America's idle generation

By Mike Green

We live in a strange and fascinating society. A place where few things are as they seem and virtually nothing is as it ought to be.

For decades, when presidents have spoken of peace their words were followed by escalations of military conflict. When American leaders talked of "freedom" for foreign peoples, it often meant backing brutal and ruthless tyrants. And when we hailed a presumed freedom at home, it was usually while wallowing in the land of apathetic oblivion in which we robotically offered words that failed to recognize the ever-growing powers of our government usurping the diminishing rights of its people.

Today, as never before in our history, we stand at the crossroads to moving toward either an America that will find its constitutional foundation that respects and honors the voices, power and authority of the governed, or acquiesce to the profound demands of determined leaders whose willingness to disregard both the people and our representatives in an escalation of a 16-year conflict in Iraq presents a challenge of unique courage for the average citizen.

THE DARE

"They [congress] could try to stop me," Bush told CBS' 60 Minutes on Jan. 14, regarding the intent to augment troops in Iraq by more than 20,000. "But, I made my decision and we're going forward."

In a show of solidarity, Vice President Dick Cheney responded to the intent of congress to introduce a non-binding resolution (a piece of paper that means nothing) that would condemn the president's plan to "surge" the levels of troops in Iraq. Cheney said that such a resolution, "would not affect the president's ability to carry out his policy." He added that the U.S. "cannot run a war by committee."

It is interesting that two men claim the "committee" of the peoples' representatives ought to have no say in a war that has claimed more than 15,000 of the lives of U.S. troops since 1991, with more than 1,000,000 American service members having served inside Iraq.

THE PROPAGANDA

What is even more mesmerizing is the fact that the peoples' press perpetrates the propaganda of a 4-year war and keeps a count of U.S. deaths from the date of the 2003 invasion in an effort to solidify in the minds of Americans that the war in Iraq isn't the longest war in American history (but it is).

It is equally interesting to note that in like manner to the initial invasion of Iraq in 1991 (with more than a half-million U.S. troops participating), the second wave of ground hostilities in 2003 was followed by a propaganda campaign of "war is over" in the media.

We can clearly see today that the war isn't over.

Some of us will recall how the media claimed the war was over in 1991 in less than 3 months. Unfortunately, Americans could not see then that the war wasn't over despite the fact that between 1991 and 2001 we buried over 10,000 troops that served in Iraq. Indeed, the U.S. has maintained a deadly control over Iraq from that day to this, bombing that nation for 14 of the 16 years of the ongoing war. It is amazing how easily we Americans forget about the sacrifices being made by our veterans who are abused at the behest of White House administrations, which Congress has failed to keep in check.

CONGRESSIONAL COWARDICE

All too often, the congress — like the citizenry it represents — pursues its own passions, advances its own domestic agendas and unwittingly sacrifices its own sons and daughters upon an altar of political allegiance to an unbalanced executive power that stares down the people until we blink. The power of fear has been used again and again by executives in the White House to cower congress and galvanize support among the citizenry. And so has the power of distraction.

We cannot let the terrorists win, the president told us in the aftermath of 9/11. Therefore we must maintain color-coded alerts. We must resume shopping. We must travel. And we must, above all things, continue to watch television. It was the perfect formula for a public that trusts in its government.

In this society of apathy, indulgence and the pursuit of temporary happiness, we find an unprecedented convergence of youth and adult generations around the boob tube. Today, in America, while our president speaks of increasing military operations in Iraq, and U.S. troops are deployed in 135 of the 192 nations of the world, the focus of millions of Americans is on who will be selected the next American Idol.

Although George W. Bush isn't the first president to speak of peace through military domination in an effort to secure America's "vital interests" abroad — and he isn't the first leader to augment U.S. military presence in the Middle East to several hundreds of thousands of young men and women with a license to kill — he may very well be the first president to defy public opinion, disregard the disapproval of the people's representatives, and stand determined to do as he alone decides.

THE DISTRACTION

Meanwhile, the American public is preoccupied with the decisions of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie, along with three popular talent judges who will decide the fate of thousands of wannabes seeking a shot at fame and fortune. The hit show, American Idol has captivated a nation and coalesced its once divergent generations while simultaneously closing racial divides. It has seemingly done what no political leader in our history could manage — it has brought America together in a peaceful common interest, if only for one hour a week.

And when the show is over, the news entertainment begins. Propaganda flows from the tube like a raging river, with fast-paced imagery and talking heads providing us new information in tiny sound bites around the clock. There is no time to determine what is and isn't true. It sounds true. It looks true. "Experts" acknowledge the "truthiness" of the propaganda poured out upon the public.

But when we pull our heads out of our tubes, we find that there is conflicting information to what we thought we knew. We find that perhaps our government could possibly, maybe, not be telling us the truth after all. But, to cogitate over such a conundrum could cause cramping of our cerebral cells.

THE SHRUGGING

So what, if we've been killing Iraqis for 4 years or 16 years. They deserve it, our government says.

So what, if our government supported Saddam for over a decade of his reign of terror? Isn't it great that he's gone now?

So what, if our government has maintained a policy of aggression in the Persian Gulf region for the past 54 years? Don't you and I enjoy the oil that flows from that area of the world and the economic amenities it provides, regardless of which nations rightfully own it?

So what, if our presidents talk of peace while overthrowing governments, installing and supporting brutal dictators and controlling nations through intimidation, fear and force? Don't we receive the benefits of such imperialism? Doesn't that mean we have to continue to keep our foot on the backs of the oppressed unless they get up and attack us in a jealous rage?

And so what, if the president says he plans to increase troops in Iraq over the objections of congress and the people? Doesn't he know what is in our best interest?

So what, if the president seeks to maintain U.S. presence in Iraq regardless of the consequences? Don't we need to keep watch over militant Islam to prevent it from taking over the world?

So what, if we have to kill a few million Iraqis, Iranians and perhaps some Syrians as well in order to create peace in the Middle East? Aren't our "vital interests" worth every life?

THE REALITY

Didn't we agree with Jimmy Carter in 1980 that the security of the Persian Gulf region and our "vital interests" was worth "any means necessary, including military force"?

Didn't we agree with Ronald Reagan when he claimed that Iran was a threat to our "vital interests" in the Persian Gulf and we needed to support Saddam's war against Iran?

Didn't we agree with George H. Bush — who supported Saddam for a decade — that Saddam was a tyrant and a threat to world peace, who needed to be stopped in his aggression in the region and his increasing threat to our "vital interests"? Didn't we support the initial invasion of Iraq under the guise of "liberating Kuwait?" Didn't the people's representatives vote in favor of going to war 250-183 and senators 52-47? Didn't we authorize the White House to send over a half-million of our Christian troops to invade and kill Muslims in their own lands?

Didn't we agree with Bill Clinton to continue the war that Bush initiated because Saddam was a threat to our "vital interests" in Muslim lands and needed a "policy of containment" that included maintaining military control of the skies over Iraq and continuing bombing runs to keep Saddam in check? Didn't the Senate vote in unanimous agreement for the Iraqi Liberation Act of 1998? Didn't we encourage Clinton to drop bombs on Baghdad?

Didn't we agree with George W. Bush that the greatest threat to America was "terrorism" from al-Qaida and fundamentalist Islamofascists supported by Iran? And didn't we agree that Saddam — even if he didn't have a nuclear weapon, or commit the atrocities of 9/11, or pose a direct threat to the U.S. or our allies — needed to be removed anyway?

WHY QUESTION THOSE WE TRUST?

So, then why should we concern ourselves with ramped-up rhetoric that says to the people and our representatives, "Just sit down and shut up"? After all, we have enjoyed the spoils of war for several generations. How is it that we have suddenly decided to develop a conscience or backseat criticism of those at the controls of our war machine?

The fact is, we, the people, haven't got a conscience or a backbone. We just don't like being told that we have no authority or power. Yet, the truth is we don't.

The congress will complain about the president's decisions, but do nothing.

The people will protest, but propaganda will prevail.

AMERICA'S IDLE IDOL OBSESSION

In the end, we will discover that despite the drumbeat of "freedom and democracy," the rude reality of totalitarianism is that the power in Washington D.C. provides us the freedom to say whatever we wish under its authoritarian rule. After all, why silence the people when the freedom to speak their minds is all they demand?

And if our congressional leaders cower behind empty criticism while failing to act on behalf of their constituents, and the judicial branch has no authority to enforce the laws by which the executive branch must abide, then what powers do the people actually have?

Fortunately, we still have the power that keeps the tube on. And as long as American Idol and similar programs keep most of us distracted, we will forget about the dire circumstances of our current situation. For some of us — those of us imploring our political representatives to address the serious nature of an inevitable congressional confrontation with the executive branch — the television doesn't offer any answers. Yet, for a generation of idle Americans who expect the government to resolve all of our problems and hold itself accountable, perhaps the tube will tell us what to do when we discover that congress isn't willing to do anything. And if not, well, at least it will entertain us in our self-made prison of injustice.

___________

Mike Green is the author of "The WHOLE Truth about the U.S. War on Terror: answers to every question you never knew to ask"

www,theTruthAboutTerror.com