whiteoak

Subject: DRUID PRESS RELEASE - PLEASE FORWARD
Order of Whiteoak ( Ord Na Darach Gile ) THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION
A DRUID ETHICAL CRITIQUE January 20, 2003 Contact: Whiteoak@ziplip.com
Web: http://www.geocities.com/ordnadarachgileFor Immediate Release. Please forward widely ...

The Order of Whiteoak ( Ord Na Darach Gile ) is comprised of students of Druidry who are concerned with the matter of ethics in the Druidical community. Because our discipline demands our involvement in world events that pose a threat to human life, essential human rights and the delicate balance of our planet’s ecosystems, we are compelled to express our criticism of what we view as a lack of ethical behavior by the President of the United States. Our membership of both independents and those aligned with the various Druidic orders and organizations around the world stands in opposition to the Bush administration’s agendas and actions in the following areas of human concern.

1. The Move Toward War with Iraq

We believe the evidence so far provided to the American public, the United Nations and the rest of the world to be insufficient reason to wage war on the people of Iraq. We also hold the opinion that the administration’s case for war is unjustified in connection with the War on Terrorism. Our belief is that the proposed military actions against Iraq force an agenda that would result in massive casualties among the innocent, do irreparable harm to the stability of the Middle
East, invite further reprisals against the United States and its interests,
and add impetus to further dependence on and exploitation of non-
renewable resources.

Furthermore, our administrations’s declaration of an ethical right to
preemptive action against Iraq is in direct violation of the generally
held ethic of restraint of military force until attack. International
agreements codify this ethic, and the administration will stand in
clear violation of existing international law if this occurs. The attempt to
mislead the nation and the world into the belief that danger of imminent
attack by Iraq exists without proof of that imminence is reprehensible and
irresponsible. Because of the immense power and influence that the United
States still wields, the result of this administration’s breech of ethics in
this important issue sets a dangerous precedent, and will lead other
nations to follow suit in decisions of preemptive action, making the world
a far more dangerous place.

We regard these actions and threats as unethical conduct for a government,
particularly our own government, on the grounds that they are founded in
fear, greed, destruction and lack of respect for life, and that true
diplomacy is being avoided and sabotaged in the desire to go to war.

2. The Suspension of Our Rights as a Result of the Patriot Act

(This summary is published by the Associated Press.
source:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/usapatriot_oakland021217.html

Freedom of Association - Government may monitor religious and political
institutions without suspecting criminal activity to assist terror
investigation.

Freedom of Information - Government has closed once-public immigration
hearings, has secretly detained hundreds of people without charges, and
has encouraged bureaucrats to resist public records requests.

Freedom of Speech - Government may prosecute librarians or keepers of
any other records if they tell anyone that the government subpoenaed
information related to a terror investigation.

Right to Legal Representation - Government may monitor federal prison
jailhouse conversations between attorneys and clients, and deny lawyers
to Americans accused of crimes.

Freedom from Unreasonable Searches - Government may search and seize
Americans’ papers and effects without probable cause to assist terror
investigation.

Right to a Speedy and Public Trial - Government may jail Americans
indefinitely without a trial.

Right to Liberty - Americans may be jailed without being charged or
being able to confront witnesses against them.

Beyond our estimation that these measures are a violation of the
appropriate ethics of a free society and are inappropriate actions of
our governing bodies, these suspensions place all Americans at risk
of having their freedom to practice any religion, predominant or minority,
curtailed or restricted. We also believe that these measures endanger
the ethical treatment of foreign nationals and allows our government to
commit unsupportable violations of human rights. We remind the
President of his promise and absolute obligation to preserve the
liberties that are jeopardized by the Patriot Act.

3. The Cost of War and the Economy

The cost of life will be high, as will the financial costs to our nation.
Funding for the proposed war will be taken from arenas that should be
the appropriate priority of this administration. General heath care,
Social Security and Medicare, education, housing, all base-line
subsistence services for the poor and disabled, environmental
conservation and other critical programs are suffering massive cuts
in order to finance preparation for this war. Yet the administration
continues to press deep tax cuts for the very wealthy and force us into
future decades of national debt.

We believe that the waging of war at the expense of the poorest
citizens of our nation and placing the burden of financing on those
least able to pay it is a clear failure of ethics in the policies of the
Bush administration.

4. The Diminished Quality of Life for Americans

The Bush administration has clearly shown that it intends to impose
its narrow and monotheistic religious viewpoint on to the great diversity of
religious thought and practice that is our guaranteed right as Americans
We believe this administration would extend this theological viewpoint
into the most personal aspects of our lives. In this view, the rights of
women to make the difficult choices of ultimate Sovereignty over their
own bodies would be negated. The faulty concept of dominance over
Nature would prevail over environmental Stewardship, and policy would
continue in favor of economic expedience instead of the ecological wisdom
of preservation.

These and other degradations of the quality of life here in the United
States must be attributed to the failure of the ethics of this
administration.

5. Corporate Connections and our Essential Services

We believe that the continuing push for privatization of critical
support services traditionally maintained under federal auspices,
combined with the strong appearance of malfeasance in the
administration’s quid pro quo appointments of former corporate
leadership to our highest national offices is not only irresponsible
but unethical. That our leadership should direct the increase of
already astronomical profits from our most basic and needed services
towards the private insurance, pharmaceutical and energy industries
is a gross ethical failure.

The members of Whiteoak urge you to consider our concerns
about the ethical failures of our current administration. Every voice
counts at this “eleventh hour” before our government takes us to war.
Please circulate this document to as many readers as possible.

Below is a listing of contacts that you may find useful:

White House 1 - (202) - 456 - 1111 then dial “O” to get a live operator
Senate 1 - (202) - 224 - 3121
League of Women Voters (for general questions)
1 - (800) - 424 - 2937

For E-mail and telephone contacts for US Government individuals
and offices: http://www.congress.org/

The Order of Whiteoak
Permission is granted to repost as long as nothing is altered or removed.