you definitely NEED to sign on to the call for action and investigation by House Member Congressman Michael Turner.
To find out a little bit more you might watch Retired Colonel Ann Wright’s talk from a couple years ago about how individuals totalling one-third of women in the military are raped and about some of the culture of abuse within the military. She is someone whom I have met many times and for whom I have very much respect. She never makes a situation seem less complex than it is, but neither does she give up on attempting to change what she knows of that is not right. Her book, Dissent: Voices of Conscience, is a damn good, but disturbing read if you don’t know the back stories of what really goes on in the ruling of our nation. Her talk does cover some of the things you can do to get involved in ending this horrific practice, but please do also click the sign on link above for Turner’s call for immediate action.. You cannot do too much.
Note: Updated 26 June 2012 with the Congressman Turner info! And for those of you in Tucson, Director KIRBY DICK will participate in The Loft’s post-film Q&A’s at the 7:00 p.m. shows on Friday, July 20th and Saturday, July 21st!
Ann Wright Speaks on the Costs of Conscience and Tucson Judge Shows Justice Can Have a Conscience
Michele Obama’s appearance in downtown Tucson probably drew some folks away from Ann Wright’s talk today about brave individuals who raised voices of conscience against illegal and immoral actions by our government since 2001.
Ann Wright spoke at the University of Arizona Bookstore this afternoon. It wasn’t a feel good talk. No one whose stories are in DISSENT Voices of Conscience has won any medals, most are no longer in the careers they were busily building when they discovered violations of the letter and spirit of the law of the United States of America that they served through military or civil service. Col. (ret.) Ann resigned her Foreign Service position on March 19, 2003 as the U.S. began invading Iraq.
What was feel good was the news Ann brought with her from downtown and the trial and sentencing of three protesters arrested inches inside the gates of Fort Huachuca last November during SOA sister action protests. Today Betsy Lamb, Mary Burton Riseley, and Franciscan Fr. Jerry Zawada were admonished for not keeping their protests within the law. But in an amazing voice of reason from the bench Judge Marshall encouraged protests to continue protesting against illegal actions by the U.S. Government and spoke of the duty to do so, but within the law. She spoke of knowing that incarceration would do no good as each would protest again. The three were each found guilty and sentenced to time served, two years of probation and a $5000 fine that can be paid as a fine or via community service hours at the rate of $100 credit against the fine for each hour of service. No jail time. Putting a value on protest of $100 an hour. This is a well reasoned sentence voiced with justice.
If only the individuals whose stories Ann Wright tells in her book DISSENT had the scales of justice actually action with judgment. But truth telling is not valued in this country, nor in the UK nor Australia it seems.
Elizabeth Wilmshurst advised the British Government that aggression toward Iraq would violate international law. They ignored her counsel. She had to resign and is now working at a think tank. Jessalyn Radack was devoted to justice and worked to maintain fair and just treatment for all Americans, even John Walker Lindh. She advised before interogation that anything obtained at that time and under those conditions could not be used at a later time in a court of law. Her emails detailing this advice disappeared and Lindh’s conviction used information obtained through early interrogations. She had IT recover the emails. She was forced out of her DOJ job. Her next employer (private) was told to let her go as the government was pursuing her disbarment and criminal prosecution. They let her go. Neither happened but she now knows that voicing matters of conscience will get you punished.
The stories are many. Most end up out of a job through forced retirement or forced resignation but some go all the way up the escalation scale to new identities and the Federal Witness Protection Program.
All of the personal stories in here are important when they stand alone. Together these instances form a critical collection worthy of study as a text in government, history, political science, and indeed any course that touches on philosophy or governance. The individuals covered in the chapters in this work are truly brave and noble individuals. Ann says she collected these stories together to thank the brave voices detailed in DISSENT, someone has to as the future of justice depends on the courage of such individuals, Ann included.
Get the book. Buy a copy for a library, a school, your book club, send it to a Congressperson who is playing it safe.