BUSH DEMOCRACY: DO YOU RECOGNIZE HIS AMERICA?
By Arianna Huffington
Welcome to George W. Bush's version of America — Bush Democracy.
Apparently, he's had his fanatical neo-con programmers working overtime
to
iron out all those bothersome bugs and kinks that have been holding the
United States back for the last 228 years — exasperating glitches like
openness, integrity, accountability, responsibility and the value of an
informed public.
I have to admit, this new edition has been a little hard for me to get
used to; it's a lot different than the America that I grew up studying
—
and revering.
You might be having a similar problem, so, as a public service, I've
decided to provide this helpful primer. Think of it as Bush Democracy
for
Dummies.
In Bush Democracy, the messy concept of the public's right to know has
been replaced by the far more user-friendly "don't worry, we know
what's
right for you." Why clutter up the citizenry's hard-drive with all
sorts
of unimportant facts and information?
Which is why, just to be on the safe side, Bush Democracy comes with a
helpful, one-step fact-check-and-delete program. No need to bother with
taping or even transcribing important meetings like the president's
three-hour appearance in front of the 9/11 Commission last week — Bush
Democracy decides what's pertinent and discards the rest into the
unrecoverable recycle bin of history.
That's why the White House helpfully confiscated the notebooks of the
9/11
Commissioners as they were leaving the Oval Office. Hard copies are so
20th century.
To see how liberating this kind of updated Democracy can be, look no
further than the reports of the frequent laughter that occurred during
the
Commission's two-birds-with-one-stone questioning of Bush and Cheney.
No
longer burdened with having to fill the public in on whether our
leaders
did all they could to prevent 9/11 — and have done all they can to make
sure something like it never happens again — the president and his
inquisitors were free to trade quips and zingers like a gang of Borsht
Belt second bananas at a Friars Roast.
"The president got off a couple of good shots," said Commission member
John "Shecky" Lehman, while Commissioner Jim "Soupy" Thompson labeled
the
president a "bit of a tease." We don't know the specifics of anything
important that was said, or if anything important was said at all, but,
hey, at least they had some fun.
For his part, the president stressed the importance of his and Cheney's
tandem testimony: "I think it was important for them to see our body
language . . . how we work together." Body language experts agree that
subtle shifts in physical positioning — such as Cheney sticking his
hand
up the president's back and making his mouth move — can often provide
significant behavioral clues.
Bush Democracy also automatically eliminates a number of pesky problems
historically associated with that overrated First Amendment. For
example,
this convenient feature allows President Bush and his Man in
Mesopotamia,
Paul Bremer, to tout the freedom of speech now permitted in post-Saddam
Iraq while simultaneously shutting down Iraqi-run newspapers and radio
and
television stations. And whereas previous versions of Democracy were
systemically incompatible with the quashing of dissent, Bush Democracy
makes clamping down on the free flow of information as easy as hitting
a
hot key and issuing a Pentagon ban on media coverage of flag-draped
coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base.
What's more, Bush Democracy's state-of-the-art media manipulation
software
makes it incredibly easy to get away with misstatements, half-truths
and
out-and-out lies.
Witness the lack of outraged coverage of Deputy Defense Secretary Paul
Wolfowitz's astounding assertion in front of Congress last week that
the
U.S. death toll in Iraq was "approximately 500" — when, in fact, at the
time of his testimony, the correct number was 722. But what are a
couple
hundred dead Americans among friends? Especially when they're other
people's children?
Or observe the scarcity of critical voices when, on the anniversary of
Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" photo op, the president boldly
declared that, as a result of the removal of Saddam, "there are no
longer
torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq" — a statement
directly contradicted by a top-secret Army report completed two months
before the president indulged in his soaring rhetoric. And last week we
had the ultimate contradiction: the release of enough vile, barbaric
and
disturbing photographs to stock a triple-X S&M Web site.
But Bush Democracy's killer app has got to be its ability to retain the
outward appearance of unabashed patriotism while sacrificing the lives
of
American soldiers on the altar of its tax-cutting fanaticism. Thus,
candidate Bush is able to cloak his campaign in red, white and blue at
the
same time a defense industry study concludes that major budgetary
shortfalls have left U.S. soldiers seriously under-equipped — leading
to
the preventable deaths of close to 200 brave Americans, and the maiming
of
thousands more. Shortfalls caused, in large measure, by the president's
tax cuts. So while many of our soldiers have to make due without body
armor, combat helmets and properly protected vehicles, America's
millionaires are receiving an average tax cut of $130,783. And yet Bush
is
still able to continue painting himself as the war president. How's
that
for performance?
The guiding principle behind George Bush's rebooted Democracy is a deep
mistrust of the American people and an undying faith in the ability of
"the elites" to decide what is best for America — and the world. Call
me
old-fashioned, but I prefer the old 1776 version, where We the People
get
to make up our own minds.
Bush Democracy has crashed in Iraq and crashed here at home. I
personally
can't wait for November to press the Escape Key and shut it down for
good.
© 2004 ARIANNA HUFFINGTON.
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. |
