Pubdate: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 Source: Courier, The (LA) Copyright: 2003 Houma Today Contact: http://www.houmatoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1477 Author: James Knightshead AMERICA'S NEXT WAR SHOULD BE ON DRUGS Operation Iraqi Freedom refers to the slogan drawn up by American leaders to describe their position on war with Iraq. Perhaps, it should be necessary to return to the drawing board for yet another long-overdue battle. A war against drugs to be fought from its highest levels. Operation Iraqi Freedom is a reality now. The Iraqis are free, and I'm happy for them, but I'm saddened by the many underprivileged and hard-working adults held prisoner from within the walls of their drug-infested communities. For the most part, it aches my heart to see the blood of so many of our black youth being spilled over the dirty urban and rural streets of America, while others are handed life sentences in 4-by-8 cells, forever caged like animals in a zoo. Most of these incarcerated are deprived of their souls, leaving behind families whose lives become filled with complexities and uncertainties, which in turn sets the stage for a destructive behavior pattern to remain a part of the woven thread stitched by a well-planned strategy from the world of yesterday. The big picture is clear to me now. The annihilation of a well-picked group by its own group along with a fat modest reward for white-collar kingpins in high places. We are the dying voices of America crying out for help. Our black people are becoming extinct. American leaders, if you saw the need to free the people of Iraq, and protect the heritage of the wild eagle, will you save our children? We ask for your assistance to tear down the spreading walls of these drug thrones masquerading under legal cloth who not only possess the mentality, but the financial means to get the drugs to the hands of our young people for distribution. We are asking you the government that more reality-based, save-our-children programs be instituted into prime-time media television, displaying the harsh realities of prison life. Finally, we ask for more in-home informative programs such as short commentaries on radio and television illustrating the true drug structure providing the reality of who wins and who loses. In conclusion, brothers if you are reading this article I beg of you, stop the killing. Find new and creative avenues for your minds. Don't continue to follow a plan designed for your destruction. Preachers, if you talk the children will listen. Please do your part in Operation Save Our Kids. Parents, even if you are a single parent find time to be supportive of your kids in positive programs, such as Little League ball, a school play or even the church choir. Most certainly if the government wants to do nothing, then we have to do something. James Knightshead Houma - --- MAP posted-by: Alex