No more pictures or videos, please.
I tried my best to avoid seeing the photographs of what happened on our watch in the prison in Iraq. But when I saw a few, I got a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Then today, I saw a man on his knees in front of a line of other men who were about to murder him by beheading. The feeling in my gut turned even worse and I got light headed just thinking of the theatrical staging of murder.
Some people, like the ever cheerful, ever partisan hawk Senator Inhofe claim that the brutality and humiliation that our troops treated their prisoners to is justified because the prisoners were “murderers, they’re terrorists, they’re insurgents.”
I don’t buy that argument, because then we become just as lawless as they. America is better than that. We can never justify sinking to the level of our enemies. We are the country that — supposedly — stands for human rights, justice, freedom, democracy; and that’s what Bush continually claims to want to bring to Iraq.
At the risk of being labeled one of those “America-Hating Liberals,” can I just point out what the conservatives have brought us in the way of human rights, justice, freedom, and democracy?
Human rights: Let’s leave aside what’s happened in Iraq and see what’s happening at home.
They continually treat women as second class citizens, denying them the right to make decisions about their own bodies. Once the Bush administration gained power, they stopped insurance coverage on birth control for all government employees. But they do cover Viagra. Guess the conservatives have trouble getting it up. Is this America?
Justice: Sweeping over the country is a movement by fundamentalist conservatives to permanently prevent an entire class of people from being treated equally in our society. Hate-filled invective from state houses and the Capitol, aimed at people who are different, spewed forth from intolerant bigots who are interested only in finding someone that their uneducated, sheep-like constituents can blame for their troubles. Bad marriage? Blame the gays. They’re different and scary, and they’re out to get your children. Tie em’ up to a fence and beat them to death, ‘cos they’re not people like us. This is America?
Freedom: American citizens detained indefinitely, held in prisons without access to legal help or their families. American citizens.
Democracy: The vaunted idea of transparency in government has been beaten down effectively by the current administration, from day one and the subversion of the election to the current day, when secrecy reigns under the banner of “separation of powers.” If the White House is so concerned about the separation of powers, perhaps it should stop for a moment to realize that this is not an empire nor a kingdom. The power of the White House is not supreme. The power of the people is… at least, in theory. Since the people haven’t got money, it’s a moot point. Government of the people, for the people, by the people? Not in today’s America.
Yes, right now, I am not happy with my America. Because America is not living up to her potential as the greatest nation on the planet. America is a fantastic experiment in government, in citizenship, and society. And right now, we’re losing on all fronts. We are no longer a beacon to the rest of the world, no longer a standard to be lived up to. No, right now because of the actions of only a few we are despised around the globe, a massive bundle of hypocrisy.
I am a good person, and everyone I know is a good person. We are all Americans. We love our country and we want to do what’s right. Why can’t I say the same about the people in power?
