PARABLE: If the Iraq War was a murder

[yurbud]

Once upon a time, a woman was told her son was dead. She rushed to where the body was laying in a pool of blood, and saw a half dozen holes in his torso and chest, and asked the detective on the scene what happened.

"Ma'am, it looks like a suicide. It could also be parasites that decided to leave his body all at once, leading to death from blood loss."

"But my son wasn't suicidal," she said. "There's no gun near him, and it might be difficult to shoot yourself so many times. And what's this crap about parasites? Who dies from mass parasite exodus?"

"Ma'am, we understand your grief, but we don't operate on conspiracy theories here."

The mother was dumbstruck. She pestered the papers and TV news to cover her sons case, and went to the police station to ask the detectives what they were doing, but no one would listen to her.

One day, a detective pulled her aside and said, "You are right. The suicide or parasite theories are nonsense, and I am trying to prove it to my bosses. Besides, that neighborhood is known for drug related violence. If the neighborhoods main export was coconuts, obviously your son would not be dead."

This gave her some hope. It did not solve the crime, but it seemed closer to solving it than the other detective.

Shortly after, the detective who pulled her aside ran for police commissioner. She supported him with money and told her friends to vote for him. She even went to one of his campaign stops to publicly ask about her sons case. To her surprise and dismay, the detective said:

"Who committed that murder in the past is not the issue now--we need to focus on stopping future crimes. I will say that the suicide or parasite theory is absurd."

She went to visit the candidate, and he gave her assurances off the record that he would investigate her case if he wins, but it would hurt his chances of winning if he said so now since the people who killed her son are very powerful and back the other candidate.

She reluctantly accepted this, only because the other candidate was so much worse.

When her candidate got elected, she went to see him after he was in office a few months to find out about her sons case.

The new police commissioner proudly told her, "We have cut purse snatching in half, and practically wiped out the scourge of double parking."

"That's very nice," she said, "but what about my son's murder?"

"We have many important things to accomplish," the commissioner said, "but we will eventually get to that murder. In the meantime, will you support my war on sidewalk spitting?"

The mother left his office disappointed, but held out the hope that he might do the right thing.

But how long should she wait before she decides this cop will do nothing like the first one?

And in real life, it is not one son dead, but 3,000 of our sons and daughters and 600,000 Iraqi sons and daughters.

We elected a new police commissioner, the Democrats, to the majority in Congress, and we are still waiting for them to investigate who exactly ordered the war, and bring them to justice.

[sellitman]

1. I would think there would be more outrage.

Not just here on DU either.

I don't get it?

[yurbud]

2. even on the left, some people aren't outraged until told to be.