Are we the land of the free, or the land of the apathetic?
Michael Allen
As I begin writing this, I am in a car riding right through the middle of America , traveling north to south, roughly following the course of the Mississippi River - through the setting Mark Twain used to express the pure joy wrought by a free spirit pursuing adventure. We pass near the area where Lewis and Clark launched their journey westward, then later a sign for a monument to Mother Jones, "the miner's angel", who once described herself by saying "I'm not a humanitarian, I'm a hell raiser" and who was denounced in the US Senate as "the grandmother of all agitators". To that, she said that she hoped to live to be the great grandmother of all agitators. Later I see a billboard half obscured by cornstalks. It has a picture of Abraham Lincoln with a caption that reads "walk where he walked".
Lincoln once said:
"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it."
I wonder what Lincoln would think if he were alive today. Would he be proud of the "party of Lincoln ", or would he think of it half-obscured as the billboard that bears his likeness. What would he think of the divisions that exist in today's Union ? What would he think of politicians and spokespeople who work so passionately to capitalize on those divisions and to further divide the country? What would he think of a citizenry that shoots fireworks and waves flags in celebration of the birth of freedom, yet so willingly gives away the freedom to think for themselves to those who so willingly take it?
Just in the past week there have been several examples of the lengths to which the right-wing will go to control public perception, or to deny those modern day Mother Jones' who celebrate freedom by practicing it. By now you've read of the efforts to suppress Michael Moore's celluloid Paul Revere ride through the country; of armed police officers checking the ID's of those trying to see it; of people escorted off public property outside theaters, and even arrested, for encouraging citizens to exercise their franchise by registering to vote. There is more.
Election? We don't need no stinkin' election.
David Soaries, appointed by Bush to head the new federal Election Assistance Commission, is planning to consult with Condoleeza Rice and Tom Ridge about the circumstances under which this November's Presidential election would be cancelled. Are you shocked? "Mainstream" pundits in the media have been speculating about this possibility for months now - were they floating a trial balloon to pave the way for something that would make the 2000 election fiasco pale in comparison?
If you sail off the edge of the earth, Chris, don't say we didn't warn you.
As of now, scientists must have government approval before they can consult with the World Health Organization. This sounds like something from the old Soviet Union , not from the land of the free. Scientists are concerned and surprised that research has become politicized, apparently not understanding that to the right-wing, everything is political.
If I don't see it, or didn't tell you to think it, it don't exist
This
week, White House spokesperson Scott McClellan utterly dismissed
a poll showing that a majority of Americans think the war in
Iraq
has created a situation in which we are less safe. It
is official; the Bush Administration has fully entered a state of denial.
If there is bad news, they just casually dismiss it.
"I don't care what people are saying, that's not
what we told them to think so they can't possibly be thinking that, and,
if they do, they won't for long".
I
guess the other underlying message here is that they only want us to be
afraid when it's politically expedient for them as signaled by a John
Ashcroft/Tom Ridge press conference and a rising of the official
"terror alert level" - otherwise known in my house as the
"poll threat level".
"May I have your attention please, due to a
significant threat to Glorious Leader Appointed by God Bush's approval
ratings, we are advising all good citizens to now enter a state of panic.
His Holy Excellence has informed us that God told him he wants you,
personally, to enter a state of panic. Your official source of information
during this panic event will be FOX News, Ann Coulter, and Rush Limbaugh.
Do not attempt to inform yourselves through any other source as you may be
forced to think about things you do not want to think about. Although we
have no specifics regarding this threat, we can say that it seems to be
centered on approximately 850 theaters across the
United States
showing a movie using a foreign word for 'temperature'. For your safety,
we advise you stay away from such theaters. If you see other citizens
walking around strangely calm during this panic event, attempt to
forcefully inform them about the necessity for panic and officially
approved thinking. If they resist, they may be receiving information from
Godless sources, and could very well be a party to terrorist activity. In
that event, inform them that Vice Glorious Leader Appointed by God Cheney
has invited them to pleasure themselves and call your local law
enforcement authority while they are so engaged. Finally, we are pleased
to announce that Wal-Mart has patriotically volunteered to partner with us
in this panic event. All stores will have a special sale on 'panic packs'
containing: duct tape, plastic sheeting, flags, yellow ribbons,
inspirational 'Mission Accomplished' photos of Glorious Leader Appointed
by God Bush in his flight suit, a wholesome and non-threatening Disney
movie, and officially approved biographies of Ronald Reagan. Hurry while
supplies last. Thank you. You may now begin your panic."
Reach out and jam someone
A GOP consultant pleaded guilty to dirty tricks involving the jamming of Democratic telephone lines in New Hampshire during the 2002 election. How many stories to do we need to hear before we believe that the right-wing in this country are perfectly willing to commit crimes to win elections? Having that knowledge, why are we so willing to allow GOP run companies to provide "technology" for electronic voting with no paper trail and no method to allow for recounts? The kicker to this story is that the judge on the case released the man on his own recognizance, and delayed sentencing until November. Go figure.
We even confuse ourselves
CBS released a poll this week showing that Americans are dismayed with Bush and the course of the Iraq war and, as a result, he has the lowest approval ratings since he assumed office. That same poll, however, shows that the race with Kerry is virtually deadlocked. There is nothing else to say to that but "Huh"?
Pay no attention to those flag draped coffins. Here, look at this one.
Despite Bush's ban on showing the return home of our brave troops who gave all, one mother invited news coverage of the arrival of her son's flag-draped coffin, saying, "This is enough, we have to react". Twelve reporters showed up. I wonder how many would have showed up if Michael Jackson or Scott Peterson had been there? George W. Bush doesn't want you to be reminded of the true cost of his war, yet despite promises to not exploit 9/11, he has no problem with using the image of a flag-draped victim being removed from the ruins of the World Trade Center . Can there really be anyone out there who can put those two facts together and not feel at least slightly manipulated?
Back to the cornfield in the middle of the country
There are people who will call me unpatriotic for writing this. They will call me "elitist" for saying that people aren't thinking for themselves. In response, I could refer them to Dick Cheney's cursing of Patrick Leahy and add "in spades", but instead, I'll turn back to the man on the half-obscured billboard in the cornfield.
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."
Yes, let's walk where he walked. Maybe we can save our country again. Isn't that the patriotic thing to do?
Originally published on http://www.demsonline.net. Permission is granted for republication as long as this paragraph is attached.
