Arkansas Online

Candidate for peace

I was politically born a child of the Iraq war crime. I have a very clear memory of the well-documented lies about WMD and connections to 9/11 that led to that illegal invasion. That war powerfully shaped my worldview and my moral compass.

Yes, the trillions of tax dollars wasted on that regime-change war of aggression still bother me. That money could have helped us shift to clean energy and high-speed rail to solve the climate crisis.

But what permanently bothered me most is the killing, the bombings and mass shootings. The Lancet medical journal estimated over a million of our Iraqi brothers and sisters were killed. Over 4,000 American soldiers were killed directly, and many, many more from PTSD suicide.

In my opinion, there is nothing more immoral in the world than this mass killing, especially on a pack of lies. It is akin to the immorality of slavery. I became a dedicated peace activist, and it is the central issue I vote on.

Categorically, I refuse to vote for any federal candidate who fails to meaningfully speak for peace. If a candidate stands for war, I feel like my vote for them is a vote of support for war. This usually means I have nobody to vote for federally in Arkansas.

Thankfully, I do have a choice in the 2022 U.S. Senate primary: Dan Whitfield. He has participated in our local antiwar events and has a strong antiwar statement on his website. This is a rare sign of tremendous courage. He also recently told me that he would have courageously voted no, unlike any elected Democrat, on the $40 billion for proxy war against Russia, which is pushing us toward nuclear war.

I strongly endorse Dan and encourage everyone to support this real leader instead of another craven follower of war profiteer complex corporations.

ABEL TOMLINSON Fayetteville

Voices

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2022-05-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.arkansasonline.com/article/282303913752877

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