Come Let Us Reason Together

November 17 2004
Counterbias.com
by Jack Dalton

"All men having power ought to be mistrusted." James Madison

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." James Madison, Federalist Paper 47

Shortly after George W. Bush unleashed the "Dogs of War" on Iraq last year, and right after an emerging insurgency started growing, Bush asked, "What's the matter with those people; don't they know how good we [Americans] are?" And that right there is at the heart of what I see as a very big problem with so very many of my fellow American citizens-and one that in many ways is getting worse and not better.

Here in the U.S. there is a "deeply-held belief that no matter what this nations governing body does abroad, no matter how bad what it does may appear, no matter what horror may result, the American government means well;" That the government has good intentions and means well; And, generally speaking, the American public wonders why the rest of the world can't see how "kind" and "generous" and "self-sacrificing" America is and has been. Unfortunately the road to hell is paved with "good intentions."

My questions to my fellow American citizens are this: What for you would be too much? What would this nation's government have to do in its foreign policy, or domestic policies, that would cause you to forsake your basic belief in and support for that governing body and its policies?

It is apparent to me at this point in time that invading a country which posed no real threat to this nation-Iraq for instance-is not enough, for many, to question that support for this current cabal. The distortions and outright lies concerning Medicare and liability lawsuits appear not to be enough to raise questions by those of you who continue your support for Bush. Grossly under-funding the Veterans Administration Health Care system does not seem to generate any significant level of concern either.

Again I ask, what for you would be too much?

The growing number of dead, ours and Iraq's, seems not to be enough to question that support-why? Over 100,000 Iraqi's have been slaughtered since the U.S. invasion of that country to date, with that toll rising due to what has taken place in Fallujah: the deliberate bombing of one of two hospitals with the remaining hospital taken over by U.S. troops as a base of operations; Iraqi medical staff at the hospital were killed or arrested; cluster bombs all over the city; medical aide, food, water all being denied entry to Fallujah while children die in their parents arms because they cannot leave their homes without being shot by U.S. troops; and young people in uniform with guns that should be at home being young people now having their minds warped by war as exemplified by a statement by one young Marine-"I got my kill.I just love my job."

That's a cost of war-how to steal someone's innocence and turn them into a killer that will have to learn to live with that for the rest of their lives. Then back on the home front, back from war:

15 hours after being discharged from the Army, a young man who spent 12 months in Baghdad and another three months due to "stop loss" was in an auto accident. Paramedics and hospital-two days later his arm was swelling and very painful; Turns out he had a blood clot in his arm from the IV the paramedics put in. This young man's father took him to the local V.A. just to be turned away being told he did not qualify for V.A. care. This is not an isolated incident and the list is growing-daily. Then there is the young man that lost both legs in Iraq that is recovering living in his car

Once again I ask, what for you would be too much for you to be able to continue your support of these policies and those that make them?

Never in my 60+ years have I been witness to the level of corruption as what is taking place today with this current governing body led by Bush and Cheney. The increasing levels of secrecy by Bush, the criminals running congress like Tom DeLay, the nexus between government and corporations as exemplified by Dick Cheney and Halliburton. The influence pedaling by an army of over 26,000 corporate lobbyists who "help" write the nations laws is at a level unseen in this nation's history.

Right after the election Tom DeLay went on record stating that now the republicans will be about the business of "insuring permanent republican control of this nation's government" and that "we" can now bring about "a bible based government." Right behind that George W. Bush & Co. is now about the business of placing absolute Bush loyalists in the highest levels of government.

Condoleezza Rice as Sec of State-she is loyal to Bush, period. Alberto Gonzales as head of the Department of Justice-he believes the Geneva Convention is "quaint" and that Bush is above the law. Peter Goss, Bush loyalist, heads the C.I.A. and is now following his orders and is now busy "purging" that organization so it will be more in line with BushCo. Rice will be given orders to do likewise in the State Department. This sounds more like the old Soviet Union and all its purges back in the 50's.

In short the "Criminalization of the State" is what is taking place and still so many believe in and support this criminal enterprise known as the Bush administration.

This country, due to Bush & Co, is on its way to becoming a third world nation. Prices are rising, wages are dropping, value of the dollar is falling, countries are turning to the euro over the dollar, the gap between rich and poor is the greatest it has ever been and is the greatest gap of any industrialized nation and it is growing, personal bankruptcies are at the highest levels ever and growing, and all the while from BushCo we are told the only "reality" is the one they-BushCo-create.

What is it that would be too much for even you true believers in this administration to be able to continue your support for the single most disastrous administration to ever hold the reigns of power of our government?

There is an agenda at work here and it is not about the betterment of the nation as a whole. It is about securing power, solidifying that power and gaining even more power and then making it permanent. That is the "strategic initiative" of the neo-con self professed "Christians" that have hijacked the Republican Party.

We are in the grip of a dangerous "patriotism" actually nationalism which is being driven by "faith," militarism, and a moral superiority that gives little to no value to the rest of humanity and that includes us, the American people that stand in opposition to BushCo's re-making and re-defining of our nation.

Once again I ask, what for you would be too much to continue your support of those that are setting about the business of forever changing what this country is, what it represents and how and by whom it will be governed.

The Declaration of Independence enumerates the charges the colonies leveled at King George of England in 1776. Here are just a few of them:

"He has obstructed the Administration of Justice."

"He has made Judges dependent on his will alone."

"He has erected a multitude of new offices and has sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people."

"He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power."

"He has combined with other to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution (just look at the WTO, NAFTA, CAFTA, etc)

"For depriving us in many cases of the benefits of trial by jury."

"For taking away our charters (laws), abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our government."

Need I say more past what for you would be too much to continue your support for what is unquestionably the most disastrous group of people to ever capture the reigns of power and government in this country?

Faith is good to have, but at the same time it cannot replace reason. When it does disaster always is the end result. "Come, let us reason together." Isaiah 1:18
 

Jack Dalton is a disabled Vietnam veteran and independent writer that lives in Portland, Oregon. His email address is jack_dalton@ommp.org . All comments are welcomed, good, bad and everything in-between.