Letters to the Editor
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"Us" and "Them"
That is all it's about. Americans have allowed themselves to see Iraqi's (and anyone else not American) as outsiders, as non-people, as not worthy of humane treatment. It seems that by dividing the world into "Us" and "Them", distinctions are made that allow for indecent, self-righteous, violent, disgusting, immoral behavior to those not belonging to the "Us" group. It is how it happened in Germany and it is how it is happening today. Terms like "Support Our Troops" really means "Support Our Troops Regardless Of Actions". Unconditional support becomes unchecked support and gross behavior is overlooked for the greater good.
Once you've bought into the Us/Them mentality it becomes harder and harder to see the world any other way. It is a black/white dichotomy type mentality and to go back and see otherwise is treated as treasonous, traitorous behavior. "Traitors" espousing truths are ignored or outright vilified as best seen by most right-wing talk show hosts. This public show of scorn is an efficient way to deny visible truths. Ditch the Us/Them mentality and the fear to see "outside" information disappears.
It is unfortunate that more Democratic leaders haven't pushed this knowledge to the public (and if they have tried then it's a piss-poor job of trying).