09-20-01

Tonight was the big George Bush speech. I sadly must admit it was a very well written speech. We can't make fun of him for sounding stupid or speaking poorly. It was very well written. It was rhetorically strong. It was convincing.

I disagree with important parts of what he had to say, but I don't think the American people are going to disagree with it much. At least not yet. Unless he really fucks things up, it's the kind of speech that could quite well get him re-elected. The horror of it.

I disagree that the way to end terrorism is through military means. I think that for every group you squash, another one will rise up. As long as there is still unbearable, unbreathable poverty. As I read in an article in Harper's today, about the Palestinian situation: they live without jobs, with only a small amount of drinkable water and edible food. They live in a barren, prison-like world. One Palestinian commented, "What does it matter if I die today or next year?" They live in misery. That is the kind of life that creates holy warriors willing to die for their cause. They have nothing left to live for. They have become religious fanatics and extremists because they have nothing else to keep them alive.

It's like a friend of mine. In college, he had recurring memories of being molested as a child by a relative - an uncle - and also a male babysitter, and possibly others. Extreme stuff. After college he became a born-again Christian, and even considered becoming a missionary for a while. A smart guy. A nice guy. But I believe he turned to the absolutist philosophy of fundamentalist Christianity because he couldn't live with the turmoil and horror of being molested. Fundamentalism gave him something absolute to believe in, no gray areas. I think it probably kept him alive. But he didn't grow up in poverty and he doesn't live in a cement graveyard. If you piled that on him, well…maybe he'd want to firebomb someone, too.

I'm always sickened by the almost all-white, almost all-male, almost all-old Senate and House of Representatives. Now that's the rainbow of American culture.

I'm glad we're not rushing into bombing Afghanistan, that we are being relatively patient in trying to get Osama, although they have not yet revealed what their hard evidence against him is. Remember - innocent until proven guilty? And I'm glad Bush made it clear that Muslims aren't bad, and we aren't at war with all Islam. However, he did make some demands of the Taliban that they are very unlikely to meet: turning over anyone "involved" in the al-Qaida organization supported by Osama bin Laden. He made some demands that they will refuse which will lead to some sort of war ? And he declared so righteously, either you are with us, or you are our enemy. Does that mean we'll fight China or Russia if they harbor a terrorist? Unlikely. And isn't the whole Russian war on Chechnya pretty much a terrorist like assault? It's an invasion at any rate, very similar to what Iraq wanted to do in Kuwait. But apparently, that's okay because Russia isn't attacking the USA. So really, let's be clear, it's not about worldwide Justice and terrorism. It's about terrorists who target the United States. What about all the wars in Africa? The killings of innocent people. The AIDS. Again, not our problem.

I believe I see what is going to come of this. It's the perfect excuse to forget about social concerns like poverty and the environment and focus on military issues. Money is going straight to the military. More and more money. To the military. To the corporations that make weapons. Forget Social Security, we're now worrying about Terrorist Security. It's hard to argue against the need to "go get these guys and everyone like them." But it ignores much larger issues of the world economy, environment, and social Justice. And the fight against corporate power. A long slow war…it's a convenient way to keep progressive concerns at bay for a long, slow time. Who is going to dog Bush now for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocals on global warming that only 3 weeks ago the whole world was furious at him for? Is global warming going to slow down while this war on terrorism goes on? Is it time out for rainforest destruction? I don't think so.

How convenient.