Are you still fine with the war? Is it worth the cost? Now we are 2,000 dead servicemen deep into a conflict sold to us with a cynical determinism that subverted the very saftey we supposedly sought. We have converted a secular dictatorship with virtually no terrorism into a "democratic" theocracy that is the recruiting station of Al Qeada's dreams. There is no exit strategy, no way to define victory, and no end in sight. And it IS Vietnam. Read Robert McNamara's In Retrospect and tell me otherwise.
What went wrong? Unlike the current administration, I don't think Americans are stupid. But it seems like our system of checks and balances failed, the press failed, and a grieving nation was too distracted, too patriotic, and too faithful in its leadership to see them for the political opportunists that they are-- men who will patiently wait through all the sunny days with a bag of overpriced umbrellas to sell the moment it rains.
People seem to enjoy ridiculing protesters, calling them terrorists or at least "fellow travelers" in anti-Americanism. But I'd like to ask in all seriousness, how can you NOT protest this war? Is it acceptable to you personally that cooked intelligence was used, that cia operations to prevent nuclear proliferation were compromised to send a message to the war's opponents? Is it OK that the men who did this lied repeatedly about it to the American people? Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for the murderous attacks of 9/11 is "no longer a priority" to George Bush (his words). As a New Yorker who watched the towers burn in person, not on the TV, how has this become acceptable? How does this type of sloppy rhetoric NOT embolden our enemies, our TRUE enemies?
If we, as a nation, simply accept what is clearly being sold to us as legitimate, then I'd submit we are getting exactly what we deserve. If the press won't do it's job any longer, then the blogs will. If people are better informed by Jon Stewart than Fox News, then I guess the better comedy wins in the end. The man who is finally waking America up is named "Scooter", so you had better laugh. Public opinion is now (finally!) against this war, so YOU are the odd man out. Sit and watch your TV. We'll let you know when we are done with our work.
photo and text by fred gates
