Crying shame

To the editor: It is a crying shame that so few, so very few, of the readers of this letter had not been present in Honesdale Grace Episcopal Church recently, to hear, and to help read, the names of the 4,000 American men and women who had died in this country’s invasion of Iraq. For us there, it was a moment of faith, tears, and respect, to intone these now American names - Grant, Robinson, Rodriguez, Arthur Williams III,- would there ever be a fourth, I wondered - or a young man named Jackson IV - would God grant that family a fifth? Every honored and patriotic dead American testified to the lies, deceit, the ugliness and arrogance of the present administration, whose hypocrisy and cowardice, with so-called allies corrupted by threats and bribes, were the cause for the sad ceremony. We cried also for the many Iraqi children, under twelve- some only 9 months old ! - who had been part of the “collateral damage” -disgusting term -from American violence and death. Kids killing kids! But there is hope for those who were left out of that day’s ceremony. Senator McCain and those who support him wish to sustain the carnage and terror, to add more numbers to the 40,000 troops diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, to dispense more American dollars to the $42.5 millions that the U.S. paid to Iraqis who lost family members or property, to continue this unprovoked aggression supported by a brainwashed American public. Perhaps then, sooner than we wish, we can more of us gather to solemnize a greater number of American dead. Manual Schonhorn Milford