Get Your War Off

GET YOUR WAR ON

In April, 1971, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the war in Viet Nam, John Kerry--a highly decorated veteran of that conflict--asked the question of his fellow citizens, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”

Now that the Right in this country are falling all over themselves as they pat themselves on the back about “winning” this war and telling all of us cowardly liberals “I told you so” I just wonder what lies ahead for our republic. Who now remembers September 11, 2001? Forgotten totally are the Enron and Worldcom disgraces as we watch images of chaos in Iraq and hear stories of American war planes bombing innocent Afghanis. The Bush people have given up even the pretense of suggesting that this is about fighting terrorism. I see this all as a tremendous mistake and not only a mistake but a lie.

I can’t see how this can be a good thing for a nation that claims to be more than a military junta. The Secretary of Defense is more popular than a rock star. I’m supposed to marvel at the opulent technology of our military forces while forgetting that at least 30 million American citizens are without health care and, subsequently, are one injury away from being destitute.

Are we supposed to feel comforted by an administration that has taken the stance that any opposition to its plans for war is unpatriotic? Will their next step be to declare that not reelecting Bush is unpatriotic?

I think many in the American media are afraid and choose to remain silent during this important challenge to our democracy.

COMMENTS TOO GOOD FOR THE COMMENTS PAGE:

I don't think the media is afraid. I think they realize it is bad for business to take on the uncomfortable task of criticizing Bush and the gang while he and his junta's ratings are high.

Some journalists have done their jobs well; the criticism of the "rolling start" military strategy and how inept it looked the first 10 days of the war was one example. One wonders how many fewer casualties we'd have had had we used a more conventional, Powell Doctrine type strategy. But that's all forgotten now that Saddam's statue was toppled and CNN was able to make a small crowd of 100 look like thousands were out cheering the "liberation."

However, the using of 9/11 as political capital will begin to lose steam as the economy continues to decline and deflate. Frankly, I am sick of the fucking twin towers being dragged out to justify the Wolfowitz Doctrine any more. I think most of America will catch up to this sentiment as more and more Americans lose their jobs.

The great fear in the next year won't be terrorism; it will be getting a pink slip. When Americans wake up from the war video game they've been watching because their tv was repossessed, maybe they will wake up to the fact we cannot afford to take over the world any more.

Mat