Contrary to the frothing lunacy of the rightwing noise makers, we are America, and we owe no apologies, and we have nothing to be ashamed of. We are the real America, not the one in fuzzy, black-and-white, Beaver Cleaver memories; not the one glorified in patriotic anthems; not the one bastardized and idolized in slanted versions of history written by the winners; not the one portrayed as a 'shining light on a hill' for the rest of the world to envy.
We are the America who work for a living in a country where it's becoming more difficult every day to attain that much-touted "American Dream". We are the America who pay the taxes that fund illegal and immoral wars, rather than funding the well-being of our fellow Americans. We are the America who watched one of our beloved cities drown while our leaders poured billions of dollars into the coffers of war contractors and mercenaries half a world away. We are the America who see our Constitution being destroyed bit by bit, as we ourselves become suspects. We have nothing to apologize for!
A whole new round of left-bashing was set off this week by Moveon.org's "Betray Us" ad, and the ensuing reaction (or lack thereof) from our Democratic candidates and liberal media figures. Adding to the hysteria were comments by Hillary Clinton in the latest Iraq hearings, to the effect that one must "suspend disbelief" in order to fall for the spin produced by aspiring politician David Petraeus. Another example of this desperation, as noted by Ekaterin, is the villification of Governor Deval Patrick, who merely asserted that violent attacks are a "failure of human understanding". Notwithstanding irrational and random acts of violence, this seems to be obvious in cases of racial, ethnic, or nation-on-nation violence: it's more difficult to slaughter people we understand.
The list of examples is endless, and anyone paying attention is aware of many -- too many to list here. One common theme of these attacks from the "right" is the absurd notion that criticism of the president, or virtually any military figure promoting the Bush regime's 'policies', translates to "hatred of America". Of course, these same hate-mongers had no problem attacking Bill Clinton for years, swiftboating John Kerry, assaulting the character of General Wes Clark, or mercilessly kicking anti-war activist and Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan.
Democrats and liberals too often soft-sell their points, and file down the fangs in their biting commentary. But we have nothing to apologize for!
The reason the rightwing noise machine is so effective is that it is shameless. It will publish an outright lie, and then call us liars. It will move the goalposts, or change its position, and then call us 'flip-floppers'. It will write legislation, ignore legislation, or issue Executive Orders, blatantly undercutting the Bill of Rights, and then accuse us of destroying the Constitution. It will spread fear and terror, roll over for Big Brother, give up our liberty for the sake of "security", and then call us cowards. It will publicly condemn our tolerance of alternative lifestyles and attitudes, and then privately practice the very things it preaches against. It will stand on a soapbox in favor of free speech, and then jail or muzzle those who exercise it. It will pardon its felons, ignore its subpeonas, protect its liars, and then accuse us of being soft on crime.
I think it's time to stop pretending to "unity" in this country, as we're being pushed and pulled by forces which have no interest in unity. We have to make a clear distinction between us, and the people who currently run this government. The Bush regime does not speak for me; it does not represent me; it does not pursue policies I approve of; and I will never pretend that it does for the sake of political correctness or the illusion of national harmony. I am not an Alan Colmes liberal, and I will not apologize for that. I will not pretend to respect the office of the president when it is occupied by one who seems to have no concept of the American experiment beyond simple platitudes, bumper-sticker slogans, end-times proselytizing, and evangelical capitalism.
Condemning this administration for its policies and actions is not "unamerican". Questioning the credibility of any Bush supporter -- including those who wear the uniform -- is not equal to "supporting the enemy". Our military is made of fine material -- the same material we see at the office every day; the same kids our kids played with; the same men and women we grew up with; us. They are not gods, they are not larger-than-life, and there is a distinct difference between respect, and
worship. While they stand ready to defend this country and our Constitution to the death, they are not doing any of this in Iraq, and we should not be ashamed to say so. Even the finest material can be ruined by hands of incompetence, soiled by motives built on self-glorification and deceit.
Defending our Constitution from fascists is not "appeasing the terrorists" -- in fact, it is quite the opposite. The loyal bushies claim that opposition to warrantless spying enables The Terrorists. They claim that virtually every liberal idea is either treasonous, or conducive to Terrorism. But our Constitution says something different. Our founders and their visionary successors did not establish the Bill of Rights for their own entertainment. Standing for separation of church and state, advocating equal rights for all people, building homes for the homeless, providing medical care for the sick, feeding the hungry, organizing against formidable corporate powers, paying workers living wages, protecting our environment, none of these are "anti-American" concepts, and we have no reason to be ashamed of them, or apologize when wingnuts make a spectacle of being offended by them. These ideas all aim to "promote the general welfare" of our fellow countrymen, as advocated by the opening lines of the US Constitution, and we should never apologize for them.
We're already well into another eternal campaign season, and the next election, in my opinion, will be a pivotal point in American history. We can tiptoe around the unpleasant truths, and risk our country continuing to barrel down the path of fascism and empire, or we can bitch-slap the current powers-that-be, and bring truth and reality back into the discussion. But we can't do this by allowing the rightwing demagogues to put us on the defensive for speaking the truth about what we know is right.
We have to be as fearless in dispensing the truth as the loudmouths on the other side are in dispensing lies and propaganda. And if that offends some people, so be it, because it is only a temporary problem. I have enough faith in the American people to believe the vast majority will eventually accept and return to a reality-based nation, but not if the Hannitys, O'Reillys, Levins, Coulters, and Limbaughs of the world are allowed to hold onto the power of intimidation. I don't want to take away their medium, or their platform; I want to see our candidates use it against them, to expose them as irrelevant and ridiculous.