VFP Joins Millions to Say: No Kings!
Members of Veterans For Peace across the United States and the world turned out on March 28 to join the growing majority of U.S. citizens who cannot abide the policies and leadership of the Trump administration. In Evansville, Indiana, VFP Chapter 104 partnered with local activists organized by Indivisible Evansville to express opposition to the war on Iran, the cover-up of the Epstein files, the lawlessness of ICE, and rampant corruption of a would-be king who has become a laughingstock on the world stage and a threat to democratic institutions everywhere.
Speaking on behalf of the members of VFP 104, Civilian Associate John O’Leary delivered the following remarks.
I have a question for Pete Hegseth:
Who would Jesus bomb?
My name is John O’Leary. I am a civilian associate of Veterans For Peace in Evansville. It is my privilege to speak today on behalf of our group. You can read our statement of purpose at our table or online. I invite you to join us. Anyone, regardless of whether or not they have served, can become a member of Veterans For Peace.
Among other things, we work to increase awareness of the causes and costs of war. So let’s start with the elephant in the room — the elephant in our politics.
Our nation’s president is unfit to lead. He has made himself a stooge of Benjamin Netanyahu, dragging us into a war built on falsehoods, exaggerations, and self-contradictions.
Now, we the people are in the dangerous position of getting statements from our own government that are less credible than statements from foreign sources. So we have a message for Congress:
Stop the Lies!
Stop the Lies!
Stop the Lies!
And what is the surest way to stop the lies?
Trump Must Go!
Trump Must Go!
Trump Must Go!
Based on research by the United Nations, $40 billion a year could end world hunger within a decade. So why is our country spending a billion dollars a day on war?
To feed a war industry — instead of millions of our people who cannot afford food. We say: No War! No War!
Our country is murdering civilians and school children. We say: No War! No War!
Our country is sending our young men and women off to die. We say: No War! No War!
This war is a debacle “cooked up” on the pretense that Iran poses an imminent threat with nuclear weapons. But it’s really just a smokescreen, a distraction from the Epstein files.
And friends, here are some hard truths.
Ours is the only country to have ever attacked another nation with nuclear weapons.
Our country, not Iran, violated and withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA).
In 2024, our country spent $56 billion on nuclear weapons, more than all other nuclear-armed states combined. That’s scary. But here’s the scarier part.
The president is failing physically, mentally, emotionally. And the more he feels personally weakened, the more he fears accountability, and the more desperate he becomes.
All the while, a war-mongering, pseudo-Christian fascist has his ear.
More than 200 service members have reported that their chain of command are framing this war as part of God’s plan to bring on Armageddon.
So we say to Congress: Impeach Hegseth. Remove Trump.
Impeach Hegseth. Remove Trump.
Impeach Hegseth. Remove Trump.
Those of us who work for peace know it is essentially a struggle for justice. Without justice, any hope for peace is like a house built on quicksand. It will not stand. And this is our message to elected officials today:
We the people will not abide the injustices you are forcing on us. There will be accountability.
There will be accountability for your lies. We demand justice!
Accountability for your corruption. We demand justice!
Accountability for your stealing from us. We demand justice!
Accountability for the harm you have done to this nation and its people. We demand justice!
We are in a moment of great peril. But we are also in a moment of great opportunity. An awakening is taking place. Now is the time to reclaim our rights. The right to life and to liberty and to happiness for all of us, regardless of color, creed, or gender identity.
Of all the torment we have had to endure in defense of these ideals, perhaps the most destructive is the hatred and division our president sows. We are sick of the gaslighting and the culture wars — and we won’t be fooled again by the old divide and conquer routine. As you’ve heard it said here in southern Indiana: That dog won’t hunt.
So, I implore — don’t let your anger turn to hatred, because hatred too soon turns to violence. As Doctor King said, “Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”
To quote another champion for humanity, the late, great John Lewis, let’s get into some “good trouble, necessary trouble.”
There is no shortage of good and necessary trouble that needs our creativity and energy. So get involved in one of the organizations here today, and let’s get to work.
For peace, and for one another!