A Bleeding Heart. . .

Anyone who spends much time with me is pretty quick to realize my feelings on personal responsibility. I believe we are all responsible for ourselves and the choices we make. Going through life with a victim’s attitude will get you no where and that we, above any government or social organization, are responsible for the safety and well-being of our families. It is because of this belief that I am a registered Republican. I know that can be a dirty word these days as can stating that you voted for George Bush, which I did. Twice.

I realize now that may be one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made. The thought that I’ve had anything, even a single citizen’s vote, to do with the chaos and devastation that has been brought upon the people of Iraq, breaks my heart. I didn’t vote for Bush because I thought going to war with Iraq was a good idea, but I figured if it happened, it would be similar to the Gulf War – short and easy. We’d walk in, find Hussein, put a U.S.-approved Iraqi leader in power, CNN would send in a few correspondents and we’d be home by Christmas. I’m apparently as naïve as our president.

What we have done to that country, to its citizens and to an entire generation of children is unconscionable. We have drug a global war into their living rooms and dropped it in their laps. A war that has no front lines but instead is fought in every corner market and every neighborhood school. A war that has brought such ruin that most do not have such basic necessities as water and electricity. A war that not one single Iraqi citizen instigated. A war that has such widespread violence that even The Red Cross cannot manage to have a presence. We are responsible for this. I am responsible.

Anyone who knows me also knows that beyond my views of personal responsibility I am also a participant and promoter of helping those that cannot help themselves. Charity, which to me means the responsibility we have to help one another, is a theme, a moral code I strive to teach my children from a very early age. I hope as they grow up they will come to understand that the two things that make a successful life are taking care of yourself and taking care of others. And that is what I am asking of you today.

Whether you voted for our president or your foresight was better than mine, we as a country have a responsibility to help those that we have harmed. Please read about the work the Iraqi Red Crescent is doing across their country and more importantly what needs are still waiting to be met.

"Today and for the last three years, the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization has been the primary humanitarian provider on the ground in Iraq. The employees and volunteers work under severe conditions and safety is never guaranteed. Global relief agencies like the United Nations and the International Federation of the Red Cross/Crescent have not been able to sustain a notable operational presence inside Iraq. It is up to the Iraqi Red Crescent along with its offices in Jordan, Syria, and Iran to bring to bear the technical capability, and financial support to ensure a rapid and successful response to the present humanitarian crisis facing the Iraqi people." - Iraqi Red Crescent website

Click here to help.

Article on CNN.