M: bob said it better.
I thought it was high time I posted something about my brimming outrage regarding the absurdities of our current administration and the war in Iraq, but then I went and read Bob Harris's blog, and realized that he (in this post) says things a lot better than I can. So here's Bob:
Still, one last aside. To those who repeat the current GOP spin that opponents of the war are motivated by a hatred of Bush or a desire to see America disgraced, I would like to respond:
I can speak for no one else, but it seems obvious to me that it is the war which disgraces America. It is the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people which disgraces America. It is torture which disgraces America. It is imprisonment without trial which disgraces America. It is the use of chemical weapons which disgraces America. It is disdain for international law, the use of military power as a first resort, the intentional confusion of the Iraqi people with terrorists thousands of miles away in Afghanistan, and the corruption of the very word "democracy" which all disgrace America.
As an opponent of the war, I am trying to stop my country from being disgraced any further.
As to hatred, yes, I will confess: I hate the actions of everyone involved -- including Bush and his entire team, who are obviously most responsible, but also including plenty of Democrats (Biden, Lieberman, Clinton, etc.) -- in creating the current fiasco. My anger and disgust extends even more intensely to the actions of murderous extremists on all sides -- like, say, these death squads, for example -- but as they are not elected officials representing and theoretically accountable to the very public which reads this blog, I rarely go into much detail on the point.
I would also eagerly forgive anyone able to admit that what they have done is wrong. I forgive John Murtha. I forgive Walter Jones. I forgive John Edwards. Forgiveness is, after all, one of the most important things we can offer.
I could be wrong, but I also believe the majority of humanity would agree.
Well said. Thanks Bob. I'd also recommend checking out his Pudu posts; those are cute little buggers!
4 comments:
Yep.
Well put, and thanks for posting it. I wish that I felt more people were spending time deeply thinking about all of this.
(Though, even if Kerry managed to say he was wrong, I think there's too much high-profile water under the bridge to forgive him. He's lucky I'm not a Massachusetts voter anymore.)
Doesn't sound like there's a lot of original thought there. America being disgraced? Please. The world hasn't liked America since it became the lone superpower. I am NOT a big pro-Iraq war person AT ALL, but I'm not losing any sleep over enemy combatants (murderous thugs NOT protected by the Geneva convention) being detained and denied due process either.
Are you losing any sleep over the people that are being mistaken for murderous thugs flown to foreign countries, tortured and then dumped when the error is discovered? These conventions exist us to protect not only the murderous thugs and the inevitable innocents in the mix, but to protect us from our own righteousness. We must set an example for ourselves as well as the world that we will not sacrifice our values, no matter what the cost.
You assume the world doesn't like us, but aside from some isolated islands of hatred, I just don't see it. I think this epidemic of low national self esteem feeds both our insecurity about our safety in the world, and serves as justification to treat the entire world as combatants. No matter what we do some people will always hate you, but you must do your best to give people reasons to love you. Torture, rendition, and deceit are not the foundation of this moral nation the right wingers are always blathering on about.
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