-Caveat Lector- A point from below worth emphasizing:
"We have forgotten that democracy is a dangerous business. Built into the Constitution is the notion that a free people should thwart its leaders if necessary. This is our duty, the price of our freedom. Leaders hate to be thwarted; it is in the nature of power to consolidate itself." May we remember. May we no longer be silent... > http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0110-01.htm > > Published on Friday, January 10, 2003 by the San Francisco Chronicle > > Silence and Forgetting > > by Jon Carroll > > > IN ANY DISCUSSION on the probable conflict in Iraq, people in favor > of such a war frequently mention Neville Chamberlain at Munich. The > lesson of Chamberlain's infamous meeting with Hitler is obvious: > Appeasement does not work with madmen or with dictators. Rather than > bringing peace, it only promotes a longer and more horrible war. > > The analogy is not exact, but it is in the nature of analogies to be > inexact. But the message is clear enough: Silence or cowardice in the > face of tyranny is unjustified both morally and practically. > > So when a nation announces that it now feels free to act with force > against perceived threats rather than waiting for actual attacks, we > should pay attention. We should understand that the leader of the > nation is now willing to bomb cities and deploy armies whenever and > wherever he feels threatened. When the leader says he would not > need "absolute proof" of the perceived threats, we should pay > attention. We should not pretend that things are still the same when > they are not still the same. We should not forget the lesson of > Munich. > > When a regime says it no longer rules out first strikes with nuclear > weapons, we should do whatever we can to urge our allies to work > against such a regime. The more powerful a nation is, the larger its > armies, the greater the need for noise rather than silence, for > remembering rather than forgetting, for courage rather than > cowardice. > > THE LEADER WHOSE policies I have been describing is George W. Bush. > The lesson of Munich is that it is necessary to speak out against > tyranny, no matter how dangerous that becomes. It is hard for us to > think of our own government as the villain; in today's fervid > atmosphere, such talk is almost treasonous. > > We have forgotten that democracy is a dangerous business. Built into > the Constitution is the notion that a free people should thwart its > leaders if necessary. This is our duty, the price of our freedom. > Leaders hate to be thwarted; it is in the nature of power to > consolidate itself. > > It is clear that the Democrats, the so-called opposition party, are > unwilling to accept the dangers of democracy. It is clear that the > Congress of the United States, conceived as a brake on the dangers of > an imperial presidency, will continue to be a rubber stamp for the > Bush imperium. It is clear that the Supreme Court will be willing to > suspend any civil liberty that thwarts the plans of the supreme > leader of what is often referred to as "the greatest nation on > earth." > > THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION is working hard to make us forget. It is > closing down sources of information about its own workings; it is > denying citizens access to data about the government they > theoretically control. It is purposely muddying the waters and > confusing the issues, deacquisitioning enemies when they are no > longer useful bogeymen. > > Terrorism is not a nation; terrorism is a tactic. The United States > has used it or condoned its use. There is currently a very real > Islamic fundamentalist terrorist movement. The United States has an > equally real obligation to use its power to oppose this movement. > > The movement is not controlled from Iraq; there is no evidence that > the elimination of Saddam Hussein would do anything to hinder that > movement. The Taliban still move freely along the Afghanistan- > Pakistan border; their power has been diminished but not eliminated. > But we are asked to forget about that, even as we are asked to forget > about the still-mysterious anthrax attacks that occurred less than > two years ago. > > It is necessary for us to remember; it is necessary for us to speak > out. It is time to pay attention to the man behind the curtain. There > is no greater patriotism. > > ©2003 San Francisco Chronicle <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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