Responsibility versus Apathy

The escalation of the war initiated by Bush in his most recent speech is entirely unacceptable. The unrestrained arrogance of the Bush administration is clear to see. He acts now against the will of the American people, the Congress, the experts and generals, and the world. This was not always the case.

I have always been a liberal. I have always voted Democratic. I am a veteran of the United States Coast Guard, and as a military veteran, over most of my life my position on foreign policy issues often was more centrist than left. In college, I was a history major, and in my studies, the conclusions I drew were viewed through a narrow window based mostly on national interest.

I was deeply affected by the attacks of September 11, 2001. The unfocused rage I felt through the end of 2002 led to me being treated for depression, partly because I didn't know who to be angry at. In the late 1990's, I had read extensively on world religions, as a personal project, and though I don't subscribe to any particular religion, the facts that came through to me were that all religions, including Islam and Christianity, contain both universal truths, and fundamental flaws. I have never indulged myself in the intellectual sloppiness of bigotry, or prejudice, or religious intolerance, so after 9/11 I was disturbed, even through my own anger, by the reaction of hatred by many in America towards Arab-Americans or Muslims.

The thing is though, when the Iraq war started, I supported it. I bought the lies, like so many others, and my anger about the attacks on September 11th 2001 contributed to my inability to think clearly about what was happening. As time passed it became clear to me that I was being deceived, and was helped in that deception by my emotional reaction to the attack. More was revealed about the actions, and inactions, of the Bush administration, and I was forced to take a look at myself. I came to the conclusion that not only had I erred in my judgement about the right thing to do, but that my gut emotional reaction contributed to the problem. My acceptance without question of the statements of the Bush administration, through most of 2003, went along with the tacit acceptance of most Americans. That acceptance, rather than the illegal and immoral actions of Bush, is what has led to this war and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

It is our fault. It is my fault.

We know now, of course, that Iraq and Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11. We know that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Looking back at what was published, and the information that was available to me at the time, I should have known that. This war has been used not as a weapon only against Iraqis, and at least in name if not in fact, against terrorists, but against Americans. The bludgeon of the war is being used even now against our most basic civil liberties. It is being used to justify atrocities, perversely being perpetrated in the name of liberty. The use of torture by the United States in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, and elsewhere, and the defense of that use of torture by the Bush Administration, is what made me first feel shame as an American.

This is not a new phenomenon, it has happened throughout our history. Civil liberties have been under threat many times in American history, by individual presidents, by corporate interests, and by our own prejudices. The difference this time is the sustained systematic pounding away by a group of men determined to destroy the principles that our nation was founded on for their own gain.

The erosion of our civil liberties in the USA Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act, and most recently Bush's signing statement for the Postal Reform Act, should make us all gravely concerned. In addition, the president's statements and history make it clear to me that other areas of freedom and privacy have been violated, and most likely will continue to be.

The war is a symptom, it is not the problem. The destruction of Iraq, and the deaths of so many, is what has been caused by the underlying problem of apathy in America. The easy acceptance of materialism (the American Way of More Stuff) and the arrogance of Americans about the superiority of our culture, has made it easy for those interested in consolidating their hold on power to do so. The fear peddled by the Corporate media, fears of terrorism, of crime, of immigrants, and recently of our own government not only restrains us, but reinforces our apathy. More of us are waking up all the time, but many of us are still childishly averting our eyes and ears just as I did. A lot of Americans don't see why they need to get upset about a war, because they don't see it affecting them. That's why I'm in favor of bringing back the draft, at least in some form.

The time has come for bold action. The peace movement has moved up to the next level, which to me, is being accepted as a credible and important influence in American politics. The first sign of that was Harry Reid changing his position on Bush's escalation of the war after being contacted by a large number of us opposed to his original statement. The next sign may be blocking the escalation of the war by forcing Congress to acknowlege their mandate, and investigate what happened, and stop the war. If we are to achieve this kind of progress, we must push Congress hard. Letters, emails, phone calls, and continued peaceful demonstrations are essential to keep up the pressure.

We are making progress. We have momentum, and we need to push even harder because of that. This war must end. Our civil liberties must be restored. Sitting at home getting mad at the TV stopped working for me, and I had to get involved. My only regret with doing that is that I didn't do it sooner. I have so much respect for those that saw immediately what was happening, and had enough courage to get involved in protesting this thing from the start. For me, I crossed over something a while ago, and I can't go back. Corporatism (as Mussolini used to call it) is not going away any time soon. Even once we get the war stopped (which we will), and restore our civil liberties (ditto), so much work remains to be done that I for one will continue to work for peace and justice in America.

110th Congress:

1. End the war.
2. Stop the torture.
3. Protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Anything less is a deal breaker.

Peace