It’s
the eve of the election. I’m on my way
home – Iowa. Home. Home is something I lost in Philadelphia to
the Spanish Flu. I regained a home with
my Great Aunt in Iowa. I had hoped to
build a new home in Spain with my anarchist comrades. But I failed.
I
also lied. I did not have to leave
Spain. I was not a fighter. Only the fighters were required to leave. I was an ambulance driver. The Major stayed on after I left – I
abandoned my post.
I
was afraid. The retreat stole my courage
– I had to come home. Home to
safety.
However,
I have learned from my cowardice in Spain.
As did the world. Had we stopped
fascism in Spain we could have put an earlier stop to Hitler – saving millions
of lives and much destruction. You can’t
stop fighting the forces of oppression, perhaps retreat to regroup, but you
can’t stop fighting. I was absent when Spain feel. I promised myself that I would not be absent from the fight again. I believe it is far better to face our fears and perhaps be buried in the ruble than to be absent a second time.
Today,
I’m afraid again, but not cowardly. Not
this time. Regardless of the outcome of
this campaign I will continue to fight for the rights of the common man. This fight is against the oppression of big
business and the corruption of government, which only serves the interest of the
powerful few.
America
is my home. If we lose this election,
even my Great Aunt’s home may no longer be safe for me. There is nowhere to run to be safe this
time. Like the people I left behind in
Spain, they had nowhere to go to be safe.
Now, I too have no option to flee, so regardless of the outcome of this
election I am committed to continue the good fight.
© 2015 Ron Millar
© 2015 Ron Millar
