America, I hardly recognize ye.
This is a great country, and what I am about to say takes nothing away from that. I love her with all my heart. It is why I'm writing this in the first place.
Six hundred eighty billion dollars. 680,000,000,000.00. Two-thirds of a TRILLION dollars.
That's a running total, including projected budget for 2008, of what we have spent in Iraq. A country which was attacked preemptively because we thought maybe they were building a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.
We thought. Maybe.
We had satellite photos of something that might be the weapons. We had hearsay, we had conjecture. We had "intelligence."
So we attacked a sovereign nation, dethroned a brutal dictator, and made a mess that won't be cleaned up anytime soon.
Why? Since when have we become a nation of preemptive attacks? It's never been our M-O. Did 9/11 really change our approach that much? If so, the terrorists have already won.
Further, we decided that, since the hijackers on 9/11 operated within our country, trained and planned their attack, moved about freely, undetected, that we needed to be able to tap the telephones and intercept emails, without a warrant, of citizens who we think are conducting themselves in a suspicious manner.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing to hide, read my email all you want. (you might want to avoid the stuff from my friend Ada) But gosh, doesn't this all seem less free to you? Don't you have a problem with any of this?
"They hate us for our freedom." That's insulting, simplistic bullshit... but apparently someone believes it, because the current administration is slowly removing the reason for the hatred.
And now, the sabres are rattling all over again, as congress approved a bill that asks the administration to use "all means" to contain Iran's influence on Iraq.
Iran has 65 MILLION people.
America undoubtedly has the most advanced, skilled and technologically superior military in the world. I am proud of our soldiers and their skill and dedication. God have mercy on the country that ever tries to take us on. The problem is, the "war" on terror can't be fought with military might. We're going into a knife fight armed with a tank.
The president of Iran was invited to speak at Columbia University. Why? I can't imagine giving this guy a pulpit, it seems silly to me. But why do we fear him? Isn't freedom of speech what we're all about? Give the man some rope... he'll hang himself. But instead, congress spent its valuable time hand-wringing over it, instead of doing the work of the people.
What else has congress done recently? Passed a resolution condemning moveon.org for the "General Betray Us" ad in the NY Times... and they are now trying to pass a resolution condemning Rush Limbaugh for his "phony soldiers" miscue.
Guess what - get the hell back to work! It's NOT your job to worry about what is being said by the citizens of a nation that is supposed to have freeh speech. Instead, DO YOUR JOB.
Congress has an approval rating of 11 percent, yet continues to plod clumsily forward. We have citizens who have no insurance and no prospects of medical care, if needed. We have a huge education problem. Our borders are as loose as Paris Hilton. We HAVE Paris Hilton.
Yet we're foolishly on the way to spending a trillion dollars on a war that cannot be won... and if you say that aloud, you're considered a traitor.
The apathy of the citizenry is pathetic. As long as the economy is "good," as long as we can shop, continue receiving reality television and play our video games... we're all good. My grandpa would be embarrassed.
I'M embarrassed.
Where is the America I know? Where is the wisdom? Where is the leadership? Where is the pride, the dignity?
Sometimes I don't even recognize this place anymore.
8 comments:
You're not going to get an argument out of me. I often don't recognize where I am either. But then, I drink a lot...
Or maybe it is the stuff from Ada that they are looking for, you know, to make the search less mundane... (Plus, he talks kind of funny, so he may be suspicious, too...)
I like your point-of-view here. The big overturn in Congress that we saw a year ago was mainly based on the platform that the people of America wanted to see a change in Iraq... Unfortunately, the people that were elected have tucked their tails between their legs and our President and his administration are still running amok in the Middle Eastern region.
Where is the solution? I work with women whose husbands are deployed and I see the heart-warming stories of American soldiers rescuing Iraqi children who have been injured. I know that there are many good intentions by the people who are fighting this fight.
Unfortunately, we have forgotten that the cause of 9/11 was NOT Iraq and the people who were behind it have gone free and are now hiding in Pakistan or Iran or Afghanistan... all places where our military is NOT. And we are stuck in a place where American soldiers are being hurt, in a fight that the world views as unnecessary.
I guess we'll just keep hitting our heads against this brick wall until somebody finds an answer. You know, I was in an relationship where "staying the course" seemed like the only viable option. I stayed because I saw the greater good of how I needed to "help" this man; I stayed to prove to everyone that the relationship could work. The only way I survived was by finally getting out.
Just sayin'....
I agree with you whole-heartedly. Thanks for posting.
Excellent thoughts Dave, and well stated of course. Visit crooksandliars dot com sometime. It leans decidely "left" of course but there's some interesting reading there, some video highlights (or lowlights) of politicians in action, and some well written opinion too.
I can't say it any better than that. I, too, am embarrassed by what we've let our country become. Why aren't we in the streets?
I too agree with you Dave. You're always poetic in your opinion pieces and you always are able to dumb it down to real people too by mentioning the reality TV and Paris Hilton. Kudos to you on understanding what is wrong with out country. I live in a very predominate Republican area. It's nice to be communicate with those that understand how I feel and write so well doing it.
Violet also makes a great point in comparing it to a bad relationship. I might have to use that analogy in my next battle of wits.
Still miss blogging,
Stacy
Money well spent.
Until Uncle Sam can no longer dissect every single facet of my life, I won't shed a tear over a warrantless wiretap or a search on checked out library books.
I agree. Some of my reasons vary, but I agree stuff needs to change.
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