Our son giggled and said "OK."

"Now son, I want you to look out the window and pretend
that every house and yard on this block is a different
country" my husband said.

"OK Dad, I'm pretending."

"Now I want you to stand there and look out the window
and see that man come out of his house with his wife and
he has her by the hair and is hitting her. You see her
bleeding and crying. He hits her in the face, he throws her
on the ground, then he starts to kick her to death. Their
children run out and are afraid to stop him, they are crying,
they are watching this but do nothing because they are
kids and afraid of their father. You see all of this son....
what do you do?"

"Dad?"

"What do you do son?"

"I call the police, Dad."

"OK. Pretend that the police are the United Nations and
they take your call, listen to what you know and saw but
they refuse to help. What do you do then son?"

"Dad, but the police are supposed to help!" My son starts
to whine.

"They don't want to son, because they say that it is not
their place or your place to get involved and that you
should stay out of it," my husband says.

"But Dad...he killed her!!" my son exclaims.

"I know he did...but the police tell you to stay out of it.
Now I want you to look out that window and pretend you
see our neighbor who you're pretending is Saddam turn
around and do the same thing to his children."

"Daddy...he kills them?"

"Yes son, he does. What do you do?"

"Well, if the police don't want to help, I will go and ask my
next door neighbor to help me stop him." our son says.

"Son, our next door neighbor sees what is happening and
refuses to get involved as well. He refuses to open the
door and help you stop him," my husband says.

"But Dad, I NEED help!!! I can't stop him by myself!!"

"WHAT DO YOU DO SON?" Our son starts to cry.

"OK, no one wants to help you, the man across the street
saw you ask for help and saw that no one would help you
stop him. He stands taller and puffs out his chest. Guess
what he does next son?" "What Daddy?"

"He walks across the street to the old ladies house and
breaks down her door and drags her out, steals all her
stuff and sets her house on fire and then...he kills her.
He turns around and sees you standing in he window and
laughs at you. WHAT DO YOU DO?"

"Daddy..."

"WHAT DO YOU DO?"

Our son is crying and he looks down and he whispers,
"I close the blinds, Daddy."

My husband looks at our son with tears in his eyes and
asks him... "Why?"

"Because Daddy.....the police are supposed to
help...people who need it....and they won't help....You
always say that neighbors are supposed to HELP
neighbors, but they won't help either...they won't help me
stop him...I'm afraid....I can't do it by myself ..Daddy.....I
can't look out my window and just watch him do all these
terrible things and...and.....do nothing...so....I'm just going
to close the blinds....so I can't see what he's doing........and
I'm going to pretend that it is not happening."

I start to cry.

My husband looks at our nine year old son standing in the
window, looking pitiful and ashamed at his answers to my
husbands questions and he tells him...."Son"

"Yes, Daddy."

"Open the blinds because that man.... he's at your front
door..."WHAT DO YOU DO?"

My son looks at his father, anger and defiance in his eyes.
He balls up his tiny fists and looks his father square in the
eyes, without hesitation he says: "I DEFEND MY
FAMILY DAD!! I'M NOT GONNA LET HIM HURT
MOMMY OR MY SISTER, DAD!!! I'M GONNA
FIGHT HIM, DAD, I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM!!!!!"

I see a tear roll down my husband's cheek and he grabs
my son to his chest and hugs him tight, and cries..."It's too
late to fight him, he's too strong and he's already at YOUR
front door son.....you should have stopped him BEFORE
he killed his wife. You have to do what's right, even if you
have to do it alone, before......it's too late." my husband
whispers.

THAT scenario is why we are at war with Iraq. When good
men stand by and let evil happen is the greatest evil of all.
Our President is doing what is right. We, as a free nation,
must understand that this war is a war of humanity. WE
must remove evil men from power so that we can continue
to live in a free world where we are not afraid to look out
our window. So that my nine year old son won't grow up in
a world where he feels that if he just "closes" that blinds
the atrocities in the world won't affect him. "YOU MUST
NEVER BE AFRAID TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT! EVEN
IF YOU HAVE TO DO IT ALONE!"

BE PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!
BE PROUD OF OUR TROOPS!!
BE PROUD OF OUR PRESIDENT
SUPPORT THEM!!!
SUPPORT AMERICA!!
SO THAT IN THE FUTURE OUR CHILDREN WILL
NEVER HAVE TO CLOSE THEIR BLINDS...."

"One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is
expressed in the choices one makes...and the choices
we make are ultimately our responsibility."
-Eleanor Roosevelt