Stoopid Stuff

How Much Longer?

America was attacked by Islamic Fundamentalist terrorists in early September of 2001. Over three and a half years ago. No attacks have occured since. In that time, America has invaded two countries, killed tens of thousands of people, imprisoned and tortured thousands more, and fundamentally changed our country and our culture forever. Our leadership, blinded by ideology and their own fundamentalism, continues to force major changes upon our society by the simple method of inspiring fear. Yes, we were afraid in late 2001. We didn't know what to do. How to react. We were afraid, we were stunned, we were angry. So they gave us Afghanistan, Iraq, the Patriot Act, the TSA, Homeland Security and no-fly lists.

Fast forward to February, 2005. They say we're at war. We have to spend all this money. We have to keep our troops in the middle east. We have to attack Iran. Why? The war. You know, the one against terrorism. I look around, this is not a country at war. They tell us to be afraid, and, grudgingly we fear. But what do we fear? We fear because they tell us we need to be afraid. When we're afraid, our criminal polictical leadership can force unpalateable changes in our culture, our society and our nation. I believe that it is this climate of fear, perpetuated by a radical ideologically driven regime, that is causing so much of the madness we are seeing. The fact that a nation of grownups should suddenly panic and lose all sense of balance and maturity when confronted by a woman's breast on our television. The fact that a radical conservative religious zealot can accuse a cartoon character of homosexuality and define the very concept of tolerance as a bad, dangerous, un-american characteristic. The fact that we were afraid to let an islamic pop singer into our country for fear that (what? They never said) he might harm us in some way.

I'd just like to come out and say it. I am not afraid. Will islamic extremists attack America again? I don't know. Maybe. Probably. They certainly can if they want--they'd be nearly impossible to stop. Is that attack likely to come soon? Is it likely to harm me or my loved ones. Of course not. I'd be more likely to get hit by lightning. We need to all stand up and say it to Bush, to Cheney, to Rove, to all of the thugs temporarily running this country. We need to tell them We are NOT AFRAID!! You no longer can coerce us into acting against our interests by telling us to be afraid. We are going to care about each other, about our economy, our schools and our future. It's a future that need not be based on fear, but on hope. When we are no longer in fear, no longer at "war", we can begin to see the damage they've done in the name of fear, but we will no longer be manipulated by fear.

Perhaps there is even a better strategy to this "war on terror" than tanks, bombs, guns and warfare. It certainly seems as if every approach the Bush Administration has taken to responding to the September Eleventh attacks has been counterproductive. The invasions, killing civilians, detaining and torturing innocents, all this has led to more terrorists who hate America and what we stand for in the world. And in a lot of ways, who can blame them? We have never been a fair broker in the world. We have always supported cruel, repressive regimes against the hopes, dreams and aspirations of their constituent populations. We have always supported Israel unfairly against the Palestinians. The Israelis could always say "The Palestinian Authority must do more to stop the violence" and never had to try to end the conflict or even be responsive to the needs of the non-israeli people they had power over. Maybe it's time to re think this whole approach to dealing with the world. Maybe if what we said and what we did were the same, maybe if our policies had some kind of consistancy, maybe if we actually used our immense power to do some good things for some downtrodden people, maybe then the extremists would consider us to be a good, honest reliable partner in the world. Maybe not, but really, what have we got to lose?

posted by mikey @ 9:52 AM