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2003-03-18
9:47 a.m.
I generally try not to get too involved with political commentary simply because I find politics boring. There are many, many people who know far more about politics than I do, and I would just as well have them respond to idiocy in the political arena of our country.
Today, however, something must be said.
Because of my general lack of interest in politics, I don’t recall exactly when or where I heard this, but I do remember a statement from Osama bin Laden in which he said that he was never out to attack the people of America. His whole goal was to attack the ideal of America, the government that forces itself into situations where it doesn’t belong in countries that don’t want its help. He actually said he felt bad for the American population because we’re being misled and misguided by our leaders.
He wanted to help.
Of course, the fact that Bin Laden attacked the American people and not the American government says something about the aims of his plan and the misconceptions he has of America. The point, though, is that he was somewhat right. The American people are being misled by their leaders. Everyday, we turn on the TV and we see President Bush talking slowly and idiotically in our faces, telling us -- TELLING us -- that we have to go to war for reasons we know nothing about and have no control over, no say in, no interest in at all. He TELLS us that Iraq is a threat, and you know what?
I don’t know anyone who believes him.
So, we are being led astray by a leader, but it’s fabulous that we live in a country where we can say that without fear of being arrested for treason. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing, but even that right has been taken from me before, even in this free country. I’ve been forced to take content off my website. I’ve been visited by the police for content on my website. I’ve been banned from service providers because of the content on my website. But dammit, I live in America, and it is my right to say whatever the fuck I want to say.
And that’s why I love America.
Even if I have to go through many channels and many attempts before getting my words out to the world, they will get out there, and it’s not against the law. Hurray for me.
And so, I have something I’d like to say.
I watched the president speak last night and try to tell the Iraqi people that they are not going to be the ones under attack if the US goes to war against Iraq. The almighty, all-powerful United States of America is a peace-loving country that only wants to attack the Iraqi government and not the country’s people. This comment he made last night to all the world struck me as being startlingly similar to the statement made by Bin Laden about how September 11th wasn’t aimed at the American people but the American government.
How hard is it to see that if you attack the government, you also attack the people, whether you intend to or not?
It seems to me that the leaders have forgotten entirely what it means to be a regular, ordinary, everyday citizen. We’re being flung around like rag dolls, and we’re facing a war that is only wanted by the people who believe the undocumented rhetoric that the president feeds to us as a means of reassuring us that what he does is right.
Fuck that.
I don’t want the country to go to war. I don’t know anyone else who wants the US to go to war. I don’t give a rat’s ass what Iraq does on their own time. I don’t believe that the US should stick their head where it doesn’t belong. I don’t believe we should give food and medical attention to the people whose countries we are bombing; it’s a ridiculous gesture. If my mother’s been torn to shreds by a bomb, I’m not going to feel reassured by crappy food falling from the sky.
Isn’t the whole point that the Middle East wants America to mind their own business? I happen to think they’re right. The US should mind their own business. I’m an American citizen, and I disagree with what’s going on in the ranks of political activity that scurry around above my head. But there’s nothing I can do. And, as an American, I am offended by the fact that the rest of the world thinks the population of America agrees with the government sticking their nose in other people’s business. We don’t all support what the government does. But we have our own lives to lead and we try to do that the best we can.
Isn’t that what life’s about?
