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| Fifth Column |
| An antiwar American looks to the north and south for a new place to call home |
| 2003-04-28 |
| Christ,lady. Take one of your pills, willya? And, she says, now she wants out. "I can't help but feel like I've left America," she says over the telephone from her home in West Virginia."I feel like I've gone to another planet somehow." ...and maybe she has. And not for the first time. Dianne Burnham knows she is not the majority. Nor is she a loud voice, but speaks quietly and cautiously, wary of the death threats that have already come her way as the convener of the Ohio Valley Peace group and an American who is deeply opposed to America's war with Iraq.The physiotherapist and mother of two is one year away from retirement, and this month she drove north to see if perhaps she might feel more at home in Planet Canada than she has felt this spring in Planet America. She fell in love with London, Ont. -- clean, small enough, a good university for her continuing education plans -- but she is also looking at Costa Rica and has not yet made a decision. I hear CUBA's nice... All she knows for sure is she had better leave the country where she has lived her entire life, but no longer feels a part of -- or, for that matter, welcome. Sure we can't talk you out of it? Okay. Buh-bye. There has been a new split in America, and the gap has widened steadily since the United States lost patience with the United Nations and led its own 40-member coalition against Iraq.It is hardly an even split, the pro-war side vastly outnumbering the antiwar, and because the media, particularly television, have been vastly pro-war, little attention has been paid to the minority side apart from quick dismissals and even charges of unpatriotic activity.This has stung Dianne Burnham deepest. She is, simply, a believer in peace everywhere -- her car's bumper sticker, unlike most in America, says "God Bless THE WORLD" -- and she is outraged by the manner in which the antiwar demonstrators have been painted as, by extension, being against the troops. "My flag has been stolen from me," she says. "I have two American flags, and I do not dare put them up for fear people will think I'm pro-war.That's what it's come to in this country. That's what this war has done to America. It's taken away my flag." It has? It seems that you're the one who made the decision not to display one because of your own beliefs. And no one has come and forced you to put one up. The split has affected her extended family. She has two nephews in the service, and while one brother was posted to the front lines of Iraq, the other declared himself a conscientious objector and is now awaiting a hearing. The war's pretty much over. He can change his mind now. Why go through all the paperwork. "My sister-in-law told me now she knows how people felt during the Civil War," Burnham says, "when families were fighting on opposite sides." She lays the blame, not surprisingly, directly at the feet of U.S. President George W. Bush, the commander-in-chief who grew so exasperated with the dawdling UN attitude toward Iraq that he decided to act with whatever allies would join in. Americans, by a wide margin, supported the President's action. Couldn't see that coming, could we? The Evil Bush... In Canada, the government elected not to join in, but Canadians also split on the need for war, though in more balanced proportions than the American public. "Bush has really divided the country," Burnham says. "I've never seen people so wide apart, and with such animosity and anger.I cannot believe that, because I have sympathy for victims of war, because I'm for peace, that somehow I've become America's enemy. I'm for peace because I don't want anybody killed over these issues, and exactly what are those issues, anyway? Where are these weapons of mass destruction we were going in to find and destroy? Where are they? Now they're saying we went in to liberate the Iraqis and bring them democracy. This wasn't even a 'war,' for heaven's sake; this was shooting at sick rabbits in a cage. We're there to get control of their oil."...AND THERE IT IS!!!Is this broad reading right out of the handbook, or what? So distraught has the Ohio Valley peace activist become over the continuing coverage of the war that she will no longer watch her television or turn on her car radio. She uses the time instead to learn Spanish, just in case she ends up heading for Costa Rica rather than Canada. You could watch "West Wing". You could pretend it's real. You might feel better. "I'm kind of torn," she says.I have friends urging me not to do it, but I go to work and I feel so alien these days. I keep asking, 'What has happened to America?' Everyone is just so full of testosterone. They listen all day to the media spin and eventually everyone starts sounding the same; they even use the same phrases, the same arguments." You mean, just like you? Excuse me while I get another glass of Testosterone. "If I stay here, I will be paying for this. I will be supporting this administration, whether I want to or not. I love my country deeply. I love the water, the land, the leaves, the wild animals. I want what's healthy for the country, but I don't want this.It's putting me out of my own country, you know. "I need a safe haven." She needs safe haven all right. Safe Haven State Hospital. Poor lefties, things really aren't going well for them these days. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #15 Don't let the door hit you in the ass.Way-to-go,that is the way to fix a problem run a way(what a wuss). |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-04-29 09:11:12 |
| #14 She'll never gets what she really wants: everyone agreeing with her utopian visions. Unless, of course, she and her like-minded fascists get to run things. Then EVERYONE would agree and all would be safe, unless someone disagreed. And, of course there is a place in the Caribbean, with nice weather, where everyone agrees with everyone else. Except when they don't. Then they get 25 years... You'll love it Havana, honey! |
| Posted by: R. McLeod 2003-04-29 02:38:32 |
| #13 Here is another situation of a person living in denial. Does she think that peace and freedom are free? Maybe she should leave, but no matter where she ends up, she will take her fear with her. |
| Posted by: quark2 2003-04-28 22:27:05 |
| #12 I hate Bush's America, so I am leaving... DId you hear me? I said I am leaving... Hey! Listen up! I am leaving America... Hey, I am a peace person and I am l e a v i n g America... Are you listening? |
| Posted by: badanov 2003-04-28 18:10:23 |
| #11 Costa Rica is too nice - they don't deserve her. I think Fidel's Paradise is her best bet. Vaya Con Dios dumbass |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-04-28 18:07:25 |
| #10 I think it's symptomatic of her problem that she NEVER mentions loving "people" - just "peace", just land, water, etc.,etc. "Everybody" is against her. The "news media" tells all kinds of lies. This lady isn't hearing what she wants to hear, so she's upset. She needs to get a grip on herself and start seeing reality. The United States is a nice place, but to keep it a nice place, we have to take a club to the riff-raff that want to wreck it. This lady is blind to reality. I hope she goes to Costa Rica. It'll be a HUGE eye-opener for her. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-04-28 15:10:31 |
| #9 All I can say is, why wait? Get going. Now. Maybe if she's lucky, she can find a suitable socialist society she can fit into and sponge off them. Once gone, she will be one less sad sack to have to contemplate. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-04-28 15:00:36 |
| #8 I agree with Capsu78. Why are they wasting type space on a person that really doesn't get it. You could be against the war, but these people were always against America. They were burning U.S. flags and not Iraqi/UN ones. If these people really had a clue they would be demonstrating at the UN. Too bad the Hollywood crowd won't follow this lady. I have had my fill of Tom, Susan, et al. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2003-04-28 14:49:27 |
| #7 No! Not Canada! Atleast not anywhere near Ontario, pleeeease! Besides, it's too cold up here for Americans and we have comedy shows about that to prove it. (Alaskans get an exemption). OTOH, bet you where ever she goes, she comes back to the good ol' USA in about 2 weeks. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-04-28 14:47:40 |
| #6 The funny thing about her is how blind she is to reality. 1) She's soooooo oppressed for her views that she's allowed to express them in a newspaper, with her full name. She can still go back to work (so she can get that pension next year) instead of some gulag. 2) She can leave any time she wants, to go to any country that will have her. No one is forcing her to stay. 3) She sooooo wants to make the world a better place that she is going to a nice safe place. I'd have some respect for her if she was going to work with poor kids in some third-world hellhole to improve their lives. Is this "victim" doing that? Nope, she wants to go somewhere where the US dollar will buy her a comfortable retirement without having to deal with icky things. |
| Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-04-28 13:55:01 |
| #5 I think that her problem is common to alot of peace at any price people: They believe that violence is not the answer, they are asking what did we do to offend people to have our buildings blown up by aircraft. They just cannot believe that one cannot reason and love unconditionally and everything will be fine. My wife (a psychologist) uses this analogy: if you are being attacked in your house by a psychopath, do you reason with them, defend your self and/or call the police? 9-11 is the same thing. She has used this analogy many times with her teaching colleagues and they have tended to agree, or at least it got them thinking. The problem is that basically well meaning people cannot believe how bad other people can be. So they delude themselves. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-04-28 13:52:46 |
| #4 The choices are clear: Drive north and listen to non stop Celine Dion tapes, or head south and listen to spanish soap opera's... May God grant you the wisdom in making the best choice for you. I will truly start worrying about this trend when the number of people jumping in styrophome beer coolers and paddling away from America is the same as the number paddling in. |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-04-28 13:50:34 |
| #3 Godspeed to you, lady, and take that a**hole Alec Baldwin with you while you're at it. He's waaaay overdue. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-04-28 13:35:44 |
| #2 Stand back. I'm an EMT and trained to handle this sort of thing. {Irv, get the Haldol ready!} Now, dear, let the nice man show you this lovely white coat with the funny arms. That's it; it's so cozy and comfy. {Nail her, Irv, while her eyes are closed!} |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-04-28 13:30:02 |
| #1 .....and stay out! And while yer at it, take some of your anti-Bush, it's all about OOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLL syncophants with you. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-04-28 13:21:32 |