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January 08, 2008 07:46 am
Wayne farmer drawn into war debate after son's death
“The people of Iraq are no threat to our freedom,” he said. “Those people are poor. Those people are just so poor they couldn’t afford a bus ticket to the filling station.”
By M. Scott Carer
CNHI News Service
NORMAN, Okla. — John Scripsick would rather have been farming.
Scripsick, who owns land near Wayne, said he really didn’t want to attend Monday’s political forum at the University of Oklahoma.
If he had his choice, he said, he would have been home “working cattle.”
But Scripsick didn’t work cattle Monday.
Instead, he stood quietly at the intersection of Boyd Street and Elm Avenue on the OU campus, just outside the Catlett Music Center. Scripsick was there with a handful of peace activists calling for an end of the Iraq war.
Scripsick came because inside the center, 17 of the country’s political leaders were discussing ways to bring the country together and end bipartisan gridlock.
And Scripsick — a Gold Star Father — was there because his son, Cpl. Bryan Scripsick, died last fall in Iraq. He said he wanted those inside to know it’s time to end the war and bring U.S. troops home.
“Bryan had his doubts about the mission of the war,” Scripsick said. “But he went to Iraq out of loyalty to his buddies in his unit. We must end this thing and bring our troops home immediately.”
Quiet, unassuming and uncomfortable with the media, Scripsick said he never saw himself as a peace activist. “I thought those guys didn’t have anything else to do. Never would I have thought of doing this.”
But now, almost five months to the day his son died, Scripsick says he “feels obligated” to speak out. “I saw my son go in. My son joined, I think, to help us protect our freedom.”
And while Scripsick said he supports the military, he’s concerned by the reaction other nations now have to the United States.
“We’ve gone from having the sympathy of the whole world a week or two after 9-11, to being the joke of the globe,” he said.
Scripsick believes America has lost standing as a global leader. “People around the world don’t respect us now like they did shortly after 9-11.”
As he speaks, cars pass the intersection honking their horns in response to the “Honk for Peace” signs sitting on the curb. Near him, other activists wave signs and talk. Occasionally, a reporter will stop by for a quote while students, pedestrians and others scurry past the group to get in line for the forum.
The noise and activity doesn’t seem to bother Scripsick.
Instead, he talks softly, discussing world politics instead of cattle prices. And he says the United States shouldn’t fear the people of Iraq.
“The people of Iraq are no threat to our freedom,” he said. “Those people are poor. Those people are just so poor they couldn’t afford a bus ticket to the filling station.”
Taking a break to attend Monday’s forum, Scripsick said he was pleased by what he heard.
But he remains concerned about his country.
So he stands beneath a large flag, reminding those in power that the impact of the war in Iraq reaches all the way to Wayne, Oklahoma.
“I think it’s my duty (to be here),” he said. “My son gave three years and three weeks to our country, I can surely come out and show my support (for ending the war) every now and then.”
M. Scott Carter writes for the Norman (Okla.) Transcript.
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