Scott, it's been transparently obvious from the start that not only did the Bush team USE that emotionally charged and polarizing view for political purposes, even more importantly and as difficult as it is to imagine, they may have actually believed their own spin. The natural consequence, of course, was to illegitimate any real discourse on the subject and to use the innate patriotism of Americans to create anger and hatred for any who questioned the wisdom of the headstrong and foolish actions of America in Iraq.
The most disappointing aspect of the whole fiasco was the success of their "for us or against America" foray. Not only did many, or most, Americans fall into that intellectual trap, but our "free press" also stopped asking the tough questions and stopped nearly all criticism of the Administration. On the part of the press it may have been economically driven since the ratings for the "feel good" about America, Fox news types of shows were pushing the other news into ratings obscurity. Whatever it was, it has created a disconnect between the American point of view on Iraq, the doctrine of preemption, and the effectiveness of the Bush Administration, and the point of view of virtually EVERY country in the rest of the world.
The intellectual and political acumen of our press and of our "average" American is so low that it makes me ashamed of ourselves. The same can be said for the major politicians in BOTH parties. Not one great statesman and intellectually crisp leader has stepped forward and filled the gap in this time of terrosism/Bush created trouble. I suspect that says a lot about a political system that has evolved to the point where big money funds Madison Avenue and television spots to create images and give substance to compliantly empty-headed actors who can read their lines and who rarely take political risks.
The damage that we are doing to this month's America, or even this year's America is not great. The damage we may be doing to the future of America could be devastatingly catastrophic. When the most powerful nation in the world refuses to recognize and be held accountable to the rules of international law, all the peoples of nations that want to live free of coercion have two choices. One choice is to arm themselves with weapons so powerful that they act as a deterrent, the other is to use terrorism as a threat and tool to effect their own ends. The course of this Administration will, ultimately, lead to both more wmds and more terrorism while simultaneously undercutting the possibility of effective world peace and cooperation.
It's senseless and shortsighted. It's also the most common path taken by those who are privileged, or cursed, with great power. |
