I cant believe the news today
Oh, I can’t close my eyes and make it go away
How long…
How long must we sing this song?
How long? how long…

Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2  —  A song about war.

It is 0400.  Eastern Standard Time.  And I’m up out of bed.    The world is black outside.  And I’m reminded of being woken in my old Army barracks.  Being rousted out of bed.  Off to train.  Letting a drill sergeant strip away my natural human tendencies toward love and charity for my fellow man.

First they shave off your hair.  Then dress you up in drab clothes.  Everyone the same.  And they don’t let you sleep enough.  Going to bed late.  Getting up early.  Five minutes to eat and then, get the fuck out of my chow hall.  Always they are barking at you.  Do this.  Don’t do that.  Get down maggot and give me 20.  I’m saving your ass private.  So it don’t get shot off someday.
No, it’s not a cult.  It is the United States Army.  They’re breaking you down.  De-humanizing the enemy.  Getting you ready to fucking kill.  And then you are just a running and a singing:

I want to be an Airborne Ranger.
Living the life of death and danger.
I wanna go to Vietnam.
I wanna kill some Viet Cong.

I want to be an Airborne Ranger.
Living the life of sex and danger.
Send me off to the Russian front.
Bury me in a Russian’s. . . .

I personally can’t imagine how our fine young Marines would kill innocent <racism on>Ragheads<racism off> in Haditha.  Preposterous.

I’m singing a different song today, though.  Riding on the Peace Train.  I’m up at oh-dark-thirty so I can go to the anti-war protest.  Petals for Peace.  I’m off to secure the prime parking space in front of Mike Rogers’ Lansing office.  To park the peace car.  To buy a few dozen flowers.  And to talk to total strangers on the street.  Asking them, “Are you against the war in Iraq?”  About two-thirds of them say, “Yes.”  At least that’s been my experience so far.  And to those, I say, “How would you like to deliver a flower to Mike Rogers, to ask him to stop the war?”  And about half of those opposed to the war will have the time to take a flower in and join our protest.  At least that’s been my experience.

How long must we sing this song?  How fucking long?  Didn’t we just do this in 1968?  The disabled veteran who I’ll be protesting with today — Spike — whose is riding around in one of those Costanza-mobiles, because he got fucking shot in the last stupid fucking war — tells me we did just do this a couple of decades ago.  How fucking long, people?

So, I’m going to ask you. “Are you against the war in Iraq?”  And if you say, “Yes,” I’m going to say, “Then read the fucking blockquote right under this sentence and help me do something, okay?”

On Friday, June 2, 2006 (9am – 5pm EST) deliver a single flower to pro-war Rep. Mike Rogers (NEOHAWK-MI).  He knows that the flowers are a protest.  We’ve delivered almost 500 in five days.  There are three easy ways to deliver:

Phone your Flower —  Bancrofts Flowers.  Toll free at 1-866-476-8608.  Order one carnation for delivery to Rogers in your name (or anonymously, if you’d like to keep your name out of it).  I think it is $1.  Maybe $1.25.

Fax your flower —  Draw a flower on regular paper and fax it to Rogers’ district office.  (517) 702-8642.  Don’t worry about your artwork.  Just a simple flower.  And if you jam his Lansing fax, then try Washington. (202) 225-5820.  But Lansing first.

Deliver your Flower  —  If you are local, stop by Bancroft Flowers (1417 E. Michigan Avenue, Lansing), buy a carnation, and walk it over to Rogers’ office (1327 E. Michigan Avenue).  His office is right next door.  To the west.  If you can’t afford the dollar, we’ll be out front of the office all day with a free flower you can deliver yourself.

That’s it.  It is simple.

If you’re bored, you can deliver one to Joe Schwarz (R-MI-07) as well.  We’ve expanded to include him in our protest.  His contact info:  6604 W. Saginaw Highway, Lansing, Michigan — Fax (517) 327-7488.

You can also send one to your own Congressperson, if you’d like.  Make sure you explain the message.  We don’t want them thinking that the flowers are because we are so happy with them.

And let me know if you are participating.  A note in this diary works.  Or e-mail me (tjayolson@hotmail.com).  It helps us keep count.

If you like this protest, there are a couple of other things you can do.  Hit recommend.  Let the message hang around for a while.

Also, tell your family and friends.  It doesn’t take a lot of flowers over the course of the day to make a big deal.

We’ve got pledges of a 171 flowers to be delivered so far, plus the rank-and-file of a UAW local is taking up a collection to send more (they did 156 flowers in the last round).  Even without the union flowers, that averages out to a flower every three minutes or so.  Imagine sitting at your desk with these flowers and faxes rolling in.  Think you’d get a message that day.  I think Rogers will.  And at the very least he will probably let his fellow pro-war Congressmen know just how upset people are.

That’s my pitch.  I’ve got to go sing a different song.  Or I’d stay and chat with you.