"They are so natural follies, but so shown,
As even the doers may see, and yet not own."
------Volpone, Prologue, Ben Jonson.
I. The Good Old Days and the Founders
Tea party goers, lobbyists and right wing radio and
TV personalities sing the same song! We are losing
our great nation. Socialism is nigh! We need to go back
to the "good old days". One says we go back to 9-12 when
irrational fears, an understandable reaction, after 9-11
brought us together. Yes, indeed, as one flock fleeced into
sheepishly allowing a complete erosion of Civil Liberties
and also sheep-like acquiescense to a War based on
shocking and awe inspiring lies. Others lament the days
when America was a Virginal Free Market with no fetters!
Yes, let us go back to the USA before Anti-Trust Laws. And
why not go back to those jolly old days when African Americans
were considered 3/5ths of a person and had no real suffrage. Good
old days indeed. Or less further back when they were just denied
equal access to education, suffrage and income. Those were
grand old days!
Kin to this is the Hagiography of the "Founders". Mostly
slaveholders who had just enough irony to write "all men are
created equal" and yet in the same document, with a straight
face, allow for slavery.
There is an undercurrent of Racism in all this Nostalgia.
Obama is the "foreigner". He's not "one of ours". The Birther
movement and the obscene treatment of an elected President as
an enemy of the people by a certain, and very vocal, segment of
society exposes the sad truth: a xenophobic reaction to President
Obama in their Collective Neuroses with absurd and contradictory
fears ranging from, "He's a Marxist, Fascist(Hitler) and a Muslim
secretly sympathizing with his Terrorist brethren".
If only he was more like one of their heroes. Like Reagan, who
sold arms to Iran, a state which funds Hezbollah, for some hostages.
The Reagan who praised Osama Bin Laden as a "Freedom Fighter"
and gave him stinger missiles. And the Reagan who made the US
unilaterally veto an otherwise unanimous vote of the UN to condemn
Iraq for using poison gases against Iran in their war. Talk about a
terrorist sympathizer.
What about the Reagan who bailed out S&L's with a larger sum
of public money than President Obama used to bail out the banks and
lending institutions? Well, he was white and "one of ours".
II. Attacking the Criminal Acts of Our Intelligence Agencies or the
Military Is Un-Patriotic and Helps the Enemy
An American murdering someone in a city in the US does
not, in any way, embarass every American, or would make any foreigner
think every American was a murderer. The same principle holds for
crimes committed by people who serve in the Military or the Intelligence
Agencies. These agencies abide by the law and have even more stringent
rules to protect themselves and our interests, as well as other Americans.
They have to operate with a higher professionalism and greater adherence
to rules because of the incredible sensitivity and importance of their work.
The rule of law holds for them. If we do not hold those who protect us responsible
for adhering to laws we basically allow rogue state conditions. Where free
lancers, agents and even military personnel, whose salaries are paid by the
US Taxpayer, feel they can act as they see fit and overrun Law and their own
agency standards in the name of "success". The "successes" born from such
failures to abide by US and International Laws become greater failures.
Not every military servicemen or CIA operative is a criminal. To clear their
good name and honor the service they provide it is imperative we vigorously
prosecute those who tarnish their honor through murder, torture and other
violations of US and International Law. If we allow them impunity what's to stop
a justification for the FBI to torture US Citizens? If they can argue the "success"
of their criminal act. A bankrobber can't brag to the judge, "Hey. I paid my bills
and got a new car with the money I stole."
Besides, ever since the dawn of Torture as a means of gathering truth, many
experts agree, including most in US Intelligence Agencies(DOD, CIA and
the NSA), that torture only gathers a confession of truths you want. In the purges
of Stalin the Soviets only tortured to get information they wanted, not the truth.
Torture has never been an instrument for truth gathering. It has only been used
as a means to break down the accused and to get them to admit what authorities
desire them to admit. For instance, the US Intelligence operatives in Afghanistan
waterboarded Khaled Sheikh Mohammed numerous times. After about 9 episodes
of such torture he admitted there was a connection between Saddam and
Al Qaeda. Not one respectable Intelligence Operative in the world believes or
believed this was true. It was a confession the US Intelligence Agencies wanted to
give the State Department and the Bush White House as more support for the
dwindling and absurd argument for war against Iraq.
Reaction is exacerbated when a leader calls for change.
When the leader happens to be half black using racist tropes to
defeat the desired change can be justified when it is "successful".
All's fair in reaction and torture. They utilize the same "ends justifies
the means" herring to stupify the masses. "Free" market fideists
cannot help bowing to every "success".
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