What do these people know?
“Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event–like a new Pearl Harbor”
Rebuilding America’s Defenses, Project for the New American Century, think tank led by conservative notables such as Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, James Woolsey, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Bill Kristol, James Bolton, Zalmay M. Khalilzad, William Bennett, Dan Quayle, and Jeb Bush
…if the collapse of the Soviet Union and 9/11 bookend a major shift in international politics, then this is a period not just of grave danger, but of enormous opportunity. </em>
“History has a funny way of deciding things,” he said. “Sometimes history sends you things, and 9/11 came our way.”
</em>George Bush personal adviser, Karl Rove, 2.20.2008
Consider these statements. These are verbalizations of the thought processes of people who:
A: Operate with a different set of facts than we do and
B: Don’t wait for history to happen.
It’s only once you put 9-11 in the context of our other imperialistic overreaches, from Hawaii to Panama and beyond, that it stops appearing so remarkable. Even if you accept them at their basic premise- that we were attacked by people who hate us, which I surely think we were- even that is a landmark event that should have caused this nation to ask why, instead of cowering and accepting an insipid version of reality that practically challenges the intelligence of the listener, mocking those amongst the sheep who would dare to remark on the emperor’s clothes.
And I firmly believe that the majority of the people in this country know, actually really know, that we allowed it to happen, for what some considered greater ends. But just the saying of that means that you are truly on your own, and most people can’t accept that kind of responsibility, so they hide it, mock it, or ignore it.
We’re currently watching the first season of “Jericho”, which while it is incredibly trite, prime time geewhiz stuff, does raise a lot of interesting topics. It is Kansas, post 9-11, after two dozen American cities have been nuked by forces unknown. The issues they deal with- from Blackwater type mercenaries to hometown vigilantes and such, are rather serious, topical themes to be raising on primetime TV. Makes you wonder how many people the series really discomforts, seeing, as William Burroughs said, the “naked lunch” of what they are eating- which is a form of totalitarianism, only split between two “parties”. Or in the case of Jericho, none at all. Much like the pilot episode of The Lone Gunman, elements of this series relate to some of more shadowy hidden elements of American life, such as the FBI’s investigations into homegrown terror and war between neighbors. Hardly American Idol, no wonder it nearly got canceled. We discover that the head of the Department of Homeland Security is behind it all, or at least some element of it. Again, what do these people know?
Our president is at 19% with nearly a year to go. Gold is selling for nearly $1000 an ounce. It was $350 five years ago. Starbucks- Star-f’n-bucks – lays off 600 people. Stores in New York are taking euros over dollars. What do these people know?
What do I know? I say this. Barack Obama is going to be our next president. He’ll do it despite being branded as “unpatriotic” by CNN and Faux News. And this sounds out there, but I also think he might be our last hope. Not because of him, personally. I agree with most that he is mainly sizzle, no steak. But we already know the steak of Bush, McCain and Clinton. It is awful, and divorces the public entirely from the processes and powers that govern their lives, out of sheer fatigue and hopelessness. Obama offers, to people like my son, a reason and an enthusiasm to be a part of government, to have a say- just like JFK did to my parents before I was born. Voter turnout is up incredibly, all democrat. This nation is screaming for relief from what we’ve endured the last 8 years. If Obama gets into office and attempts half of what his persona exclaims, then this nation might start to heal- and investigate. But if he turns out to be just a smoother version of Bill Clinton, Bush or Jesse Jackson, then there will be almost no one left in this country that believes in America enough to run it.
