The world has gone crazy, or maybe it's just me. One of my great fears is that it's both.
President Bush has been staging a mini-series trying to drum up support for the Iraq War, yet when a reporter bluntly asks him to explain exactly why we went to war in Iraq, he -- as usual -- totally evaded a direct answer. He simply touts that now that we're there, we can't leave until the mission has been accomplished (which I thought was supposed to have happened nearly three years ago).
Bush blames the news media for spreading bad news about the continuing deaths of troops in soldiers, the bomb blasts that injure Iraqi police and citizens and the fact that a government there is far from getting its act together. Through what may or may not have been a slip of the tongue, in one appearance, he let us know that future presidents and lawmakers will have to deal with the issue.
For one thing, the media cannot be blamed for trying to get to the truth about anything regarding this war into which Americans were misled. If reporters of the caliber of Woodward and Bernstein ("All the President's Men") are not allowed to expose the truth, then Americans become slaves to the propagandist, one-sided, "unfair and unbalanced" administation-endorsed so-called "news" of the Fox network.
The media did not create this needless war. A responsible media reports about what is really happening and asks why. Bush and his folks want only the "good news" reported, but who watches "good news" on television or would buy a newspaper strictly to get the "good news"? Face it. We thrive on watching car chases, police arresting people, burning or exploding buildings, investigations of gruesome murders. If the government doesn't want us to know that one or more of our troops has been killed or wounded for life in Iraq, the government does not want us to know the truth about what's really going on in that country, in the world or even in our own country.
Those who take the time to do some research know that the president and his people preached over and over again until it was drilled into our brains that Saddam Hussein was tied in with the terrible Sept. 11, 2001, attack on America (no evidence there) and that there were weapons of mass destruction that could be unleashed on us at any time (nope). They try to drill into our skulls that fighting the terrorists and insurgents over there (who, by the way, weren't there before we invaded) is making us safer over here. How misleading can one get? Just because there hasn't been a major terrorist attack here since 9/11 does not mean that plans aren't in the works to do something even worse. All of the terrorists are not in Iraq or Afghanistan. And, by the way, have we captured or killed Osama bin Laden, the prime instigator, yet -- nearly five years later?
The Department of Homeland Security is a joke. We found during the devastating hurricanes of 2005 that they couldn't adequately deal with serious emergencies on the home front. And while our attention has been on airplanes and the ports, how many potential terrorists from overseas have already joined illegal aliens in crossing our unprotected border with Mexico and are just waiting for an opportunity?
It astounds me that many thousands of illegal aliens are protesting in the streets of the United States over a proposed crackdown on -- who? -- illegal aliens! And the president doesn't really seemed to be concerned, explaining that the illegal aliens do jobs here that Americans won't do. BUT WHAT ABOUT OUR SECURITY AND THE FACT THAT THEY ARE ILLEGAL? Outrageous!
Face the facts, folks. The corporation-run United States is selling American jobs to China, India, Saudi Arabia and -- lest we forget -- Mexico because the people will do those jobs for much less money than Americans can afford to do. Do some research and you might be astounded to learn just how many companies in this country are outsourcing jobs to other countries.
Are you ready to become the United States of China, the United States of Mexico or the United States of Saudi Arabia? You may as well prepare yourselves, because our country is being sold out from under us just as the early settlers of the U.S. essentially stole the country from the native Indians.
Equally repugnant to me is how our religious organizations support all of these actions and perpetuate the lies. (Doesn't the Good Book teach that we should do otherwise?) How hypocritical can you get, especially when the ministers will urge their congregations to vote for misleaders when election time comes?
As regular readers know, I am neither Republican nor Democrat. I don't trust politicians in either party because they've forgotten that they are supposed to be working for us, the people. I am of the Christian belief, but I don't want to be part of any religious organization that subtly teaches and practices hypocrisy.
Some call me unpatriotic. Far from it. I love the principles of democracy and I love this country. I love and support our troops, even though I don't support the war. These fine men and women are simply doing damn good jobs on the orders of our Commander in Chief.
So what can I do? I can realize that everything that comes out of a politician's mouth nowadays is suspect because this is a big election year, and many are already planning for 2008. I can try to vote out as many people as possible who aren't doing their jobs and serving their constituents.
And, most importantly, I can pray that our country wakes up before we become the United States of Hell.
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