We Must Defeat "Evil"

Merry Christmas! Too bad there isn't any snow on the ground. Just doesn't seem as magical as it has been in the past. Not sure if it's just me getting older, or global warming is gradually ruining the appealing aspect of the season. Without snow, everything just looks dead. Seems more like a limbo between fall and winter that never ends.

I was reading a post by my favorite spiritual guru today and I couldn't help but post it. This time, Deepak is talking about Iraq and the right wing tendency to think of everything in absolutes; black and white, good and bad. He mentions this idea of "pure evil" that neo-cons have been using to label Islamic nations and organizations (successfully) ever since the day that changed America. "Evil" is the most powerful word in the english language because it conjurs up the most powerful human emotion (fear) and doesn't allow for any kind of rationale thought or discussion. Defeating "evil" is so engrained in the human psyche, (and observably in fundamentalist religious circles; islamic, christian and jewish alike) that it is going to take a major shift in human conciousness to defeat it. That is, the idea of absolute evil... not the "evil" itself. Of course, it's only "evil" if someone else is committing the horrible act right?

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Deepak Chopra:

It's not yet the last days in Iraq, but it might as well be. A recent poll shows that 71% of Americans oppose the way Pres. Bush is handling the war, and only 9% believe we will win. No such consensus was ever reached over Vietnam. Nixon was elected twice against opponents who would have ended the war sooner. A back-room agreement that could have been achieved with the North Vietnamese in 1969 was postponed for six bloody years while the Nixon administration finagled a way to save face.

They were permitted this delay because the public had been long persuaded that we were fighting the evil of Communism. The Iraq war has been painfully protracted already, since Pres. Bush has petulantly refused to admit that any course is right except his own, for the same reason. Terrorists represent absolute evil. This indisputable point, it seems, covers any wrong committed by the U.S. in terms of casualties and human rights violations. (emphasis mine)

If absolute evil looks so clear to us, why does the rest of the world disagree? Are we to assume that only America knows the truth? The reason we find ourselves so isolated and hated can be directly traced back to blinded moral certainty. The right wing promulgated the myth that Reagan brought down Communism by resisting "the evil empire" (no matter that the Soviet Union collapsed from its own internal corruption and decay), so now we get "the axis of evil," warring against enemy countries that can't be considered part of the civilized world.

The rest of the world isn't buying into this right-wing rationale, and it's time that the American public woke up from the trance induced by fear. The solution to North Korea is to unite it with South Korea, an end that both countries want. The solution to al-Qaida is to police it closely with the aid of the entire international community (we've already killed or driven into hiding over 80% of its leadership).

The way to deal with Iraq is much harder, since such a catastrophe has been created over there. But Pres. Bush is almost certain to reject the unanimous recommendation of the Iraq Study Group that we talk directly to Syria and Iran. Why? Because they are too evil.

Thinking in absolutes almost never works. Even when fanaticism and extremism are involved, the only moral course is to weigh some difficult choices:

--Is it better to talk to your enemies or isolate them and make them more committed to their own ideology?

--Is it better to push slowly against Islamic fundamentalism or to destabilize entire societies by military means?

--Is it better to ignore religious beliefs that contradict your own or treat intolerance with equal intolerance?

It's pretty obvious which choices the Bush administration has made and thus far has coaxed the American public to go along with it.

The dirty little secret behind the Iraq war is that Bush, the religious right, and neoconservative policy wonks despise the Iraqis. We are saving a barbaric, benighted, godless people so far as they are concerned. This is no surprise given that the administration hardly lifted a finger to prevent anarchy after the 2003 invasion. There was no follow-up plan because nobody cared enough in human terms. The Iraqi people were pieces on a chess board. Iraq itself was simply a means to an end, which was to wipe out Islamic evil. And since Iraqis are Islamic, they are tarred with the same brush.

This was a tainted rationale for "helping" a country we merely intended to use. As the mist clears from our eyes, more and more Americans will see how shamefully we have treated that country, and hopefully the entire doctrine of 'the axis of evil' will be forgotten so that the real work of winning the world back to our side can begin.

Irrational Hatred For George W. Bush

I've read a lot about supposed "irrational hatred for George Bush" on right wing blogs. Many right wingers make accusations of liberal americans being afflicted with borderline mental illnesses in regard to their hatred for the president. I can truly respect the character of neo-conservatives and their opinions, but when it comes to this neo-con, whatever tiny bit of respect I've ever had for him gradually dissapears day by day. He is so incredibly stubborn, so condescending, so oblivious to anyones opinion but his own that he deserves no ones respect.

Maybe I pay too close attention to the Presidents body language, the way he shrugs off the deaths of thousands of Americans in a war that he started, the way he chuckles everytime he talks about "victory" there, the completely over-simplified language he uses as if he assumes his audience and average americans all have the underdeveloped minds of 5 year olds.

I put together a little collection of videos that make me laugh when I'm feeling down about the state of the union... but, then again, they only feed the frustration.

Stay the Course video -- "we've never been stay-the-course!"

Bush vs. Bush on Foreign Policy -- daily show clip featuring clips of President Bush arguing Governor of Texas Bush about being an "arrogant nation" and the bad side of using force in "nation building".

Bush's Genius Speechwriter -- you have to watch this.

"I know the human being, and fish can co-exist peacefully."

"Fool me once.... shame on, shame on you. Fool me can't get fooled again."

Bush on Tribunal Sovereignty

State of the Union Address -- may be slightly edited

"Our first goal is to show utter contempt for the environment. I have sent you a comprehensive energy plan to devastate communities, kill wildlife and burn away millions of acres of treasured forests."

Colbert Roasting the President at Correspondents Dinner -- something that will never be allowed to happen ever again in the history of the United States of America.

"I believe that the goverment that governs best is the government that governs least, and by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq. I believe in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, I believe it is possible. I saw this guy do it once in Cirque De Soliel... it was magical! And though I am a committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you hindu, jewish or muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.... most of all, I believe in this President."

I don't hate him for his stupidity... I hate him for being so stupid, and yet at the same time thinking that he's smarter than you and me. Is that so irrational? I guess it all depends on your definition of the word and whether or not you think he's really... really stupid.

I Don't Get Paid For This

Here's Nora Ephron talking about being named Time's Person of the Year (Time's Person of the Year is "you"). She made a good point about blogging that I thought I'd post.

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The Person of the Year is me. Of course the person of the year is also you. Actually the person of the year is "You," as in YouTube and MySpace, as in the World Wide Web - "for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game." Don't you love it? I especially love the part about "working for nothing," I especially love the condescension in that phrase, the dead giveaway about how Time Magazine really feels about the giant collective unwashed, unpaid You Out Here that is nonetheless making life a misery for Them In There -- for the Old Media scrambling to figure out What It Means for things like the future of print, the paper business, network television, privacy, and their jobs, for which (it goes without saying) they are paid.
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I do love it. I just don't have the time for it. Finals are almost over, and I've had a lot of ideas floating around in my head for a month that need to be released. I'll be blogging my ars off over christmas break. Exciting, I know. I don't get paid for this stuff, it's just therapeutic... even better than rectangular pieces of green paper.

Go Big, Go Long, or Go Home

Now that it seems most of us rational people (minus fox news and right wing radio/blogs) in America have finally accepted that Iraq is in a civil war...

--- civil war being defined as: a war between political factions or regions within the same country---

... a war which seems to have no end in sight; what is the next logical step? The current level of troops is fomenting uncontrollable violence and a higher level of troops is impossible considering the fact that the coalition of the willing no longer exists and our military is already stretched thin. Equipment on the ground is in need of billions of dollars worth of new replacements, and military contractors' wallets are getting fatter with your tax money while our men and women die next to Iraqi men, women and children. Could it get any worse? This is truly a FIASCO.

I don't know what to do, and nobody really knows. Don't let any pundit fool you by telling you otherwise. There isn't a good solution to this mess.

The only logical answer is this: Pure Democracy

Give the Iraqi's a chance to vote for their own destiny in regard to U.S. occupation.

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Would they rather have us:

a) Stay and weather the insurgent storm (current level of troops : 3-15 more years and possibly trillions of dollars)

b) Leave gradually

c) Leave now
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Let them choose. They'll never form a secure government without the clear will of their own people behind it. Not American people, Iraqi people.

This issue divides Americans so much because everyone pretends to know what Iraqi's want. We can all agree that we do not want to continue with this, and I think it's only worth staying there if Iraqi's come out in droves with purple fingers, clearly declaring they want continued occupation. Otherwise, get the hell out now!

Arianna elaborates:

It's been nearly a year since those 12 million Iraqis last went to the polls. Twelve very long months in which a lot has happened that might affect the will of the people Bush is so fond of lauding. That election was before the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra. Before Haditha broke. Before Mahmudiyah. Before the failure of operation Together Forward.

Before Iraqi civilian deaths hit above 100 a day.

Think those might have changed the mood of the electorate?

Let's put democracy to the test in Iraq and find out.