RonVitale.com

Support the Troops: End the War

I read an article today on CNN and whistled out. The title: "Iraq war could cost taxpayers $2.7 trillion." Amazing. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in the war, over 4,000 American soldiers have died, tens of thousands of soldiers wounded and what have we gained? What have we learned? I'll tell you what I learned: I learned not to believe what the government tells me. I learned not to get caught up in patriotic emotion, thinking that something so simple like getting rid of a dictator would solve America's problems. I wanted, like the rest of America, immediate revenge and ignored thinking about the long game, thinking how the war would end and how we would be creating terrorists of the future. I can only imagine the young kids who have lost loved ones from friendly fire. When these kids grow up, do I really think that they'll not harbor hatred toward the United States? And the friends we support today could easily become the enemy of tomorrow. I think we've been complacent as a people and I am ashamed at our country's behavior.

Money is being made hand over fist in Iraq. But if we listen to Presidential candidate John McCain, he believes that America will have a military presence in Iraq for possibly one hundred years. And he's fine with that. Hey, why not? It's not like we don't have problems over here in America. It's not that other countries in the world despise us and we've lost credibility as a world leader.  No, of course, I guess everything is okay with the world, right?

Earlier today I met a young woman collecting funds and signatures for the Democratic National Committee. She wanted to raise funds to help elect Barack Obama as President of the United States. I stopped, signed my name and made a donation and heard her story. She told me that she was 13 years old when the war started and even then she knew it was wrong. Now she was volunteering her time to help stop the war and help get Barack Obama elected. Not only was I impressed with her drive and determination, but I was happy to see the youth of today trying to make a difference.

I'm tired of the lies. Tired of the self-interest in Washington. Tired of the people's concerns not being heard (universal healthcare, ending the war, strengthening the economy--shall I go on?) or addressed. And I'm tired of our leaders being stubborn, ignorant and downright harmful to our country.

Several months ago I found that someone in my neighborhood had "Support the Troops--End the War" signs on his lawn. I put one of the signs on my lawn to show my neighbors that I'm sick and tired of the war. I want it to end. I have donated to the Democratic National Committee, I'm talking to my friends, coworkers and family, asking them to vote and I wish to announce that I endorse Barack Obama for President. I'll be honest. I voted for Hillary Clinton and am hoping that he will make her his VP. At the time I write this, we don't know who the vice presidential candidate will be.

I understand that America can't be remade overnight. I understand that no one person is perfect and that Hillary, Obama--any person will make mistakes as President, but I believe the country has fallen away from its path of greatness. I believe America needs to be turned around and made whole again. I believe that Americans need to make a stand and to send a clear message to our politicians: We want change that will heal and strengthen America. We want new leadership. We want universal healthcare. We want the war to end. We want to strengthen our economy, allow the brightest minds in the world to perform stem cell research in our country, to find alternatives to foreign oil and to once again live in a country where we are united and free. I can't wait until the election because I will be writing, talking, podcasting and every other means I can think of to help get Obama elected. Enough is enough. Now it's time to act and move on.

Stand Up To Cancer

First, check out the Stand Up To Cancer public service announcement. Then here are my thoughts about Stand Up To Cancer:

I remember growing up in the '80s, learning that my grandfather had cancer. Back then before there was Stand Up To Cancer, Livestrong and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, cancer was a word that was hardly spoken in my family. It was the "c" word--feared, unknown and final. When cancer was diagnosed, that meant death. So when I learned that my grandfather, who taught me how to ride my first bike, to drive a car and help raise me, had prostate cancer, I didn't know what to think. I didn't know much except I remember him talking about radiation treatments. He had a slow growing form of prostate cancer and did not die from it until January of 2003.

For over twenty years, cancer came into my family, faded away and then resurfaced again late in my grandfather's life. As I was a little boy, I only knew of what was whispered and talked about behind closed doors. My family was mum on the subject not getting into all the details with me. Yet in the last years of my grandfather's life, I saw him in pain, understood his frustration and his tiredness in fighting the disease. You see, his cancer had started to metastasize to his spine and as the cancer grew so would his pain. I am glad that he passed away before he was in too much pain, but how can anyone be glad of a loved one passing on. My grandfather lived to be 86 years old and had a full life raising two grandchildren and seeing one great grandchild and learning of my wife's being pregnant (for his second great grandchild) before he died.

Yesterday I saw the above public service announcement for Stand Up To Cancer and I was moved. I was excited to see such a national movement beginning, sad that my grandfather wasn't around to see it and proud to be part of the project. I work for the American Association for Cancer Research and our organization will be making certain that the funds raised by SU2C are put to good use. I've been working with the AACR for nearly 11 years and I've been so impressed to see how hard our members work in curing and preventing cancer. It's not just that the association that I work for will be working on this national project. It's not that. I'm not just proud of that. I'm proud to know that all my hard work and the tireless work of my colleagues and my association's over 27,000 members will now have the means to continue working to find the drugs, treatments and preventions to help people fight cancer.

About a year ago, the president of the AACR came to speak at my work and he talked about the cancer funding problem. The NCI's budget had not grown to help support cancer research as had been hoped. To explain the problem to his young daughter, our president explained to her: "Imagine a roomful of 100 cancer researchers. All of them have brilliant ideas to help prevent and cure cancer. However, only 10% of them will get the funds they need." That was a very sobering thought.

Now with the Stand Up To Cancer movement, monies raised will help fund those scientists who have amazing ideas but lack the funds.

I'm here in this virtual space to stand up. To invite you to stand up and take part. If you have money to donate, then do so. But even if you don't, take time out to visit the Stand Up To Cancer site. Read the information there, take part in The Stand (Facebook application) to share your story with others and help out. Stand up. Stand up today.

Now as I raise my son and daughter, I look at them both and hope and pray that all the work we do will help them and their children so that they will not have to deal with the suffering and death associated with cancer.