Letters to the Editor
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Yes, courage
Yes, it was indeed courage demonstrated by Barack Obama when he publicly opposed the rush to the Iraq War.
Rewind the tapes to October 2002 and you have a nation whipped up into a fear-driven froth of perverse patriotism. Against all logic, we were invading a country that had no connection to 9/11 or al-Qaeda. Yet, the vast majority of Americans were swallowing whole the lies of the Bush administration and draping themselves in the flag.
Those who dared to question or protest the war were shouted down, ostracized and ridiculed as being unpatriotic--in homes, in social circles, in workplaces. Maybe you were one of them. And yes, consequences were paid. Remember the Dixie Chicks?
Barack Obama was merely an Illinois state representative at the time, but he publicly and forcefully spoke his conscience against the insanity, at great risk to his public image and his career in politics.
While HIllary and John Edwards were acquiescing to the political tides, Obama resisted and did the right thing. This is courage.