Friday, October 24, 2003
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does NOT mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country."
~ Theodore Roosevelt
I've been reading an interesting book by Howard Zinn lately. Its filled with his rantings and musings about justice and war. At times he can be outright bleak about American justice, but other times he's right on target and to the point about things obscured by current events and lost into the folds of history.
"Passionate Declarations" is the title of the book. I'd recommend reading it. Americans are very dense and ignorant about their history. For example, in the book Zinn talks about the Iran/Contra affair. This stuff really hits home when you think about the Bush adminstration and the "War on Terrorism." The media played softball with Reagan and his adminstration in regard to them breaking the law. Today, the media plays softball again with Bush and his administration.
It seems fairly apparent that since World War II, the American government and its people have lost track of what it means to be American, and what America is about. From Truman to the current president, the US has been involved in unsavory political dealings with foreign powers. While the American people remain quiet sheep listening to corporate fed news and media, the government engages in ruthless activities and supports ruthless individuals.
Right-wingers claim that looking at the facts and seeing the bad things America has done, and continues to do, is an indication of anti-Americanism and hatred for one's country. I don't see it that way. The US government is my representative on the world stage. It does so, so that I can do things like go to work, raise a family, and occasionally enjoy being a sheep. When it does bad things and supports bad policies, its every American's right to address such things and vocalize their dissent.
Let me put it another way. Suppose you have a drunken father that gets loaded, goes out to bars, stays out late, gets in fights, and occasionally gets arrested. You have two choices. Shrug your shoulders and say, "That's my dad!" ...or... You can confront your dad and help him to admit he has a problem, and possibly help him out. Now, which case is the more loving and caring approach?
Same thing with the US. When it creates false information and false threats, then manipulates its people and tries to bully its friends into helping it fight a war, how does that make Americans look on a global stage? When the US does things like lie to its people or to foreign powers to gain military, political, and business advantages it does not look good.
When right-wingers and uber-patriots give blind loyalty to the government, and to Bush in particular, its just like supporting a drunken irresponsible parent. I haven't forgotten September 11th. I never will. What the Bush administration has done is take advantage of people's fear and the chaos to justify a questionable war in Iraq. Yes, Saddam was evil. Yes, he was a rat bastard to his people and to his neighbors. Was a quick and decisive war justified in Iraq? Is the daily death toll justified in Iraq? Will the growing quagmire and political chaos be worth it? I'd say that Cheney and the Bushes will be well rewarded for it. The corporate cronies of the Bush adminstration will be well rewarded. (Especially Haliburton) Will this bring peace to the Middle East? Will terrorists quake in their boots and resort to other more peaceful methods of getting attention because of the war on Iraq. I'd say that's hardly likely.
Terrorism's roots are not grounded in one kind of people, or in one culture. Terrorism usually sprouts up where there is injustice, or where there is the politically ambitious. Al Qaida is a sinister organization. It needs to be eliminated. Guns and bombs alone will not do the trick. Sorry right-wingers and hard-line conservatives, as much as I'd like to see laser weapons and robotic infantry be used in the near future, more than a hard line will be needed to fix this problem.
What needs to be added is compassion to the problem. Let's take the Christian approach of turning the cheek for a moment. Stop and ask, "why?" Why did those bastards attack on September 11th? Who attacked us exactly? When did anyone know that a threat was underway?
Turning the cheek in this case involves trying to see things from the terrorists point of view. Al Qaida is composed of religious fanatics blinded by Muslim extremism. According to the Muslims I've met, Islam is not about jihad, burning the American flag, and reducing the world to the Stone Age. That's Al Qaida's motive. But why? Where did they come from? How did they come about. It ain't pretty.
Most of today's chaos has its roots in the post World War II world. There were two super-powers; the US and the USSR. Each had its own political agenda. The US wanted to be the world's leading industrial and commercial power, the USSR wanted to expand its empire and area of influence to gain political and military power. (I'm simplifying, sorry.) With the invention of the atomic bomb in World War II, the US had a political and military weapon it could use to its advantage, until the Soviet Union built one shortly after World War II. Wishing to avoid a direct confrontation that would have resulted in a catastrophic and possibly human exterminating war, both Americans and Russians began to gather allies, and then play political games with smaller countries and their governments. Each side trying to gain the political, economic, and military edge.
Since the 50's, the US expanded its influence to spy on the Russians, and the Russians on us. In many cases this meant making (and creating) allies that would not necessarily be considered wonderful by the American people. Most of them were oppressive, and dictatorial. We propped up the Shah of Iran in the 50's to gain a listening post on the Russians. We palled around with the Turks to get missile bases, military bases, and listening posts to spy on the Russians. We had spy posts in Japan and Germany, fought in Korea to gain more power and more control. We overthrew and helped to manipulate in affairs in South America. From the 50's and into the 60's, America expands its foreign power all over the world. Even to the present day, we're allies with unscrupulous allies. Saudi Arabia is a good example. (We created Afghan "freedom fighters" in the 80's under the Reagan administration, and sponsored also in part by the Carter Administration. One of those freedom fighters was Osama bin Laden. We helped bolster Saddam in the Iraq-iran war of the 80's. Wonder how the US knows Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, biological, and chemical weapons. We sold them to him. Blow back is a bitch.)
Now, some of this may have been necessary. Some of this may have started with good intentions, but I'd say that those intentions and justifiable ends were corrupted and skewed as time progressed. Today, we're paying the price of manipulating with 3rd World countries over the past half century. We won the Cold War back in '89 when the Berlin Wall came down, and shortly thereafter the Soviet Union collapsed. A world of prosperity should have ensued.
What resulted was a militarily and financially strong America swept across the globe expanding its military and business presence. As wonderful and great as we are, we may not always be welcome. When some of our policies resulted in making questionable friends, and keeping some countries in poverty, we may have not been spreading good-will to our fellow humans on the earth. There's more to the story than just some wacked out religious zealots have a beef with the US, and this would require some investigation and research. (In the US we see ourselves as just, generous, and egalitarian. Foreigners see our dark side with sweatshops, McDonald's and the resulting death and chaos of weapons our companies sell to their people. Joy. We really need to do a better job.)
Education, freedom, an open forum for debate and dialogue, and the presence of justice will be much more effective weapons against terrorists and terrorist sponsoring nations than the latest killer weaponry. Human history shows that killing and military force are not always (and seldom are) the answer to solving social problems. I'm not saying we put the guns down yet. We can't show weakness, but we must show compassion. I'd say that's what Jesus meant by "turning then other cheek."
In future blogs, I'll have to include a reading list. (I've read gobs of books and articles) Things are foul in the US right now, and not just because of the damn terrorists. Americans need to stand firm for their freedoms, especially the freedom of speech, and freedom of the press in these chaotic times. -Peace.
~ Theodore Roosevelt
I've been reading an interesting book by Howard Zinn lately. Its filled with his rantings and musings about justice and war. At times he can be outright bleak about American justice, but other times he's right on target and to the point about things obscured by current events and lost into the folds of history.
"Passionate Declarations" is the title of the book. I'd recommend reading it. Americans are very dense and ignorant about their history. For example, in the book Zinn talks about the Iran/Contra affair. This stuff really hits home when you think about the Bush adminstration and the "War on Terrorism." The media played softball with Reagan and his adminstration in regard to them breaking the law. Today, the media plays softball again with Bush and his administration.
It seems fairly apparent that since World War II, the American government and its people have lost track of what it means to be American, and what America is about. From Truman to the current president, the US has been involved in unsavory political dealings with foreign powers. While the American people remain quiet sheep listening to corporate fed news and media, the government engages in ruthless activities and supports ruthless individuals.
Right-wingers claim that looking at the facts and seeing the bad things America has done, and continues to do, is an indication of anti-Americanism and hatred for one's country. I don't see it that way. The US government is my representative on the world stage. It does so, so that I can do things like go to work, raise a family, and occasionally enjoy being a sheep. When it does bad things and supports bad policies, its every American's right to address such things and vocalize their dissent.
Let me put it another way. Suppose you have a drunken father that gets loaded, goes out to bars, stays out late, gets in fights, and occasionally gets arrested. You have two choices. Shrug your shoulders and say, "That's my dad!" ...or... You can confront your dad and help him to admit he has a problem, and possibly help him out. Now, which case is the more loving and caring approach?
Same thing with the US. When it creates false information and false threats, then manipulates its people and tries to bully its friends into helping it fight a war, how does that make Americans look on a global stage? When the US does things like lie to its people or to foreign powers to gain military, political, and business advantages it does not look good.
When right-wingers and uber-patriots give blind loyalty to the government, and to Bush in particular, its just like supporting a drunken irresponsible parent. I haven't forgotten September 11th. I never will. What the Bush administration has done is take advantage of people's fear and the chaos to justify a questionable war in Iraq. Yes, Saddam was evil. Yes, he was a rat bastard to his people and to his neighbors. Was a quick and decisive war justified in Iraq? Is the daily death toll justified in Iraq? Will the growing quagmire and political chaos be worth it? I'd say that Cheney and the Bushes will be well rewarded for it. The corporate cronies of the Bush adminstration will be well rewarded. (Especially Haliburton) Will this bring peace to the Middle East? Will terrorists quake in their boots and resort to other more peaceful methods of getting attention because of the war on Iraq. I'd say that's hardly likely.
Terrorism's roots are not grounded in one kind of people, or in one culture. Terrorism usually sprouts up where there is injustice, or where there is the politically ambitious. Al Qaida is a sinister organization. It needs to be eliminated. Guns and bombs alone will not do the trick. Sorry right-wingers and hard-line conservatives, as much as I'd like to see laser weapons and robotic infantry be used in the near future, more than a hard line will be needed to fix this problem.
What needs to be added is compassion to the problem. Let's take the Christian approach of turning the cheek for a moment. Stop and ask, "why?" Why did those bastards attack on September 11th? Who attacked us exactly? When did anyone know that a threat was underway?
Turning the cheek in this case involves trying to see things from the terrorists point of view. Al Qaida is composed of religious fanatics blinded by Muslim extremism. According to the Muslims I've met, Islam is not about jihad, burning the American flag, and reducing the world to the Stone Age. That's Al Qaida's motive. But why? Where did they come from? How did they come about. It ain't pretty.
Most of today's chaos has its roots in the post World War II world. There were two super-powers; the US and the USSR. Each had its own political agenda. The US wanted to be the world's leading industrial and commercial power, the USSR wanted to expand its empire and area of influence to gain political and military power. (I'm simplifying, sorry.) With the invention of the atomic bomb in World War II, the US had a political and military weapon it could use to its advantage, until the Soviet Union built one shortly after World War II. Wishing to avoid a direct confrontation that would have resulted in a catastrophic and possibly human exterminating war, both Americans and Russians began to gather allies, and then play political games with smaller countries and their governments. Each side trying to gain the political, economic, and military edge.
Since the 50's, the US expanded its influence to spy on the Russians, and the Russians on us. In many cases this meant making (and creating) allies that would not necessarily be considered wonderful by the American people. Most of them were oppressive, and dictatorial. We propped up the Shah of Iran in the 50's to gain a listening post on the Russians. We palled around with the Turks to get missile bases, military bases, and listening posts to spy on the Russians. We had spy posts in Japan and Germany, fought in Korea to gain more power and more control. We overthrew and helped to manipulate in affairs in South America. From the 50's and into the 60's, America expands its foreign power all over the world. Even to the present day, we're allies with unscrupulous allies. Saudi Arabia is a good example. (We created Afghan "freedom fighters" in the 80's under the Reagan administration, and sponsored also in part by the Carter Administration. One of those freedom fighters was Osama bin Laden. We helped bolster Saddam in the Iraq-iran war of the 80's. Wonder how the US knows Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, biological, and chemical weapons. We sold them to him. Blow back is a bitch.)
Now, some of this may have been necessary. Some of this may have started with good intentions, but I'd say that those intentions and justifiable ends were corrupted and skewed as time progressed. Today, we're paying the price of manipulating with 3rd World countries over the past half century. We won the Cold War back in '89 when the Berlin Wall came down, and shortly thereafter the Soviet Union collapsed. A world of prosperity should have ensued.
What resulted was a militarily and financially strong America swept across the globe expanding its military and business presence. As wonderful and great as we are, we may not always be welcome. When some of our policies resulted in making questionable friends, and keeping some countries in poverty, we may have not been spreading good-will to our fellow humans on the earth. There's more to the story than just some wacked out religious zealots have a beef with the US, and this would require some investigation and research. (In the US we see ourselves as just, generous, and egalitarian. Foreigners see our dark side with sweatshops, McDonald's and the resulting death and chaos of weapons our companies sell to their people. Joy. We really need to do a better job.)
Education, freedom, an open forum for debate and dialogue, and the presence of justice will be much more effective weapons against terrorists and terrorist sponsoring nations than the latest killer weaponry. Human history shows that killing and military force are not always (and seldom are) the answer to solving social problems. I'm not saying we put the guns down yet. We can't show weakness, but we must show compassion. I'd say that's what Jesus meant by "turning then other cheek."
In future blogs, I'll have to include a reading list. (I've read gobs of books and articles) Things are foul in the US right now, and not just because of the damn terrorists. Americans need to stand firm for their freedoms, especially the freedom of speech, and freedom of the press in these chaotic times. -Peace.
