Why Are We in the Middle East, Anyway?
I think that George Bush should level with the American people but he won't. He can't. He wouldn't have the support of the American people if we knew what his agenda was all about. We, the people of the United States of America, are more enlightened than we were in the 1960s, yet we're letting our government run amok. They're operating under the guise of family values, morality and Christian theology. What I see is radical Christian fundamentalism and that my friend, scares me more than radical Islamic fundamentalism. Let's face it, we have more money, more guns, more tanks, more bombs. We can wreak more havoc in 30 seconds than all of the Islamic terrorists can in a decade. And we are.
Why are there Islamic terrorists? Because they feel helpless. They feel ignored by the world community. There must be something wrong. What are we doing to them to make them feel so helpless? Could it possibly be that we are the new Roman Empire? Why does the Bush administration feel the need to spread democracy throughout the world? Like democracy is the only way. It's barely working for us. Let's talk about Italy for a moment. Is that a democratic government? I don't think so? Are they declaring war on anyone? I don't think so. They're not a democracy. And it seems to be working out quite well for them. They're just riding around on scooters with no helmet on going, "Ciao!"
If Islamic fundamentalists want us out of the Middle East, then we should leave! If your next-door-neighbor doesn't want you in his house and you don't leave, he's going to take some action. And it's legal to do so. All we've been doing in the Middle East is meddling with their politics. Islamic Fundamentalists overthrow the government of Iran and depose the Shah. We give him safe harbor and they retaliate by taking our embassy staff hostage. Then, to make matters worse, we give chemical and biological weapons to Sadam Hussein's regime because he hates the Iranians, too. We back him and give him military hardware and then he feels he's free to run amok and invades Kuwait. We backed the wrong regime. We're always backing the wrong regime. We shouldn't be backing any regime. We should be looking after our own problems - our own social woes.
This is what I see when I watch the news. And let me preface this by saying I try very hard not to listen to the rhetoric but actually watch the video, being the independent thinker that I am. I see children throwing stones at Israeli military. I see a Bradley fighting vehicle, made in the United States of America come to a screeching halt. I see Israeli soldiers jump out of the back of the vehicle holding American made M-16s and gun down a child. What's wrong with this picture? And then we wonder why the Arab world hates us so? We're backing a government that doesn't share the same values that we do or do we? Well, George Bush's values perhaps:
"You throw a little rock at me, I'll mow you down with an automatic weapon, you dangerous 12-year-old you!"
As the American-made helicopters hover overhead, the citizens of this tiny little slum chant, "Death to America!" Go figure.
The problem with Israel is that it is a religious state. Now I'm not anti-Semitic, by any means. I'm not anti-any theology. I'm anti-religious state. This is the guise that George Bush is operating under. He wants a Christian state. Just last week, the governor of Texas stated, as he signed a new bill into law in a church, that "of course we can legislate morality. We must legislate morality." Well, so much for the separation of church and state.
I think that George Bush and the RNC were brilliant in capturing the mindless, gullible sector of our population. Family values. Who can argue with that? No one. Family values are good! But just exactly whose values are they? And what are those values based on? Is it "religious" morality? Is it Christian fundamentalism? Family values are just that. Family. Not government values. The government has no business legislating what they think is moral. I'll tell you what's immoral. Preemptive war. What's next? Precrime?
Why are there Islamic terrorists? Because they feel helpless. They feel ignored by the world community. There must be something wrong. What are we doing to them to make them feel so helpless? Could it possibly be that we are the new Roman Empire? Why does the Bush administration feel the need to spread democracy throughout the world? Like democracy is the only way. It's barely working for us. Let's talk about Italy for a moment. Is that a democratic government? I don't think so? Are they declaring war on anyone? I don't think so. They're not a democracy. And it seems to be working out quite well for them. They're just riding around on scooters with no helmet on going, "Ciao!"
If Islamic fundamentalists want us out of the Middle East, then we should leave! If your next-door-neighbor doesn't want you in his house and you don't leave, he's going to take some action. And it's legal to do so. All we've been doing in the Middle East is meddling with their politics. Islamic Fundamentalists overthrow the government of Iran and depose the Shah. We give him safe harbor and they retaliate by taking our embassy staff hostage. Then, to make matters worse, we give chemical and biological weapons to Sadam Hussein's regime because he hates the Iranians, too. We back him and give him military hardware and then he feels he's free to run amok and invades Kuwait. We backed the wrong regime. We're always backing the wrong regime. We shouldn't be backing any regime. We should be looking after our own problems - our own social woes.
This is what I see when I watch the news. And let me preface this by saying I try very hard not to listen to the rhetoric but actually watch the video, being the independent thinker that I am. I see children throwing stones at Israeli military. I see a Bradley fighting vehicle, made in the United States of America come to a screeching halt. I see Israeli soldiers jump out of the back of the vehicle holding American made M-16s and gun down a child. What's wrong with this picture? And then we wonder why the Arab world hates us so? We're backing a government that doesn't share the same values that we do or do we? Well, George Bush's values perhaps:
"You throw a little rock at me, I'll mow you down with an automatic weapon, you dangerous 12-year-old you!"
As the American-made helicopters hover overhead, the citizens of this tiny little slum chant, "Death to America!" Go figure.
The problem with Israel is that it is a religious state. Now I'm not anti-Semitic, by any means. I'm not anti-any theology. I'm anti-religious state. This is the guise that George Bush is operating under. He wants a Christian state. Just last week, the governor of Texas stated, as he signed a new bill into law in a church, that "of course we can legislate morality. We must legislate morality." Well, so much for the separation of church and state.
I think that George Bush and the RNC were brilliant in capturing the mindless, gullible sector of our population. Family values. Who can argue with that? No one. Family values are good! But just exactly whose values are they? And what are those values based on? Is it "religious" morality? Is it Christian fundamentalism? Family values are just that. Family. Not government values. The government has no business legislating what they think is moral. I'll tell you what's immoral. Preemptive war. What's next? Precrime?
posted by Terry Manfredi at 5:50 PM
<< Home