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Truth Revisited: A Letter to our Congress
Monica Benderman
04/25/07 "ICH"
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“I am writing to you because you have
been elected to serve the people. I am one of those people; my
family is one family in America. We are just a family, we
care about each other, we work hard and we believe in good
things. We have a modest income, not much, but enough to give us
what we need. Like most American families, we struggle with the
way things are these days. We try to justify that our votes have
mattered, our voices are heard, our opinions count, all the
while watching decisions being made, unable to recognize the
“voice of the people” in the final outcome.
I have worked for years serving those
whom I felt called to serve, our elderly. I have fought hard for
them, to ensure that they receive the respect they deserve, not
only from family, but from community as well. But now, I have
left my fight for the elderly, to do what I can to help in a
more significant effort.
My husband works with an equal amount
of passion. Everything that he has been asked to do by his
employer, he has done. Everywhere he has had to go, he has gone
with the trust that the words of his employer are honest, and
committed to his needs and the needs of his fellow workers.
Lies. My husband has had faith in an employer who cares more
about the American lifestyle than its people. My husband is an
American Soldier. My husband deserves so much more than what he
has been given in return by his country. I deserve more, my
children do. The families of all the soldiers who have
VOLUNTEERED to serve and now are asked to fight in a war that is
not about defending this country deserve more. This country has
disrespected them at every turn. This country has and is failing
them. It is failing all who have given with faith, who have
fought for the right thing, who have been led in their
commitment with the false promises and empty words of our
leadership. This is the fight my husband and I now take on.
Our soldiers are putting their lives
on the line. Our VOLUNTEER army is sacrificing its integrity to
fight for a cause that has lost its meaning, in a country that
did nothing to
America before we chose to invade it
and occupy it in the name of democracy. As they serve in the
most dangerous situations, we hear how they are supported, how
our government fights to give them everything they need. We see
no pictures of the sacrifice. That is hidden, and our media is
ordered not to show it. We see only words and videos of
politicians speaking boldly about supporting our military, and
honoring their service with all the best equipment, supplies,
and motivation. We see nothing of the loss, the destruction: It
is kept from us.
The story of this war is no different
at any level. In the grand design, it was destined to fail
before the invasion happened. The government of America is
failing to support the service of our military men and women,
and it is denying the sacrifice of those same soldiers and their
families in the manner in which it leads the American people.
When the American people are shown the truth of the sacrifice
our soldiers make, when they are told the truth of the manner in
which our government fails to support those soldiers, and their
families, when they see the destruction that this war has
actually caused, in vivid Technicolor reality, then, perhaps the
war will be called to a close, our soldiers brought home where
they belong, and Americans will come together in strength
against this ever happening again. The discipline of our
leadership is a farce, the support of our leadership is a farce,
and the truth needs to be shown to everyone who can make a
difference.
The illusion is that the war is going
well. The illusion is that our soldiers are strongly motivated
and emotionally prepared for what they have volunteered to face.
The illusion is that we are actually giving the Iraqis their
freedom. The illusion is that we in
America have that freedom to give.
The illusion is that we are taking care of those who are making
the greatest sacrifice. The illusion is that our government
cares about any of the humanity involved in this war. The
illusion is that this war is right.
The truth is different: When the
passion and commitment of our government equals the salary they
have voted for themselves, when the campaign promises are no
longer forgotten after the elections, when I can look a senator
in the eye, or a president, or a secretary of defense, and know
that he will remember words he spoke to me in the truth of his
actions, THEN AND ONLY THEN, will our government begin to come
close to deserving what all of our soldiers and their families
have sacrificed in the name of freedom for America. Then the
illusion may begin to fade and truth become strong. The war is
wrong. Our soldiers are not receiving the support they and their
families need. There is incredible waste in the military
process, beginning with lives, and ending with honor.
We, as Americans, cannot give the
Iraqis their freedom. Freedom is earned, and it is the Iraqis
who will have to do the fighting, if it is truly freedom that
they want. Until
America leaves
Iraq to the Iraqis, and brings its
soldiers home, freedom cannot begin to materialize for the Iraqi
people. Soldiers are dying, civilians are dying, and America is the
perpetrator. The only support that we should be giving our
soldiers now is in bringing them all home, where they can defend
what is their duty to defend... their families, their country,
and their honor. Someone has to be strong enough to stand
against the illusion and tell the truth. And Americans have to
be strong enough to bear witness to what they are told.”
(Monica Benderman, "An Open
Letter to Our Leaders", November, 2004)
In December 2004, my husband,
Sgt. Kevin Benderman, submitted a Conscientious Objector
application to his commander. He could no longer, in good
conscience, serve in a war he knew to be unjust, immoral and
with so many misrepresentations of the truth. He did it knowing
the illusion under which he had already served one combat tour
in Iraq. He did it knowing his time in
Iraq gave him the firsthand experiences he needed to see through
the manipulative actions of our administration; necessary deceit
to put the lives of our soldiers on the frontlines for a war of
choice Americans and soldiers alike would not otherwise accept.
My husband acted in the only
way his conscience would allow and he did so simply because it
was right and the deceptions of our government were wrong.
There was no epiphany. There were no heavenly bells and no
glorious change from soldier to pacifist in a bath of light.
His actions defined him; a man of integrity whose commitment to
defend the laws of our constitution and to support the soldiers
with whom he served was greater than his duty to a contract
meant to force his hand into becoming a mercenary serving at the
whim of a greedy, self-centered leadership where personal gain
replaced the good of the people.
Can you see now what you have
allowed to happen in our name?
Are you now ready to own the
actions of our administration, to accept your responsibility in
holding our leadership accountable, admitting your mistakes and
taking the steps necessary to change the direction we now head?
It is the responsibility of
Congress, on behalf of the people, to ensure that the policies
our soldiers are sent to defend are policies worth giving their
lives for.
You have failed.
It is the responsibility of
Congress, on behalf of the people, to ensure that the support
given to our soldiers and their families is real, meaningful and
of the highest standard; worthy of the sacrifice they make for
us all.
You have failed.
It is the responsibility of
Congress, on behalf of the people, to ensure that the people
know the true manner of the actions taken in their name.
You have failed.
My husband spent over one year
in prison, losing all pay and benefits, as a result of his stand
for truth in support of the soldiers and veterans who serve.
The Army did not want his voice to be heard by the American
people. They have heard anyway, more from his prison cell than
we still have heard from the Congress charged with doing the
will of the people according to the standards set forth in our
Constitution.
Many soldiers now face the
difficult consequences of prison as they act to defend the
integrity of our laws; a responsibility of Congress our soldiers
should not have to take on.
The Speaker of the House of
Representatives cannot take the time to sit with her colleagues
and hear the truth of
Iraq from the commander of our
military when nothing should be more important.
The Attorney General cannot
remember conversations regarding his management of the
Department of Justice handling the constitutional matters our
soldiers are purportedly dying to defend as we try to teach this
same system of justice to the Iraqi people.
Our presidential leadership
believes politics to be more important than the honest
administration of the laws they took an oath to uphold.
Soldiers are dying, civilians
are dying and
America remains the perpetrator until
our Congress acts in accordance with the integrity our soldiers
and their families deserve for the sacrifices they continue to
make in the name of the people.
It is a matter of Right – and
being strong enough to say “NO MORE” to the wrong.
Who in Congress is willing to
be that strong?
Monica is the wife of Sgt. Kevin Benderman, a ten-year
Army veteran who served a combat tour in Iraq and a year in
prison for his public protest of war and the destruction it
causes to civilians and to American military personnel. Please
visit their website,
www.BendermanDefense.org to learn more. Monica and
Kevin may be reached at
mdawnb@coastalnow.net
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