I wrote the following letter today. It's due to run in the form of a half-page advertisement in the Grand Rapids Press this Sunday, March 16, 2003.

An Appeal to President Bush

In the months following Sept. 11, 2001, America’s citizens and the rest of the world have watched as your administration pursued a course of action that you’ve called the “war on terrorism.” Now, at this critical moment, when our nation may be mere days away from initiating an invasion of Iraq, we appeal to you to consider whether or not this plan is going to be effective at establishing an enhanced sense of safety and security in our world.

We believe that the best way to provide peaceful security in the USA is to build upon the reputation for promoting freedom and providing constructive humanitarian assistance that we’ve established over the course of our history. This security is based on the goodwill of ordinary people, such as those who showed such valor and self-sacrifice in the events of September 11, 2001. These brave citizens represented America at its best. Gratitude and hope for the future motivated their deeds, not fear or suspicion of others. However, our national mood has been overwhelmed by a relentless focus on threats, dangers, ominous warnings and mistrust. We reject any efforts to further polarize our relationships with our Muslim neighbors here in the USA, the Middle East, or anywhere else on the globe. The alienation and pessimism between the West and the Islamic world is already too severe. Our current situation calls for immediate assertive actions to mend that relationship – and a war in Iraq at this time would only make matters worse.

In fact, an invasion of Iraq only plays further into the ambitions of Al Qaeda to escalate matters into a regional and perhaps global “holy war.” Despite recent highly publicized arrests and the on-going pursuit of Osama bin Laden, it’s widely recognized that aggressive military action in the Middle East will strongly inflame efforts of extremist groups to recruit new members. Even a full dismantling of Al Qaeda, if it were possible, would not guarantee an end to terrorism. Again, we must pursue a more respectful and dignified response to the grievances and issues raised by people in that region, rather than simply dismiss their cries as the ranting of “fanatics and terrorists.”

As a nation that has long been dedicated to promoting the benefits and virtues of democracy, it is essential that we not come to be seen as hypocrites or manipulators. The principles we hold dear and seek to live by work only when free citizens voluntarily adopt them. Democracy cannot be forced upon the people of any land through the barrel of a gun. As long as the appearance of unworthy motives lingers around a contemplated take-over of a sovereign nation, such actions must be avoided, even if we believe that we’re pursuing a worthy cause. Though your spokespeople insist that “it’s not about the oil,” the connections are too obvious to deny.

We are dismayed by the toll that this war has taken on our alliances with Europe, NATO and the United Nations. Rather than giving serious consideration to the reasons why our allies object to war at this time, American officials have made public mockery of certain governments and this has fostered an immature, jingoistic mentality that’s degraded public discourse. This is foolish and inexcusable. Our world is too interdependent for any nation, even a superpower, to “go it alone.” Partnership backed by a broad consensus of our allies ought to be a prerequisite to the use of force. Especially when it’s destructive force on the scale that has been described in various battle scenarios, involving thousands of cruise missiles and the recently tested “MOAB” bomb that’s considered comparable to a nuclear weapon, though without the radioactive fallout.

Mr. President, we urgently request that you reconsider your plans to initiate a pre-emptive war. The protests of millions of ordinary citizens, and the pleas of many heads-of-state and diplomatic envoys will prove to have been in vain if you direct our troops into this volatile, risky and highly unprecedented attack. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, many obstacles have unexpectedly risen to make the undertaking even more treacherous. We find ourselves increasingly isolated and at odds from the currents of world opinion, and even our strongest long-time allies are showing signs of balking as the timetable shortens. We are confident that the standoff with Saddam Hussein can be worked out over the course of time, through strong international cooperation. We are dismayed to think that political and economic considerations may be dictating your decisions rather than a more fundamental concern for human life and the well being of society in a very tense region. We also regret the cost and impact that a war will have on American society. Already we see a growing acceptance of restrictions on free speech and other civil liberties, and the war climate will almost certainly erode conditions even further.

It’s especially disappointing when we see your administration’s lack of involvement in the major issue affecting Middle East peace, namely, the crisis between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It is crucial that the USA uses its influence to promote true justice and reconciliation in the disputes that divide these peoples. Yet the campaign against Saddam Hussein once again sends the signal to Muslims and Arabs that their concerns are of secondary importance to the perspectives embraced by some Jews and Christians who see a “divine mandate” in modern-day Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands. We request that your administration clarify its priorities by a more vigorous pursuit of peace negotiations that hold both sides accountable, rather than setting forth terms that are so clearly biased in favor of Israel and against the Palestinian Authority. New Israeli settlements must be halted, and a dismantling of illegal settlements must be insisted upon, in order to demonstrate our honest commitment to promoting a lasting solution to this conflict.

We want to see a more constructive approach taken to resolving the problems with our economy and our quality of life. At a time when budget surpluses have become deficits, as states are beleaguered and millions are dealing with unemployment, we ask, “Where is the wealth going?” This nation continues to be very productive and blessed with abundant resources, yet it seems as if the gap between rich, the poor and the “just getting by” continues to grow ever wider. This is not the time to be going to war. This is not the time to be deepening our deficits and laying debt on future generations. This is not the time to create unease and anxiety in the markets or elsewhere. This is the time to be more forthright and equitable in letting the public know exactly what the costs of a war will be, and how much sacrifice will be required. Instead, we get euphemisms and vagueness when we need facts. Not going to war does not equal “doing nothing!” We have an inspections regime in Iraq. Saddam Hussein is under intense scrutiny and there are numerous other crises to attend to in other parts of the world.

Our request is that you, as President, serve the needs and interests of all the people, not a narrow minority of ideologues and influence peddlers. Your mandate in the 2000 election was exceedingly narrow and controversial, and the Republican majorities in Congress are small. In your campaign for office, you spoke of being a “uniter, not a divider.” But this war threatens to produce a very deep and painful rift in society, because it does not have our support! The injustice of an invasion of Iraq is painfully apparent to many of us and will not be forgotten if it occurs. The time for diplomacy and statesmanship is not over – indeed, it can be seen as just beginning. We ask that you find a more constructive, collaborative and morally defensible method of disarming Iraq and genuinely promoting the cause of peace in the Middle East and in our world.

We continue to pray for peace, wisdom and compassion as you tend to your enormous responsibilities.

It's been a while since I've added to this thing so let me update you a bit. I have some news to announce... I went ahead and did something I've been contemplating for some time, and that's register for my own domain name. Yes, PoMoXian.com is about to become a reality. What exactly will go on the new website isn't exactly clear yet, but it will be the next step forward from my current website. One main reason I'm doing this is that my ISP has once again been bought out, so soon all my URLS would have to be changed from "attbi.com" to "comcast.com" and I'm just sick of having to deal with that. Plus I just think it's time to grab PoMoXian and run with it. I'm starting to see other people use the word (pomoxian) in emails to other lists so I figure that it has caught on a bit. (Note that I'm not claiming to have invented the word but I think I've developed its use more than anyone else on the Internet anyway.) So I'll have more to say about that here and elsewhere but I have to go to work now. Oh by the way, that difficult client that I mentioned on 1/16/03 has been discharged now so thank you God and all the specific individuals involved that were a part of facilitating this necessary change.