Leave it to Mr. Soros to tell the unvarnished truth at a staid international forum like Davos. George shook up the recent conference, by noting that America, like Germany post WWII, needs to reckon with it's immediate past.
I'm presuming this "immediate past" might include our invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation under the barbarian construct of "pre-emptive War," along with mass murder, international kidnappings, torture, un-lawful imprisonment, and the bombing of civilians in several countries we are not legally at war with, for starters. But I should not "put words" in George's mouth. What exactly DID he say?
"We have to go through a certain de-Nazification process."
Hmmmm.... Wonder who he might be referring to???
(Ok, before some people get all bent on the "Nazi" reference, I will remind everyone that Soros used the word "certain" in front of it, by which he obviously meant, "sorta like the German's did after the reign of the Nazis," NOT that members of the Nazi Party are LITERALLY running the US.)
I think most of us here would assume he's talking about the people who started, supported and participated in things like kidnapping, torture and mass murder. (That in itself, doesn't make one a card carrying "Nazi," but it's a start.)
The fact is, until there is a full public airing of what we've done, and who is responsible for it, the American public (and the world) will remain confused, the guilty will remain unpunished, and the voters will start to assume (once again) that "there really is no difference" between Republicans (who gave us these horrors) and Democrats (who walked politely behind them).
Even worse, without those mistakes being made clear (as we avoided post Vietnam) we seem doomed, as a nation, to repeat them.
"To what extent (America) recognizes the mistake will determine its future," declared Soros.
I think it's safe to say, no truer words have been spoken lately.
And if Democrats squander this opportunity to make Republican mistakes clear through timidity, or cynical "concern," a la Joe Lieberman, that the public "doesn't want to rehash the past," the public's good faith in our Party, and indeed the Democratic Majority, may be short lived.
"America needs to follow the policies it has introduced in Germany," Soros added. As in how we insisted the German people be "educated" on the actions of the German government after WWII. Instead he sees a reluctance in this country to confront our own recent history. More akin to Turkey, or Japan, in ignoring or denying our trangressions, than Germany, which has largely taken responsibility for it's past sins.
In short, while the "Conservative Movement" is down, it is time to PILE-ON.
Until it is quite clear in the American mind, WHO is responsible for this war, HOW it was started, HOW it has been directed, and WHAT has actually happened, in secret, and/or merely safely unreported in American mass media, there is a HUGE danger that people will come to see the Republican geniuses who brought us this morally bankrupt and totally un-American policy of "pre-emptive War," as "no different than the other guys." The Democrats. Us.
For the nightmare to end, Democrats must start hearings immediately, and they need to be full blown. All evidence of crimes, atrocities, unconstitutional actions, and governmental malfeasence, needs to be taken out of the realm of "secret," or the private domain of military "courts," and brought into full public view in the halls of Congress.
America needs to know what Republicans, and indeed, the American "Conservative Movement," have wrought after six years of controlling all levers of the US Government.
"History" is already being respun in wingnut circles to include the meme that Democrats are "just as responsible" for the crimes of the Republican years, because "they voted for the war," or "sat by and didn't stop it."
Of course any person with a brain knows that argument is utter BS, but everyone knows by now that the public can't be counted on to have a brain come election time. They must be educated now, while we control the subpeonas and agendas of the hearing rooms.
It MUST BE MADE CLEAR THAT DEMOCRATS ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS WAR.
It must be made clear that like Vietnam, this "war" was SO stupid, and SO ill conceived, that it was "lost" before it ever began.
Both have been equally tautological. The "goals" of these wars could never be acheived through war.
Just as we could never make the Vietnamese "safe from Communism" by destroying their country, we can never make the Iraqis "a secular democracy" by turning their country into gore strewn rubble.
Even as neo-cons repeat the imbilcile mantra that Vietnam was "lost" because we didn't bomb them enough, they are attempting to gain currency with the even more imbicile mantra that the only reason Iraqis won't become a nice secular democracy is because, "Democrats won't let us kill them enough."
Yes, "give War another chance."
"Conservatives" are actually attempting to make this historical absurdity not laugable. Unfortunately, the shere scale of human destruction resulting from their profound ignorance will never be amusing.
What America stands for, and what our Constitution enshrines, must stand in stark contrast to what Republicans have brought us after six years in power. And the current majorities in Congress need to point this out.
It's time for Americans to get schooled.
Let the "de-Nazification Process" commence.
Let the hearings begin.
Now.