|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Sr Susan Connelly speech at Palm Sunday 2004We ask about the stupidity and meaninglessness of the suffering and death of so many young people. It appears that we haven't learnt much. We see nightly scenes of the cycle of revenge between Palestine and Israel, one side with sticks stones and suiciders, the other with state-of-the-art military equipment.
Over 500 young Americans and Britishers have sacrificed their lives in Iraq in an illegal and unwinnable war. We see their leaders, as ours, wrongly blaming Iraq for international terrorism. They are still seeking the weapons of mass destruction. It will be interesting to see if they turn up in time for the November elections in the United States. There is a monumental stupidity in thinking that the threat of terrorist attacks can be eliminated with similar acts of barbarity using more sophisticated weaponry and calling it 'war'. The so-called 'war on terror' is merely the stupidity of revenge dressed up. It is dressed up with money that should be going to help poor nations to eat more, and fat nations to eat less. It is a way of doing something after September 11 instead of finding and addressing the causes. The 'war on terror' is deliberately confused with the illegal act of revenge on Saddam Hussein and his people, one of the United States' mass murdering proteges who wouldn't toe the line. It is a ploy to ensure an adequate oil supply to the gas guzzlers of this world. And as you know as well as I do, Australia is into this up to its neck. That great American eagle, it seems, has been replaced by a turkey. Our heraldic emu is now a goose. You and I are sick of all this. There have been too many lies about this and other related matters - like the treatment of asylum seekers - which make it impossible for us to trust the government on anything. How can we believe anything they say? When Jesus was on that donkey up on the road to Jerusalem, he knew that he was off to his death. He knew that the authorities were after him, but he refused to stop what he was knew was right. He spoke out in the temple right up to his death. Speaking out against official lies always brings opposition, condemnation and ridicule, but in the end the truth will out, and the truth will set us free. I notice that Andrew Wilkie is standing here, and I salute that good man and his leadership to this nation, his courage and his willingness to speak the truth. We have to be prepared to take the risk. Each of us has to resist the temptation to acquiesce, to be browbeaten or cajoled into submission. Let the churches not be intimidated by those who say we should be quiet. All of us has citizens have the duty to call our representatives to account, but we also have the duty to ourselves and our children to save the national soul by not following official example. Let us never tell lies to anyone about anything. Revenge is always stupid, it solves nothing, and brings people down to the same level as those who wronged them. Let us rise above revenge. Let us take advantage of opportunities to learn about other people's cultures and religions, and rejoice in them. Let us arm ourselves with the courage of our convictions and refuse to be tricked into submission by the policies of the government today. ... I tell you if these keep silence, the stones will cry out. Let us not be outdone by stones, or donkeys either. Let us stand up to all turkeys and geese too, when the lives of people and the telling of truth is at stake. Whatever they do or say about us is not as important as the questions our children and grandchildren will ask about the world we hand on to them. When they say to us, what did you do during the illegal Iraq war?, what will you be able to say? |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
© Walk Against the War Coalition 2003. |
|
