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Spoiling
for a Fight
February
19, 2002
by Bridget Gibson
Plans are in the works, we are told, to attack Iraq and remove
Saddam Hussein from power. Two hundred thousand American troops
will be deployed and on the ground in the Middle East sometime
this year. These are the schemes from our current administration.
The administration from Hell. The administration with a master
plan to rule the world for the oil and the spoils of war.
When did we, the United States, lose our way? Was it when
all but one courageous Congressional Representative stood
and handed George W. Bush his dreams on a platter? Was it
when we forgot the responsibilities of acknowledging what
is done in our names? Was it when we called for blood of thousands
before standing back and understanding the policies that have
been used as weapons against the multitudes of nations that
are considered of less value to humanity?
A terrible darkness has befallen our country. I have heard
the conservative pundits on the right call for the blood of
their fellow citizens. A shining example is the words of Ann
Coulter, "When contemplating college liberals, you really
regret once again that John Walker is not getting the death
penalty. We need to execute people like John Walker in order
to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize
that they can be killed too. Otherwise they will turn out
to be outright traitors." It seems that she doesn't want a
contemplative counsel of restraint. Or the illustrious words
of Jerry Falwell in which he claimed that God allowed terrorists
to attack America because of the work of civil liberties groups,
abortion rights supporters and feminists. Mr. Falwell also
said the terrorist attacks on the U.S. were "probably what
we deserve." These statements were made by Mr. Falwell during
a broadcast of the 700 Club in September shortly after the
attack on the World Trade Center. Pat Robertson agreed with
Jerry. Does one need to ask where the logic in this resides?
I hate to be obtuse, but what are these people talking about?
Are they truly so narrow-minded and close-visioned that they
do not grasp the entire concept of right and wrong? What gives
them the right or authority to claim that any of the deeds
that have been done have been caused by progressive thinking
people? What in the world could allow them to absolutely demonize
the majority of the population that calls for a thoughtful
and considered plan to maintain peace in this world? When
did it become traitorous to question the role that our government
takes in the making of policies and decisions about the lives
of two hundred eighty million souls?
Excuse me for thinking that September 11 was not caused by
liberals, gays or civil libertarians. September 11 was caused
by a massive failure on the part of the government to pay
attention to the rest of the world. When this administration
called for a blind eye toward Saudi Arabia and Osama Bin Laden
in March of 2001, it asked for the devastation that followed.
It failed to understand that the policy of building a pipeline
through Afghanistan was not our "God-given" right. It failed
to understand that paying the Taliban $43 Million on May 19,
2001 made us complicit. And by "us," I mean the United States
government and by extension of that, the citizens of this
country.
We, the people, have allowed ourselves to become so disconnected
from our government that we think that it's okay for some
hawkish bureaucrat to rake up a few hundred thousand of our
youngest and brightest hopes for a future and send them off
to war. War is where people die, become permanently disabled
or scarred from the experience of killing human beings. Unless
each and everyone reading this column is prepared to become
a murderer by proxy to force their will upon another people,
you need to think about what is happening here.
All of this has led me to remember a line that I heard in
a 1966 French film called "Masculin, Feminin" by Jean-Luc
Godard: Kill a man and you're a murderer. Kill thousands and
you're a conqueror. Kill everyone and you're a god.
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