The Fall of the United States of America
The United States of America was founded upon the premise than human beings have certain inalienable rights that cannot be denied. Throughout history, individuals and collaborative groups in positions of power have asserted their authority over their fellow man. While some were noble and good, too many were tyrannical and dictatorial. In the past, perhaps it was a failure of man to recognize his inalienable rights that paved the way for tyrants and dictators to rise. We can look back at some ancient civilizations and forgive our ignorant ancestors for succumbing to tyranny when they believed their rulers were anointed by the gods. In modern times, since those honored forefathers, who stood up against the monarchy of England, declared their self-evident truths, tyrants and dictators are allowed to rise through the indifference, not ignorance, of those they aim to rule.
For well over two-hundred years the United States has struggled with the goals set forth by the founding fathers. Successive administrations have worked to reinterpret the Constitution, our framework of Democracy and Freedom, in order to adapt to an ever changing society and culture. Generations of citizens have found success or failure on their own terms, free to pursue the American Dream, to practice their religions and to speak their minds. The progress of the American Experiment has not always been smooth. Over the decades we have been forced to deal with a multitude of cultural issues, such as racial and sexual inequality. And there are a multitude of issues yet to be resolved, like the role of religion in government or the disparity between the upper and lower classes. For all of its warts, the United States managed to develop into a model of democracy, freedom, and human rights. It wasn’t a perfect model, but it was better than the alternatives. And then came the 2000 presidential election.
November 7, 2000, marks a turning point in American history. Debates about the relevance of the Electoral College in the modern world, or of the circumstances surrounding the vote recount in Florida are now largely moot. What matters is that as a result of the 2000 presidential election, disparate machinations, that were set in motion through events nearly three decades before, culminated to set the stage for the fall of the American democracy as we know it. While many of the events are beyond the control of the average citizen, it is precisely the average citizen upon whom falls the largest portion of blame.
The rise of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and neoconservatism certainly plays a large role in the problems we face today. But they didn’t come to pulling the Bush puppet’s strings by themselves. In order to establish a neocon government, they needed votes. The rise of the religious right and the influence of the Christian Coalition over the Republican party meant that the neocons had to appeal to Christian conservatives. As this Washington Post article points out, the religious right “regarded Bush as one of their own since the presidential campaign, when he spoke during a debate of the guidance of Jesus.” With the crafty manipulation of Karl Rove, both in the primaries and the general election, the neocons were able to achieve their goal. As a result of the Bush victory, not only did the neocons have control of the Oval Office, the religious right suddenly found itself with more influence than ever.
While neocons and the Christian Coalition were hatching their plots, a generation of Americans was growing up in unprecedented prosperity and opportunity. The GI Generation put their blood, sweat and tears into fighting World War II and modernizing the United States. The Baby Boomers protested a senseless war, fought for Civil Rights and Women’s Liberation, and gave us the Sexual Revolution. Generation X was born into a world built from the backs of giants. There were no Hitlers to fight against and no cultural revolutions to fight for. Instead, Generation X focused on reaping the benefits the previous generations had sown. While they have done much to advance technology, a worthy achievement indeed, Generation X has grown complacent, indulgent, self-centered, and indifferent to the world around them.
When the neocons finally came to power, they were in a position to manipulate a vast media network. And this they have done. Since 9/11, the Bush administration has gone to great lengths to feed carefully crafted messages to an indifferent public. When the majority of citizens lack even the slightest desire to verify and fact-check what they see in the media, a government can make them believe anything they want. When media empires, able to reach and influence millions of citizens, are headed by moguls friendly to the administration, the ability to manipulate the people is multiplied. Even when contradictions are obvious and lies are proven, people carry on in their indifferent little worlds.
On November 7, 2006, a majority of United States citizens showed that they were no longer completely indifferent. They had awakened and sent a clear message to the administration that the time for a change had come. Unfortunately, the three months since have demonstrated that it was too little, too late. The neocons continue to pursue their hawkish policies. Many believe war with Iran is imminent, despite the repeated denials by administration officials. When we look back to the months leading to the invasion of Iraq, we can recall the administration insisting on diplomacy, not war. Yet, the most damning evidence that war, and the removal of Saddam Hussein, was the goal all along comes from a 1998 letter sent by the neocon group, Project for a New American Century, to President Bill Clinton and signed by, among others, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz:
Given the magnitude of the threat, the current policy, which depends for its success upon the steadfastness of our coalition partners and upon the cooperation of Saddam Hussein, is dangerously inadequate. The only acceptable strategy is one that eliminates the possibility that Iraq will be able to use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction. In the near term, this means a willingness to undertake military action as diplomacy is clearly failing. In the long term, it means removing Saddam Hussein and his regime from power. That now needs to become the aim of American foreign policy.
Since the invasion, countless reports, interviews, books, and documentaries have demonstrated that war with Iraq was a foregone conclusion. Frontline’s The Dark Side, aired on PBS, covers in great detail the events that led to the invasion, with interviews from some of the actual participants. Some people go so far as to accuse the administration of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks in order to give them a reason to invade Iraq. While some dismiss the belief as a wild conspiracy theory, the video Loose Change presents some pretty damning evidence.
Based on the Bush administration’s track record and all that has come to light since the invasion of Iraq, it is hard to believe officials who say that there are no plans for war with Iran. The question is, will American citizens let it happen? They have shown their dissatisfaction with the administration in approval polls and, quite strongly, in the mid-term elections. But do they have the fortitude to stand up and demand that the government do nothing to further endanger the safety and security of the United States?
It was indifference that allowed the Bush administration to expand presidential authority and erode Constitutional rights. It was indifference that allowed officials to torture prisoners and to hold them indefinitely at Guantanamo. It is indifference that allows the new Democratic congress, who were elected to hold Bush and his colleagues accountable for their actions and to institute positive change, to get away with not doing what they were elected to do. Are America’s citizens still so indifferent that they will allow the neocons, under the guidance of the terribly misguided American Enterprise Institute, to lead us into yet another disastrous conflict in the Middle East?
America is on the brink of decline. Her citizens, not Bush and the neocons, are to blame. It is their indifference that has allowed this administration to grow more tyrannical with each passing day. An attack on Iran would be disastrous and would set us on an irreversible path. As horrible as the situation is right now, it is not too late to recover. Americans need to lose their indifference and find a backbone. It is time to stand up and say, “No more!” The Bush administration must be punished for their actions and, more importantly, prevented from doing more harm than they already have. If Congress will not do it, it is up to the citizens of America to do so. The GI Generation and the Baby Boomers fought for freedom. They gave us what we have today. For us to sit here and do nothing, to deny for our children and grandchildren what our parents and grandparents gave to us, means that their sacrifices were in vain. Are we worthy to call ourselves Americans when we let a tyrant run roughshod over our inalienable rights?
I leave you with a passage from a recent United Press International article:
At a farewell reception at Blair House for the retiring chief of
protocol, Don Ensenat, who was President Bush’s Yale roommate, the
president shook hands with Washington Life Magazine’s Soroush Shehabi.
“I’m the grandson of one of the late Shah’s ministers,” said Soroush,
“and I simply want to say one U.S. bomb on Iran and the regime we all
despise will remain in power for another 20 or 30 years and 70 million
Iranians will become radicalized.”“I know,” President Bush answered.
“But does Vice President Cheney know?” asked Soroush.
President Bush chuckled and walked away.
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