Earlier this year, I had to take a break from all things "current events" to focus on some overwhelming work and home-life issues. And for quite some time, I felt disconnected, as though I was falling back into a complacent state where current events are monitored through the headlines with little examination into the details behind them. This isn't to say that my opinion about what's going on in Washington or Iraq is any different today than it was several months ago--just that after stepping away for a minute and coming back, I am struck by the insanity that's going on.
I am not necessarily struck by the insanity of the Bush administration--which was judged as "off the chart" loony years ago--but the insanity of the American people who continue to acquiesce to whatever spin or "logic" their elected officials wish to throw out as justification for their acquiescence to the status quo. After the utter fiasco and abomination that has been our involvement in Iraq, we must now listen to these officials pine on about further unaccountable funding to continue our Iraqi folly and contemplate expanding that folly to Iran. To which there is but one response:
No.
No.
Not one step further.
Not one step closer to a global conflagration.
No.
"No" to the "War on Terror" until you can define how one "wins" such a war. Without such a definition, the "war" is interminable, and any concoction of absurdity will suffice to justify our politicians to driving this country into a ditch.
"No" to unmitigated war on the enemy until you can define who "the enemy" is. Without a clear understanding of "the enemy," anyone and everyone can be "the enemy" if we can just concoct a reason to not like them enough. "Because they're evil" is NOT sufficient. I considered my step-grandmother to be "evil" (I actually referred to her as "the succubus"), but I still had to wait for natural death.
"No" to circumstantial evidence as a justification for shoving more troops into the meat grinder. "WMDs" and swarthy-skinned demons exist in the dark corners of every pants-wetting pundit's nightmares. Just because a schizophrenic thinks the ashtray on the coffee table is plotting to kill him doesn't mean that it really is or that the schizophrenic would be justified in whipping out a machine gun to spray the room and deal with the consequences later. By the same analogy, just because some politician thinks some people are plotting to kill us doesn't mean that they really are, or that we are justified in attacking indiscriminately to deal with the consequences later.
"No" to trafficking in fear to motivate the American people. An individual acting solely for the prevention of fear leads to self-hatred and insanity. A nation or people acting solely for the prevention of fear leads to self-loathing and causes the body-politick to wage ware upon itself.
"No" to the rhetoric of "America first, everyone else second." Patriotism and nationalism are a scabies of the heart and the last refuge of a pitiful, malignant existence, devoid of value or purpose (paraphrasing Nietzsche). As human beings capable of rational thought and higher reasoning, we should never strive to inspire pity, embrace malignancy, or act senselessly.
"No" saddling our troops with more work, more anguish, more hazards, without asking Americans to start shouldering some of the burden. Our military troops shoulder sometimes unimaginable burdens and hazards without relief. If we are going to continue to be engaged in Iraq, then Americans should no longer have the luxury of remaining unengaged or unaffected--a draft (without exception) is a requisite, our presence in Iraq must be made overwhelming, and our relief/aid efforts must be made commensurate with our military ones.
"No" to releasing troops back into American society without giving them the social and psychological tools to cope with transition back into "the world." Our military spends far too much time instilling in our troops the necessities of functioning in a military environment, yet spends little to no time instilling in them the necessities of re-engaging with a civilian world that has little to no comprehension of what they have experienced.
"No" to keeping PTSD and TBI invisible to the American people. When Jimmy freaks out at the office because of his PTSD, TBI, or a flashback, it is profoundly pathetic and saddening to regard the incident as "he just snapped." No, he didn't. There was a trigger. And someone tripped it. And the civilian world cannot simply idle along without understanding, that for some people, something innocuous--such as a drill, a jackhammer, typing, driving, eating, hearing, or just smelling--can trigger a reaction. Don't pull back in fear and astonishment (or disgust) because you don't understand. To the extent that you supported this engagement in any way, to the extent that you ever said "support the troops," to the extent that you didn't advocate stronger for a non-military solution, this is the consequence of your actions or inaction.
"No" to keeping the returning American dead invisible to the American people. Stop hiding the bodies. Stop hiding the KIA behind the insanely ignorant rationale of "honor" or "duty" to accomplishing the mission. We know a forest by the trees ... we know a war by the dead.
"No" to further funding of the Iraq disaster without a plan. Some plan. Any plan. What in the hell are we doing there? What are we trying to accomplish?
"No" to the curtain of secrecy that allows our government to operate without transparency. We are a government "of the people, by the people, for the people," and as such, we have a right to know what the executive and legislative branches are doing on behalf of "we the people." How can we know if we are being well-represented if we don't know what is being done or why?
"No" to the self-adulating cocktail party circuit of politicians, pundits, and journalists. Politicians: you are in service to "we the people," not lords or princes who are in a caste above us. Pundits: What use are you if party affiliation means more than sober judgment. Journalists: the freedom enjoyed by "the press" is extended on the premise that you will shed light on that which is hidden, that you will investigate and report back to us, "we the people," what our elected officials are doing and saying as our representatives in government. Your duty is to us, not the politician that "grants" you an interview or deigns to make him/herself available for your queries. You owe the politicians nothing--you are the introspection of our collective conscience
"No" to the isolation and marginalization of the American people who have overwhelmingly said in one voice that we must find a way to extricate ourselves from Iraq as soon as possible. We have voted and voiced an opinion. We have given a mandate that we require oversight, accountability, the checks and balances of power, and adherence to the law. A question asked must be answered--not hidden under the cloak of "privilege." My job is what I have chosen for my career--be it fire-fighter, police officer, teacher, artist, doctor, lawyer, computer nerd, farmer, bus driver, construction worker, or whatever else fits my fancy. I must do my job--and all the unpleasant responsibilities that go with it--in order to receive the benefits of my job--the paycheck. Likewise, you are required to do your job--which is to represent my/our views--regardless of whether or not you agree with them.
"No" to party politics where "the good of the party" is placed ahead of what's good for us. The politics of a party are an anachronism that has outlived its utility. "The Party" is what ran the Soviet Union. "The Party" is what ran the fascist governments of Mussolini and Nazi Germany. The singularity of a political party silences our voices and assures only the primacy of the party and those who tie their fortunes to the fortunes of the party. In this respect, Rahm Emanuel is cut from the same cloth as Tom Delay. Servility to party-issued talking points, micro/macro issue analysis, and strategies based on mouthing carefully-calculated opinions are the hallmarks of empty minds and empty suits.
In the end, my response to the current state of affairs is "no." I do not condone the current state of affairs through action or inaction. I do not accept the current state of affairs as "the reality of politics" when there is an overwhelming plurality of this country that wants anything BUT "the reality of politics" to continue, unabated.
I cannot withhold my vote, because to do so would abdicate my voice to the whims of a politician's conscience, or lack thereof. But I do demand to know what is being done--on behalf of us. I demand that the politicians fulfill their obligations and duties--on behalf of us. I demand that they assert the authority which has been vested in them--on behalf of us. And I demand that they hold their colleagues and counterparts accountable--on behalf of us.