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Could
America Go Bad?
by
Michael Hammerschlag
www.OpEdNews.com
After
the total
defeat of the Democratic ticket by a ruthless demagogic President, and the
ascension of extremist elements in the Congress, Executive, and Supreme
Court; one must question how long
America
will retain its tattered moral authority in the world… or even if it
will become a threat to other
civilized democracies.
This
isn’t a remote possibility or wild speculation- it is only as far away
as the next major terrorist attack on
America-
esp. if a city is nuked, perhaps more than 50% probable in the next 5
years. The CIA's Michael Sheuer, author
of Imperial Hubris, considers this "almost inevitable",
since Bin Laden received permission for such an attack in a fatwa from a
Saudi sheik. The break point for
America
losing its mind and reacting wildly is 50,000 dead Americans, and a little
Hiroshima
bomb in NYC would probably kill a minimum of 200,000. Our country is now a
massive military and economic machine, being run by a small coterie of
pinhead neo-con, trickle-down, and theocratic true believers. Science,
logic, and precedent matter little to these people- they know
what is right. The entire top layer of real government, economic, and
military experts are exiled to the wilderness, like every reconstruction
and occupation expert in
Iraq
.
The multi-billion dollar (non) reconstruction
was carried out by unknown twenty-somethings
who had posted their resumes on the conservative Heritage Foundation
website.
Bush’s
success in his simplistic propaganda campaign against Kerry- a deserter
smearing a decorated War hero as a cowardly, indecisive, weakling; was
indicative of how empty and vapid the
US
electorate has become. Americans’ great strength throughout history have
been to clearly see a problem, identify it, and fix it. Even if poorly
educated, they had an ability to recognize and reject lies and liars. The
faith-based community is devoid of that native wisdom, as are many of the
easily persuaded fretful voters. As long as Bush keeps sprinkling God or
Christ in every second speech and harps on hot button issues, they are
convinced of his decency and morality, no matter the immorality of his
brutish policies on war, taxes, health care, poverty, or security. The
defeat of the kindly and gentlemanly Senate Dem Leader Tom Daschle by a
smooth vacant “Christian” athlete John Thune, who mounted scathing
attacks, typified the danger to the Republic.
George
Bush ran a campaign based on fear: fear of terrorism, fear of change, fear
of the other. “Trust me,” he said over and over, and Kerry was too
obtuse or soft to point out that one can’t trust the most prolific liar
in modern American history. Governing after losing by a half-million
votes, Bush has run the most extreme, divisive, and unresponsive
administration in memory. With a 3 ˝ million vote mandate
(if these weren’t largely the result of Republican-built paperless
electronic voting machines), a 55-45 majority in the Senate, a coming 6-3
majority in the Supreme Court, Bush can be expected to shatter the economy
with more lunatic tax cuts, expand neo-theocratic repression of media and
personal rights, and march into any country he deems a threat. He claimed
Iraq
was a threat, although it hadn’t killed a single American in 10 years.
Worse, another 4 years will allow the extremists to consolidate control of
America-
gerrymandering districts, changing Congressional rules, marginalizing
Democrats- for perhaps the next 20-30 years.
A
terrorist nuclear attack on the
US
would be the coup de grace of American liberal democracy. Bush and his Repub
cohorts would (with the public’s blessing) round up 7 million Muslims in
camps or deport them, institute martial law, pass Patriot 2 + 3, change
the Constitution, and shred the Bill of Rights. In a flash, we would
become a military dictatorship, with GB2 as our very own Mussolini. This
is a man whose arrogance and lust for power knows no bounds, a man who
doesn’t read and brags about it. Currently,
Iraq
is sucking all of our military resources, but moves against old enemies in
Iran
,
or oil and mineral rich countries in
Asia
,
Africa
,
and
South
America
in the next decade are not implausible. It is even conceivable in 10-20
years, of conflicts with a militarily resurgent
Europe
over precious resources.
Many
things have been chilling to an embedded observer watching this
progression: the huge US Senate vote for what they knew was an unjustified
Iraq war (73-26), the lack of protests by our dragooned Army and Nat.
Guard, the blatant intimidation of anyone objecting to the war, the
devil’s bargain by Kerry to “support” the Iraq War, DeLay’s
thuggish successful campaign to do an unprecedented mid-decade
gerrymandering of Texas and kill 4 Democratic seats, the bullying theft of
the 2000 election with massive disenfranchisement by a man who had lost
almost every category of voting, the same irregularities in the 2004 vote,
the disappearance of any privacy. Simply, we are one terrorist attack from
losing the
America
we know, the one every
US
soldier has died for for 228 years. The world
must be prepared for this possibility: that the United States would be
become a militaristic Christian police state. We already have the biggest
prison population and percentage in the world.
A
rogue
America
would sit astride the world like a wanton immature colossus, one tantrum
away from smiting any imagined offender. It wouldn’t make the mistake of
occupying a bitterly hateful country,
but would confine itself to holding resource fields or
punitive attacks. It’s lack of restraint and wisdom would propagate
through the second and third world and make a nuclear war or exchange much
more likely (in Indiakistan or the Middle
East). It would quickly withdraw from and ignore the United Nations and
NATO, rendering them impotent vestiges, and end the
US
ability to influence or lead the world with anything but threats. An
ascendant
China
would massively increase their military and nuclear forces, perhaps
‘absorbing’
Taiwan
,
with
America
’s
tacit consent, since we are totally dependent on their goods. Every
country with something
Washington
wanted would feel compelled to get nukes, following the lead of
North
Korea
,
till the world was a nuclear tinderbox. Impoverished recentralized
dictatorship
Russia
would feel empowered to also use its vast arsenal to “protect”
(absorb) former FSU oil states-
Turkmenistan
,
Azerbaijan
;
setting the stage for confrontation with
America
.
After US attacks on other Muslim countries, a permanent state of terrorist
war would exist against
America
by one fourth of the globe, justifying more repression by the all
seeing police state here. Immigration to a xenophobic
America
would virtually cease, and it's moral influence
evaporate.
The
extinguishing of
America
’s
beacon of hope and freedom would likewise dim liberalization in brutal and
repressive regimes throughout the world, as the UN lost any power of
persuasion… and greed and savagery ruled.
Europe
and
Australia
would not be immune from this new Dark Age: the EU may be shattered by
provincial disputes and national jealousies, but hopefully their more
advanced social evolution would prevent their descent and preserve the hopes
of mankind.
The
reelection of our Great Prevaricator may auger a rapid descent to an ugly,
more violent, era.
Michael
Hammerschlag's
commentary and articles (http://HAMMERNEWS.com)
have appeared in
Seattle
Times,
Providence
.
Journal,
Columbia
Journalism Review,
Hawaii
Advertiser, Capital Times, MediaChannel;
and
Moscow
News, Tribune, Times, and Guardian. He's
been a TV reporter, foreign correspondent, and produced documentaries over
25 years. He reported on the media savaging of Howard Dean, and had the
first big scoop on all the media mistakes on Election Night 2000 hammerschlag@bigfoot.com
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