The Death of America

America died the other day. It walked right into hellfire -willingly if you believe the polls - and committed suicide on a Friday afternoon in March.

All that this once proud country stood for has been tossed aside in exchange for a cheap political move paid for with the blood of innocent civilians and the blood of our own brave daughters and sons. Paid for with all the virtues and sacred foundations laid down by our founding fathers.

The America we once knew is now dead.

I've spent a lot of time pacing back and forth both looking at the TV and looking away from the TV. I've tried so hard for the last week to try to write down what I'm feeling. It's been so easy to beat up on Bush because he's such an easy target. But how does one articulate the death of your country and the hands of such recklessness?

The view outside my window looks somehow -different.

The other morning I watched my 4-year-old son ride his new bike up and down the sidewalk. I felt a pang of jealousy as I listened to his laughter. I envied the innocence of a child who knew nothing of the horror being broadcast on my television that very minute. I felt a deep sense of loss, for the America that he will grow up in will not be as kind as the America where I grew up.

I talked to my teenaged daughter later the same day. She was excited about a writers' forum she had joined and was letting me know what a great time she was having. We also talked about the invasion and how she felt it strange that America would do something so violent against the wishes of the rest of the world. She said that it just felt so wrong. "It makes me so angry" she said, "and I don't even understand it all."

I thought about the parents of those brave children sent to Iraq by Bush and how they must worry about the lives of their brave soldiers. I thought about the parents of the scared children of Iraq and how they must worry about their future and the lives of these innocent little ones among the fury of this invasion. And I thought about the many parents like myself, who worry about the well-being of our own children due to the recklessness of these short-sighted, sanctimonious politicians.

The America I once knew seems like a distant memory.

I am amazed at the ignorance of the supporters of this invasion of a country that posed no immediate threat to us. Has it dawned on anybody that this is an invasion waged by businessmen? Not soldiers or generals or anybody who has any military experience - as they are the ones who advised against this invasion - but men who are conducting a bloody corporate take-over against a brutal, yet still sovereign nation. And the leader of these "wanna be warriors" is a failed businessman!

Would someone explain to me just how this makes America "safe?"

As I write this, C-Span is hosting The Washington Journal, its daily morning call-in show. One of the things I keep noticing is that most of the people who call in supporting the invasion keep citing what happened on 9/11 as their base of rationale.

"I cant believe that those protesters forgot about the World Trade Center!"

"This war is to make sure we dont have another 9/11."

"9/11 proved that Saddam is a threat."

And on and on and on. There are people who have bought the "9/11 rationale" as a talking point in order to justify America becoming a rogue nation. This does a great disservice to the lives lost on that tragic day.

Unfortunately, the Bush administration has been only too happy to perpetuate this falsehood as long as it serves their purpose. They celebrate the ease at which those with a Fox News mentality are so easily manipulated - even at the expense of the memory of the innocent victims of 9/11. There is no depth of depravity that Bush Inc. is not willing to sink to as long as the means justify their ends. They are grave-spitters.

And those who use the tragedy of 9/11 as the excuse for supporting Bush and his war are grave-spitters.

They are nothing more than victims of knee-jerk patriotism who either refuse to see - or are incapable of seeing - just how complicated and reckless Bushs war policy truly is.

And what's worse is that they don't care that they don't know. As weak as Bush's reasons are to go to war with - I mean invade - Iraq, think of how much weaker they would be without his prostituting 9/11? And with a lack of understanding by the general public as to the events leading up to 9/11 and a lack of any in-depth independent investigation into the day that changed America, it's no wonder that so many people are under the misconception that Iraq had something to do with it all. With the spineless American media's refusal to "connect the dots" of 9/11, as massive as they are, it's no wonder more people don't realize that if it weren't for the obvious negligence (at best) of Bush Inc. on that horrible day in September there would most likely still be two twin towers in lower Manhattan.

The despicable use of the horror that was September 11, 2001, as a means to somehow "justify" America becoming an aggressor nation has not gone unnoticed by many of the surviving families of those victims. They are out there marching with the rest of us in protest of the memories of their loved ones being used to destroy America and all that it once meant. The proud city, so devastated by the events of that tragic day, continues to protest in great numbers against Bush Inc.'s nose-thumbing at America's once great principles. So have many other cities - globally. Yet the three great American monkeys - See No Protest - Hear No Protest - Speak No Protest - continue on in spite of world opinion.

"Who cares what the world thinks? Nuke them too!"

I actually saw this statement and others like it on a bulletin board. I've heard people say it. I'm sure you have too. It's because of this mentality that many cannot distinguish "anti-war" from "pro-Saddam." This low level of reasoning skill cannot perceive the un-repairable damage being done to this country by Bush's invasion. Their "logic" tells them to hate France or to hate the protesters. Their level of "reasoning skills" tells them that nuking our enemies, real or perceived, would actually be an okay thing to do. Patriotic even. It's because of this type of thinking, this complete lack of knowledge, that Bush has been able, so far, to get away with hurting America. Government and media induced "patri-idiotism" has replaced George Washington's America with George W. Bush's America.

As this is being written, Belgium is being strong-armed by U.S. officials to "amend" a law signed in 1993 allowing Bush to be prosecuted as a war criminal based upon the action and outcome of his invasion. The law allows Belgian courts to hear war crimes cases no matter where they were committed, regardless of the defendant's nationality. An amendment in 1999 added provisions for trials of genocide and crimes against humanity.

George W. Bush, under these provisions, fits the bill so to speak. Even the Clinton haters have to admit that charges like these were never even considered against their nemesis! No wonder Bush opted out of the International Criminal Court last year. Just another action of a spoiled child wanting his own way at any expense - except his. The founding fathers must be spinning in their graves.

An American president is being referred to as a "war criminal!"

Yet, there are still those who feel that just because Bush said the world community and the U.N. are "irrelevant" - due to their lack of support for the undermining of America's principles - then it must be true and charges like these mean nothing. I truly weep for the ignorance that has surfaced in so many so-called "patriots." I truly weep for these people who feel that in blasting the U.N. (especially France) they are doing justice to the principles of the flag they fly so proudly. How sad.

In fact, we find that Article 1 of Purpose and Principles of the United Nations states:

1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;

Let's hear that phrase again, shall we?

"...., and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace...."

France and the rest of the world are simply doing their duty as members of a world community to "suppress the acts" of an aggressive country. That would be us. Bush's version of America. The version of America that you and I are stuck with until these vermin are finally gone.

America is now a rogue state.

We are no longer a country which commands respect and admiration but a country to be looked upon with suspicion and loathing. The world community which we are a part of - despite what Bush says - now looks upon us in a different way. Bush is lowering us to the same level of contempt as those he wages "war" on in the world's eyes. Yet there are those who demand that we all "get behind this president." I couldn't disagree more.

Now is the time for all - including the wet noodles posing as Democrats in Congress - who want this country back, to get in front of this president! Stop bringing up the rear and whining about the promises Bush never meant to keep in the first place. Get in front of these rogues - not behind them and their lies.

His claim of invading Iraq to keep America safe is a lie. His "proof" for going to war is a lie. His claim two years ago that he was a "uniter not a divider" is a lie. His presidency is a lie. His claim that the U.N. is "irrelevant" is a lie. His claim of future victory is a lie. His claim of doing what's best for America is a lie. The coupling of 9/11 with an illegal invasion of Iraq is a lie.

Those who believe Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Perle want what's best for America are living and breathing a lie.

But the America that so many died for, that so many loved and respected worldwide, that you and I had hoped our children would grow up in is now dead - due to the bloodlust of the warrior businessmen of Bush Inc.

And that's no lie.

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W. David Jenkins III March 31, 2003



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