January 26, 2006

Statement from Tomás Olmos, member of National Advisory Board of World Can’t Wait

As one of seven children of an immigrant farmworker family who grew up in poverty, I am living the dream of my parents. This was a dream of a country that stood for freedom, equality, opportunity and justice, not only for Americans, but for people throughout the world. We would be the defenders and protectors of the weak and the oppressed.
Now as the father of three children, I am frightened by the future that awaits my children. My parents' dream has been replaced by the nighmare of the Bush regime. Bush lied to the American people to drag us into a war for his personal agenda. When his lies were disclosed, he came up with new lies to justify continuing the war and for engaging in acts of torture and the mass murder of innocent victims. On top of the lies, he has attempted to create an environment of fear and intimidation that labels any criticism of his policies as an act of disloyalty.
This environment of fear and intimidation is very real in that Bush has admitted that he has engaged in illegal wiretaps. Just like Nixon attempted to hide behind the claim of "national security" to jusitify his illegal actions, Bush is making the same disengenuous arguments that his war on terrorism justifies his illegal acts of spying on the American people. As we have learned from our recent history, we cannot fight for freedom abroad while adicating freedom at home. When we violate our own sacred principles of justice and freedom in the guise of the war on terrorism, we have already lost that war.
It is time to reclaim our country and the principles on which it was established. I urge everyone of conscience to take part in the planned activities for January 31, expressing your hopes and supporting The World Can't Wait movement.



Tomás Olmos is also President of the Mexican American Bar Foundation, Los Angeles County and Dean Emeritus of People’s College of Law and Partner in the Law Firm of Allred, Maroko & Goldberg (organizations listed for identification purposes only)