Have They All Gone Mad?
It's a dark time in America.
We are in the midst of a war where we cannot separate the enemies from those we are trying to protect. And our reasons for going to war in the first place are being called into question.
We had been in a war against the organization that committed the most violent act against America since 1941, and the worst attack on U.S. civilians in our history. Somehow that war has been forgotten.
We were once the world's leader. We were the most powerful and respected nation on the planet. Last week our president barely made it out of South America.
And when you thought it couldn't get worse, there are Americans losing the battle for equality because states are refusing to acknowledge same-sex unions and the Kansas school board voted to approve science standards that would cast doubt on the theory of evolution (instead offering the intelligent design approach, which is Right Wing-speak for a 21st Century creation theory).
I'm certainly not one who opposes debate. It's debate that has made this nation strong over our 200-plus years. Philosophical debates on where our nation should be headed is, in general, a good thing. But there are instances in recent times that move far beyond debate. They challenge reason. They challenge logic. And worse, they challenge the very foundation of this country.
Case in point: we are a nation that prides itself on being at the forefront of liberty and freedoms. So when it is discovered that representatives of our government are violating the basic rights granted under the Geneva Convention -- an idea we have long supported, mind you -- you would think our leaders would be aghast and want answers as to how such a thing could happen. Yet, when it was discovered we had secret and illegal prisons throughout eastern Europe, our Republican leaders have demanded an investigation as to how the secret was let out (See the Washington Post article). What am I missing here?
We've got probes into false information the president had given regarding our reasons for going to war in Iraq. Let's make it clear: we went to war for two reasons. We did not go to war to get rid of a tyrant, or to free the Iraqi people. We went to war because Saddam Hussein's regime posed a clear threat to U.S. interests. Our proof was that he had WMD's and had been trying to get nuclear "yellowcake" from Niger. This has been proven false and the lie, which it has now been proven to be more than a mistake, can be traced as far up as the Chief of Staff and the Vice President (if not farther).
Another reason for our going to war was our insistance that Iraq and Al Qaeda were in cahoots. We, if you remember, had key reps from both sides meeting in Europe.
Now, aside from the logical impossibility of this (Hussein and bin Laden were, by nature, philosophical enemies), it's also been proven to be a lie (More on this). So now we're left with over 2,000 U.S. military killed, thousands of Iraqi soldiers and civilians killed and, in case you hadn't noticed, a growing rift between the United States and the rest of the world.
Now, the White House is planning to respond by pointing fingers, "They're to blame too." They are claiming that Democrats knew as much as Republicans and were also for the war at the time. These horrible people actually believe that another lie will successfully deflect blame. They forget that the Executive Branch runs intelligence. Blaming the minority party's involvement is cowardly and despicable.
So where does it all leave us?
We've become a nation that still segregates, that (at least in some parts of our country) falsely educates our children, and that lies to its people. That is not America.
And worse, we have become a nation that invades other nations for no good reason. We've taken over a country to benefit not the people of the country, but only the handful of people who run ours. We defend torture and have secret camps where we do so throughout eastern Europe.
That reminds me of a completely different country in a completely different time. It was a country the real America helped to defeat.
How do we handle it when we are that country?
We are in the midst of a war where we cannot separate the enemies from those we are trying to protect. And our reasons for going to war in the first place are being called into question.
We had been in a war against the organization that committed the most violent act against America since 1941, and the worst attack on U.S. civilians in our history. Somehow that war has been forgotten.
We were once the world's leader. We were the most powerful and respected nation on the planet. Last week our president barely made it out of South America.
And when you thought it couldn't get worse, there are Americans losing the battle for equality because states are refusing to acknowledge same-sex unions and the Kansas school board voted to approve science standards that would cast doubt on the theory of evolution (instead offering the intelligent design approach, which is Right Wing-speak for a 21st Century creation theory).
I'm certainly not one who opposes debate. It's debate that has made this nation strong over our 200-plus years. Philosophical debates on where our nation should be headed is, in general, a good thing. But there are instances in recent times that move far beyond debate. They challenge reason. They challenge logic. And worse, they challenge the very foundation of this country.
Case in point: we are a nation that prides itself on being at the forefront of liberty and freedoms. So when it is discovered that representatives of our government are violating the basic rights granted under the Geneva Convention -- an idea we have long supported, mind you -- you would think our leaders would be aghast and want answers as to how such a thing could happen. Yet, when it was discovered we had secret and illegal prisons throughout eastern Europe, our Republican leaders have demanded an investigation as to how the secret was let out (See the Washington Post article). What am I missing here?
We've got probes into false information the president had given regarding our reasons for going to war in Iraq. Let's make it clear: we went to war for two reasons. We did not go to war to get rid of a tyrant, or to free the Iraqi people. We went to war because Saddam Hussein's regime posed a clear threat to U.S. interests. Our proof was that he had WMD's and had been trying to get nuclear "yellowcake" from Niger. This has been proven false and the lie, which it has now been proven to be more than a mistake, can be traced as far up as the Chief of Staff and the Vice President (if not farther).
Another reason for our going to war was our insistance that Iraq and Al Qaeda were in cahoots. We, if you remember, had key reps from both sides meeting in Europe.
Now, aside from the logical impossibility of this (Hussein and bin Laden were, by nature, philosophical enemies), it's also been proven to be a lie (More on this). So now we're left with over 2,000 U.S. military killed, thousands of Iraqi soldiers and civilians killed and, in case you hadn't noticed, a growing rift between the United States and the rest of the world.
Now, the White House is planning to respond by pointing fingers, "They're to blame too." They are claiming that Democrats knew as much as Republicans and were also for the war at the time. These horrible people actually believe that another lie will successfully deflect blame. They forget that the Executive Branch runs intelligence. Blaming the minority party's involvement is cowardly and despicable.
So where does it all leave us?
We've become a nation that still segregates, that (at least in some parts of our country) falsely educates our children, and that lies to its people. That is not America.
And worse, we have become a nation that invades other nations for no good reason. We've taken over a country to benefit not the people of the country, but only the handful of people who run ours. We defend torture and have secret camps where we do so throughout eastern Europe.
That reminds me of a completely different country in a completely different time. It was a country the real America helped to defeat.
How do we handle it when we are that country?
posted by E-Luv at 7:51 AM
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