Perry L. Gardner: Private Journal #32
Thursday, January 24, 1991
Well, here we are in our Journal again, and it seems like there is so much going on, I can’t focus on anything. I just read How to be Organized in Spite of Yourself, and have firmly established one of my many styles is a “Hopper”, so I will have to work on that.
The most significant thing going on is the Bush/Saddam war in the Persian Gulf, otherwise known as the “Gulf War”. It is a media event that I have finally tuned out. I feel in my gut that this war is a terrible mistake sold to the UN, Congress, and the American people, and I am afraid the people will learn nothing from it. On the other hand, I hope the right lessons are learned. Once our troops were committed to battle, I have no option but to support them, but the policy that brought us here stinks! Real peace is not the space between wars: real peace is when war is rejected as an option for resolving conflict.
I am going to the Peace March in Washington on Saturday. I have been in internal conflict on this matter. I do not want to diminish the morale of our troops or give support to Saddam H. But I cannot stifle and lay low on this occasion. The right to dissent is under threat, and that right I will fight for with every means at my disposal. The seeds of Fascism are being sown in the good old USA—what the Hell did we fight for in WWII if we are unwilling to note the danger and resist its growth. This war and what lead up to it has caused me to do a lot of thinking of late. I have been trying to visualize a “New World Order”, and I am sure my vision is not that of George Bush. There was a time when I gave him the benefit of my doubt, but no more. I have thought up hundreds of slogans, but slogans don’t do it. The “debate” is not over: it has hardly begun. War and violence are not the answer. To learn from this, we must know the truth, and that is hard to get at. For a while I thought Bush bungled into the war, but now I believe it was deliberate, and the American public has been snowed under and “sold” this course. Enough, for now, on war.
I received two good reports from Dr. Bodi—the physical exam and PSA blood test were well within normal limits—The cancer is in check—We proceed with cautious optimism.
Bonnie is giving me art lessons! I am starting out learning to “draw on the right side of the brain”, and have made four pencil drawings, including a self portrait, which is a likeness. These are to establish a baseline, so I can see my progress. It is hard, but fun.