Beslan-It broke my heart. True to form, the Russians take a long time to learn from their mistakes. The situation in that school was handled the same way the Communists would have but then, what can you expect from the former head of the KGB?
Iraq-What is there to say? We've lost over a thousand troops now, every day it seems that soldiers die in larger groups, and there's President No Nuts saying we're doing the right thing. I watched an interview with Ol' Bob MacNamara the other night, about his role under Curtis LeMay during WW2 and his days in the White House during Vietnam. The excuses were the same, the rhetoric was the same, and unfortunately, the result will probably be the same as well.
I wrote this as we were leaving New York last week:
I think, as I look out the window and see the lights of Long Island fading into the darkness, about the nation in my rear view mirror, about the crossroads we're at, and the consequences of taking the wrong path.
I remember, when I was a child, the Civil Defense drills as we prepared for the Soviet onslaught of nuclear missiles that would certainly come should the Soviet leader 'push the button'. I have that memory a lot lately, becasue I feel our nation is in greater danger now, not only from the terror without, but from the gang of thieves that is destroying this great nation from within.
They say this is the most important election in the last 50 years and I'd have to agree. Thing is, what do we do if our boy loses? What happens to the nation if the Bush 'n Dick show is allowed to plunder our treasury, squander the lives of our children, and destroy our standing in the world? I mean, I'm afraid they've already harmed us irreparably.
How do we regain our stature? How do we regain our principles? How do we regain our honor?
I was raised with honor, with integrity, and it seems as if those are just buzzwords now, bandied about in campaign speeches to whip the faithful into a patriotic frenzy, false patriotism in my book.
Patriotism is volunteering to defend your country, to fight for your country in a war you know is not right, and then come home and have the courage to stand up and say so. To stand up and say, not just on a soap box in Hyde Park, but before a NATION, that what we are doing is wrong.
The people who impugn John Kerry's honor today are the same who've over-used the words honor and patriotism to the point whrer they are hollow, vague things. They define traitors as those who don't agree with the party line, those who would stand up and question our leaders, who would have the courage to say 'this is wrong'.
Dissent, open debate, these are the hallmarks of freedom. The ability to question our leaders, to question the policies without being branded as traitors, terrorists, or Frenchmen. Though if Bush is reelected, being French might not be so bad. I've always felt more accepted in Paris than I have around the right wing.
There are a bunch of guys who've put their ass on the line to defend what we have. John Kerry's one, my boss Harry, my blog partner Gordon, and me and we all have a big fucking problem with the direction this country is headed. The Brits have the same problems it seems, because Tony Blair . . . well, you know the story.
I heard a couple Americans talking the other night about John Kerry's statement on 9/11. They termed it as 'another John Kerry lecture'. A Brit told me last week that, much as he feels Kerry is the right choice, Americans are too simple to get it, too willing to believe one-syllable words and jingoistic propaganda. He felt that Americans don't want to think, don't want to look in-depth into the issues, preferring to hear feel-good speeches and patriotic slogans. I'm afraid he's right and I'm praying the Presidential debates will be the great equalizer, praying they will show John Kerry as the thoughtful, compentent man he is and Bush as the moronic incompetent. I pray for the country I love.
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