November 1, 2003
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I'm feeling a general sort of agitation lately. I'm a little pissy with myself, but mostly I feel a sort of indignation about things.
Back during the Iraq war, I was overwhelmed with the reality of it. I sat there and watched the live coverage of 'Shock And Awe,' and felt a kind of instant grief that tore me apart. There was an unjustness about it; not about the reasons for war (though I don't consider them just), but about the way it just rolled along, ripples on the surface of a still pond, disturbed by ideologues. It's spread wasn't halted or even slowed down by justice, by humanity, by concern. It didn't matter what the world thought, what the people of the US thought, what anyone thought. It was destined to happen by the calculus of power alone.
I spent many weeks (maybe months, depending on how you count) sitting around, feeling as though I had just lost my citizenship. I felt as if the world had passed me by, on its way to lynch some human scapegoats. I felt like I hadn't done enough, but also that there was no such thing as 'enough.'
And now the right is saying that Bush never claimed Iraq was an imminent threat. The administration is saying they didn't put the 'Mission Accomplished' sign on the aircraft carrier. They delay the Kay report on Iraqi WMD (because there aren't any and never were). They don't cooperate with the committee investigating the intelligence screw-ups that lead to the war. They've run roughshod over everything that makes this country great, just to invade and occupy Iraq.
And it pisses me off. I'm a little on edge. I may be ranting here for a while.
Comments (8)
I was going to say something about how it all makes me so depressed and apathetic and nihilistic feeling that I can barely function which is why I've just been ignoring it. I used to be uberactivist and so I feel like this is a shameful thing...I don't think I have a point, just a "testify brother!"
The blatant dishonesty and hypocrisy is disgusting.
I feel like the Germans probably felt when Hitler ordered the Nazis to run rough with foreigners and such, around the country. No one really dared to speak out much, they turned a blind eye, and in the end, millions were dead. Modern America is NO DIFFERENT. We're doing something VERY similar; it's right under our nose and we refuse to acknowledge the elephant in the room...
Tch. Rant away. People hear you, they do!
I disagree with Femme quite a bit on this one, but then again, I'm in inveterate optimist.
Go ahead and rant. It's good therapy.
Yep, they are trying to rewrite recent events. I want to believe that this is impossible to do but figure that the right believes thier own lies, and those conservative folks who believe them believe those lies too. This must be what it feels like to be outnumbered and outgunned.
Ranting as good. It's a start. The weirdest thing to me about the whole thing are the super conservative and "patriotic" people who won't acknowledge that a large portion of Americans feel the same way as you do. They think we're some commie minority. But how to speak out? What can we do? It's hard to act when you feel ashamed of your own country. Maybe we should just all move to Canada
The Department of ReHistory is hard at work.
What`s next? Two Legs Good, Four Legs Bad.
Rant all you want, Homer, but just remember that the only reason they allow a certain freedom of speech in your country is because it serves as a pressure-valve against massive civil unrest.
One should always remember the words of a certain song: Social Justice, Is Civil War.
I do recommend that you vent, but don`t let it die there. I suggest you go find Djenn from the Infernal Noise Brigade and get her to sell you a copy of her new book, WE ARE EVRYWHERE, The Irresistible Rise Of Global Anticapitalism.
It will politicize you to no end, and it will put you in a very clear perspective about how all these profiteering wars, the G8, the WTO, and the World Bank are profoundly interconnected.
It is a book that will make you truly NOT MIND getting shot in the face with a teargas cannister as you tear down the metal fence which separates us from the seats of power.
You should ALL go read it, if you are true Americans.
PS:
http://www.word-power.co.uk/catalogue/1859844472
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