Letters to the Editor
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The Pardon and all it means to me
I saw this break yesterday evening and thought well thats to be expected. Today I see the posturing and the blatant lies and misdirections and I have been consumed by a deep abiding rage at the current government, all of them, Legislative for not doing their job correctly or backing those that were attempting to do theirs (Sorry Senator Leahy and Representative Conyers and of course anyone else I left out), the Judiciary for those ruling that essentially delivered us into the hands of the corporations, returned our schools to a state of segregation, and removed our other rights for their religious and corporate benefactors and the Executive for orchestrating it all and basically saying nah nah nah to the world.
Many people wonder why there has been no public outrage and several answers have been given but I still say that the basic standard of living has not changed for many Americans so they are not taking notice because it has not bothered them yet.
This scares me more than anything I have seen done by our government before for the simple reason that my nephews are going to have to grow up in this country after all of us are gone and they are going to have to live with the results of our inaction or failed actions, and finally because I honestly do not have the power to make it a better world for them and other children like them.
That used to be our dream you know, a better life for the next generation, I guess that dreaming can be added as another victiim of this current government along with justice and equality.
I know I got off topic but its hard to scream your head off in frustration when your in a cubicle. For those that read thanks for listening as it were.
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Joseph Wilson
I wish I had been home to comment when Glenn first posted this.
Chris Matthews' interview with Joseph Wilson today was chilling. Joseph Wilson has always been a serious man, but his tone today in that interview was downright grim. He's a very competent and dedicated person, so I think he will remain a significant gadfly on this issue for some time.
I only hope that this Congress heeds the call to finally do what the American people elected it to do.
Glenn:
More than nearly any other commentator, I think you have cut straight down to the marrow of this Administration's systemic abuses of power. The Manichean/Machiavellian theme truly comes the closest to explaining their behavior and philosophy. Tragic Legacy and Gore's Assault on Reason are the preeminent Volumes I and II on the sickness in our government that will long tarnish the dignity of our country.
And a word on courage. Courage is best defined not as how one stands up to his enemies, but how one stands up to his friends. Once again, Mr. Bush has demonstrated that he answers only to the ever-shrinking minority in the authoritarian right, and is utterly contemptuous of any semblance of the public interest.
Bush and Cheney's Mutt-and-Jeff routine is a veil for the inescapable fact that they are simply two hemispheres of the same ideological brain.
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ONCE AGAIN, IT IS TIME!
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --
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akira1
Thanks for your post. I think it's a good one. I wanted to comment respectfully on one thing:
"I honestly do not have the power to make it a better world for them and other children like them."
I mentioned this the other day to a different commenter, and with all due respect again today, but I think you do have the power to make it a better world. I think we all do. Before this sounds like an add for Hallmark Cards, here's what I mean.
All of this stuff doesn't change overnight and there's no one-man Hollywood action movie solution. I'm not telling you anything you don't know; I'm repeating it as much for myself as for anyone. But that doesn't mean that things can't be done, and sometimes, all you can do is merely start with your nephews. Instead of trying to convince all of Mr. and Mrs. America and all ships at sea that they've got to wake up and do something, you can instead do everything possible to see that your nephews learn reason, logic, close reading, critical thinking, discernment, history, perspective, courage, conviction, and development of very finely-honed bullshit detectors. Then that's a couple of additional brains and hearts that aren't going to fall for this, or put up with it.
You can do other things, too, like vote (while we still can), contribute to good causes (while we still can), peacefully assemble and protest (while we still can), spread the word (while we still can).
I hear you that it sounds desperate, but we're not done yet. We're just beginning. In many ways, the entire history of this nation has been one constant journey down the road to achieving our principles. Sometimes we get closer, sometimes we veer far off the path, but the day we simply stop trying to get there is the day the nation's truly dead. And there are voices here, and elsewhere, that lead me to believe we haven't thrown in the towel yet, despite a few bad rounds. Hang in there with us, and don't throw in the towel. Start with your nephews. If you can make something even the tiniest bit better for them, you've already changed the world.
No kings,
Robert