Civic Involvement

Hi blog readers - 
A friend from my high school posted this on his Facebook. I applaud his civic involvement and think he's polite and well-written, so I encourage you all to read it. I don't know what your political affiliation may be, and I don't want to argue about that here. Rather, I do hope you are aware of the situation he mentions, because I do really believe that people should have a civic opinion (See this week's staff editorial in the Retriever Weekly, I helped write it. http://www.retrieverweekly.com/opinions/staff-editorial-1.3054602). But here's the letter, shared on behalf of a friend.

"To anyone who is against fighting in Syria, my letter to my Congressmen and women is below if you want to copy/alter it and send it to yours.

Senator Cardin:
I hope you had a restful August recess; thank you for returning to Washington early to hear the Obama Administration's arguments for an intervention in the Syrian civil war. It is a proposal I am adamantly against and wish to briefly explain this view to you and your office for your consideration.

Syria does not pose a threat to United States soil, and as such, attacking Syria without U.N. approval would be an act of aggression that violates the U.N. Charter. To put it bluntly, it would be a war crime.

To be sure, the use of chemical weapons on civilians is also a horrific crime. But firing cruise missiles into Syria as punishment to Assad is hardly humanitarian aid -- these are highly destructive modern weapons, and in modern warfare, collateral civilian casualties are inescapable. Our punishment for killing innocents will only kill more innocents, thereby increasing anti-American sentiment in the region and possibly convincing outraged Syrians to resort to terrorism.

Please consider these implications of intervening in the Syrian conflict carefully when making your decision.

Thank you for taking the time to read my e-mail. I hope you will weigh all your constituents' opinions carefully and come to a decision that best represents the state of Maryland.

Sincerely,"

(I removed his name for privacy)