Now that Democrats have unquestionable control of the Tucson City Council, it is time to take a stand against allowing facile public displays of patriotism to substitute for the real thing.
It is time to end the hijacking of a cherished symbol of community unity and pride
inspired by academic and athletic achievement to advertise a false unity behind an unethical, foolish,
illegal, and increasingly genocidal occupation.
It is time to stop allowing a vocal and self-righteous minority to shove an enduring symbol of the failed policy in Iraq into the faces of every Tucsonan who doesn’t support continuation of the occupation of Iraq.
It is time to stop using public resources to subsidize a controversial political viewpoint.
The city counsel must now gather up their courage and remove the A on the mountain from the field of partisan political play.
The A must be repainted white immediately. And any time public funds or personnel are used to repaint it due to wear or vandalism, it must be painted white.
The city code already requires the A be painted white. We have only to follow the law. No more tacit acquiescence to vandalism, no matter how patriotically inspired it may be.
I have had enough. I’m sure you have had enough. I’m even confident that the members of the City Council and the Mayor have had enough. It’s time to call, or walk-in and visit with your council member and your Mayor and let them know that you are sick and tired, and you’re not going to take it any more: you don’t want a symbol of your city used as a jingoistic advertisement for war; you want the law to be followed; you want your ‘A’ to be white again.
Let’s make this return to normalcy one of the first priorities of the new Council. Let’s make the de-politicization of a symbol that is meant to represent our entire community a small local step toward healing this nation of the failed and curdled politics of the Bush era.