Everyone seems to be talking about how important an election this is going to be, how it is the most important one in our lifetime. I certainly feel that way, but not particularly because of all the issues being debated, which are undoubtedly of considerable importance: the war, the economy, health care, the environment, civil rights (which would include the matters of abortion, same-sex marriages and gun ownership), etc. etc.
This election is the most important in my 52 year old life because I really believe that it might be the last real election the United States of America will ever have.
Serious danger signs are all around us and if they go unheeded it could well signal the death of democracy in this country. "Democracy"... such a lofty word.
It is supposed to symbolize what is best about America, what has made this country
a model for freedom-loving people all over the world. A system where every person, regardless of race, sex, economic status or personal beliefs, has a say...it's called a VOTE...in the running of the government. Government of, by, and for the people...it's not a cliché. It is a fundamental tenet of the Constitution, and it is supposed to be guaranteed by law. And the law is supposed to be fair, weighed in the impartial scales of Justice, and enforced without personal or political prejudice.
Elections are supposed to be above all honest and fair. Every citizen has the right to cast his or her vote and that vote must be counted accurately. In no way must it EVER be tampered with or cast or counted under questionable circumstances. This is our most precious and sacred right as Americans. I am sure that most people would agree with that, regardless of political affiliation.
So what are we to say, then, about the incredible lack of conscience we are seeing
in those who are seeking to suppress the vote? Of course, I understand that these are battleground states, elections are battles, and one side is obviously afraid that they might lose. But is winning really everything? Is it really worth it to obtain victory if you have to subvert and undermine our most basic American institution to do it?
The answer, for the side that supports Mr. Bush, is sadly, but clearly, yes.
What happened in Florida in 2000 was their first real test. Could they get away with
illegally taking tens of thousands of people, mostly minorities, off the voter rolls because their last names matched those of totally unrelated convicted felons in Texas, and then could they get another many thousands of votes intended for Gore cast mistakenly for Pat Robertson because of an incredibly misleading ballot configuration in several highly Democratic counties? And would they then claim victory by the thinnest of margins...537 votes? And could they then block a true and accurate recount with legal tricks, and have the Supreme Court appoint the President? And would the Democrats cave in and the press be intimidated into not running any stories seriously investigating what really happened? And would the population shrug their shoulders and look the other way? And was it a coincidence that Jeb Bush was governor of Florida at such a crucial moment?
Obviously the answer is yes on all counts, except of course the Bush question. Let's face facts: they CHEATED and COVERED IT UP to "win" that election. And that set the tone for the next four years. In my personal opinion, the situation in Florida demanded a full, seriously and impartially monitored RE-VOTE, not a recount. After the very integrity of the vote was called into question that would have been the only really right thing to do.
But they got away with it. And I fear that that has only emboldened them further.
I would like to ask these individuals, who are working so hard to block people from
participating in our (so-called) democracy and exercising their rights as citizens a
question: How can you look in the mirror and honestly call yourselves Americans?
I'm not really interested in their answer. They will be full of rationalizations and spin-
doctored explanations. The plain fact is that politics in America has become so polarized in the last few years that both sides hold the other in utter contempt. And the current administration has clearly shown that they have no use or regard for any
kind of rational discussion. Why should they? They have proved by their actions that
they are interested above all in pushing their own right wing ideology and serving the interests of big American money and big American power. And they have also
proved that they are willing to do anything...even LIE SHAMELESSLY to the American people and to the world, and CHEAT on elections...to do it.
And this is what really worries me: if you believe the polls, their strategy is working.
A large portion of the population is uneducated and uninterested. They, like their President, seek simple-minded answers to complicated problems. They don't really seem to care that they have been lied to. The fear of terrorism is their overwhelming concern and they will gladly look the other way as their rights are taken away in exchange for a false sense of security. TV Guide is more relevant to their lives than the Constitution.
Invading Iraq has not made America more secure. It has made us more hated and feared than ever before in the world. That is exactly what Osama bin Laden was hoping for. George W. Bush is Osama's new best friend.
The sons and brothers of the countless innocent Iraqi civilians killed by our pre-emptive military invasion, which we were falsely told had to be done to defend America, will want revenge. They will become future terrorists by the thousands.
Osama bin Laden couldn't have done a better job of recruiting if he had put up store fronts in every city in the Arab world, with big signs out front with his picture, finger pointing forward, and the caption "Uncle O. Sam Wants You!"
But while we are on the subject of terrorists, and terrorism, I think it is unfortunate that we have made so little effort to understand exactly WHY we were attacked on
9/11. Both political parties are equally united in their quest for "revenge", in their bloodthirsty determination to "hunt down and kill the terrorists". The political climate and the public sentiment seem to demand this. But again, this is a reaction, not an attempt to understand the causes of what happened.
9/11 was a horrible thing. Many innocent people were killed.
But shouldn't we at least try to make some sense of the motivations that led 19 men
armed only with box cutters, an insidiously brilliant plan to use America's own freedom and openness against us, and the determination to DIE doing it, simply to strike a blow against America that the whole world would notice?
Were these people insane? No. Were they cowards? No. Was this, as our leaders would have us believe, an attack on "freedom"? Do they hate "democracy", the American people, the American way of life so much? Is that why they are against us? If we truly examine the world situation in the cold light of reason, the answer is..
NO!
This was not an attack on freedom. This was an attack on the way America has
THROWN ITS WEIGHT AROUND IN THE WORLD, militarily, economically, politically, overtly and covertly, for many years. And that conduct has been in many ways antithetical to the concepts of freedom and democracy which we espouse for our own citizens.
For many years, it was Communism. Communism was then the catch word that described the enemies of the American way, that we had to be against, or we were simply anti-American. But then we found ourselves propping up and supporting
completely un-democratic, oppressive dictatorial regimes all over the world, simply because they assured us they were anti-Communist. We found ourselves preventing or overturning democratic elections because we feared the results would not be favorable to American political and economic interests. It wasn't about our American principles anymore, it was simply us or them. And in many cases we came down on the wrong side of what is right. A country can not stand for freedom at home and oppression abroad. The whole world will see the hypocrisy.
Crucial to the Arab world's problems with America is what they see as our unconditional support of Israel coupled with our lack of equal respect for them and their concerns. Israel is "America's policeman in the Middle East." They get all our
best and latest planes, hardware, military technology. The Arabs don't. Israel has used its military superiority to defend itself when attacked, but also to attack towns and villages they designated as "terrorist strongholds", killing many innocent people. Of course, suicide bombers have killed innocent people in Israel too. It's like 9/11 on a smaller scale, but on a much more frequent basis. But these are acts of pure desperation. Only a person who feels completely powerless and helpless would resort to blowing himself up on a crowded bus.
The US-Israel military alliance has created an uneven geopolitical playing field
in the Middle East. And the Arab world does not like it. They were there first. And they have not been treated fairly. But Israel is not going anywhere. They are now an established country. They have the power and the weapons...yes, even nuclear weapons. Most Israelis would like to live in peace with their neighbors. But there are radical factions on both the Israeli and Arab sides which realistically make it almost
impossible to imagine any kind of genuine peace or reconciliation. This makes it unavoidable to continue the hatred, the resentment, the injustice. The unfairness of Palestinian helplessness in the face of American/Israeli military might.
Terrorists. Terrorism. They are the new catch words. The thought of them strikes fear
into everyone's hearts. Folks in Montana and South Dakota are quaking in their boots. They're going to vote for George W. Bush because he's going to protect them from the bad guys...the terrorists...by unilaterally invading and occupying an Arab country and trying to establish a Western-style "democracy" in the Middle East. You know what he is going to get if he is successful, and does not tamper with the election, like he did here? He is going to get a Shiite theocracy, probably hostile to the US, democratically elected by the 60% Shiite majority of the Iraqi population.
America, if it really wants to win the "war on terror", would do well to study and try
to correct, as much as realistically possible, the various mistakes and injustices in our foreign policy that have led us to the point where such a large portion of the
world's population, particularly those of the Muslim faith, has good reason to not
like us very much.
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