“In less than one year in office, Barack Obama has firmly established the continuation of Bush regime domestic, foreign and economic policy. While Guantanamo is unseen, Illinois is right in the middle of the United States. None of us can now claim absolution from our government sin. Obama and his supporters have made us all accomplices. The ongoing Guantanamo crime now belongs to the Nobel Peace Prize winner and to every American citizen.” - Margaret Kimberly, editor at the Black Agenda Report

Tomorrow is the anniversary of Guantanamo and I can’t believe that is has been 8 years.

8 years of waterboarding.

8 years of indefinite detention.

8 years of isolation.

8 years of being force fed.

8 years of sleep deprivation.

8 years of a disconnect between the innocent people being tortured and the American people who’s government continues to  carry this out in the name of their safety. A whole generation of young people have been trained to think that nothing is too sadistic, cruel or brutal when it comes to “saving american lives.”

I remember the first time I watched the Bush Crimes Commission footage and called my mother crying, telling her, “ Our government is torturing innocent people. We have to do something about this.”

The next day at work, I started spreading orange to co-workers telling them about Guantanamo and why they should wear orange, to declare their opposition to this and to bring forward a competiting legitimate moral authority to oppose it. People took it up.

8 years later, progressive people even on this site have told me to stop protesting, torture is behind us and some people still say that we need to give Obama a chance.

8 years later, Guantanamo remains open. These torture chambers are being expanded in Afghanistan and now possible Illinois. Hundreds of secret CIA blacksites stay active around the world. I didn’t vote for Obama but I am going to take responsibility to stop the crimes of the empire that I live in and  that he is commander in chief of.  If you voted for Obama, are you ready to take responsibility for his complicity or will you end up becoming more like what Obama actually is? Complicit with torture. Are you going to do what is comfortable, pretend like the Bush nightmare is over or are you going to stand up with the people of the world and resist?

8 years later, I am not accepting this, forgetting about it and neither should you.

This month, World Can’t Wait and Witness Against Torture are planning actions to Shut Down Guantanamo and Stop Torture on  Jan 11- 22.  Learn more at www.worldcantwait.org