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There's
nothing like being in the safe hands of the Bush administration.
I
mean, how embarrassing for those poor people in Zimbabwe, dealing
with their rigged presidential election. Imagine the shame of
knowing opposition voters had been systematically disenfranchised,
and that the Supreme Court had stepped in to support a specific
presidential candidate. That could never happen here! We should
go in and show those people how real democracy works.
And
what's with the British parliament anyway! Last week, Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw was pummeled about his unquestioning support
for Bush policies. Fellow MPs named Israel (rather than Iraq)
as a violent Middle East country deserving an arms embargo, and
asked Straw why the UK is threatening to send soldiers to Baghdad,
but not Jerusalem. In grueling parliamentary sessions, Straw was
asked why he supports what others see as the simplistic, gun-toting
policy of the US; his response of, "I have not yet met members
of the Bush administration who are gung-ho" was met with
jeers.
None
of that kind of political dissent in the US government! Forget
Congress' constitutional duty to oversee the US executive branch
- since September 11th, Democrats have been so terrified of seeming
unpatriotic that they've all but rolled over and played dead.
Even minor opposition, such as Senate majority leader Tom Daschle's
tentative questioning whether the war should really be broadened,
is dealt with swiftly and brutally by the administration: Congressman
Tom Davis accused Daschle of aiding the enemy, and the House majority
whip, Tom DeLay, referred to Daschle's comments as disgusting.
Looks
like it's back to Bush's "you're with us or with the enemy"
speech: what's clear now though is that "us" means the
Bush administration, and not necessarily the US government or
ordinary citizens.
So
our fearless leader blasts the "axis of evil" countries
for promoting weapons of mass destruction, then in the next breath
threatens the use of nuclear weapons on countries the US dislikes.
"We are at war to keep the peace," as Bush says. He
gets "hot" at deficiencies in the INS system that allowed
2 hijackers to receive visas, but doesn't seem to mind the hundreds
of US residents rounded up post September 11, shackled and still
languishing in jails despite not having been charged with any
specific crime other than looking Middle Eastern.
Meanwhile,
the law of the land is determined by a man who reportedly sees
calico cats as a
sign of the devil. US Attorney General John Ashcroft is charged
with protecting fundamental rights such as freedom of religion,
but lately has taken to publicly
singing self-penned lyrics such as "Only God, no other
king," when he's not holding
prayer meetings at the department of justice.
Yep,
it sure is nice to be in safe US government hands. But as the
president himself has said, "There ought to be limits to
freedom." Too much questioning of administration policies
just can't be right in times like these because Americans (presumably
regardless of religious affiliation) should bow their "heads
in humility before our Heavenly Father."
I
guess it's just a coincidence that so often what our Heavenly
Father wants seems to echo US military policy.
So
how best to be a good US citizen in "times like these"?
Raising our bowed heads to question the credentials of those professing
to represent divine truth would be a start. Owning our voices
is more in keeping with the foundations our country was built
on than tolerating this obsequious game of mincing words and hiding
behind flags.
Heather
Wokusch is a freelance writer. She can be reached at womanrant@hotmail.com
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