Press coverage of Donald Rumsfeld's Freedomwalk on September 11, 2005, an event designed "to remember the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, to honor U.S. troops and veterans, and to highlight the value of freedom," was sparse, and for good reason. It was, basically, a bust. Attendance was small and the focus was clearly more on waving the flag, on supporting the troops, on the music and having a party, than on rememberance. And supporting the troops was not a valued to be shared by just anyone. Supporting the troops for these people equates directly to supporting Bush, unquestioningly.
Truthout's Chris Hume has filmed and produced a short 7 minute video piece on Freedomwalk which is well worth seeing. While it is shocking to hear people say that they believe there is a direct connection between all the hijackers of 9/11 with Iraq and al-Queda, the more disturbing part of Hume's piece is how one lone mother of a soldier in Iraq, who wears a t-shirt that says "No More Lies, No More Lives," is treated by those attending this event. She is articulate, she cares about her son and other sons and daughters serving in the military, but she has not swallowed Bush's lies about the war. She is cursed, condemned and basically told she shouldn't be at the event.
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