Hilltop Mendacity
On the 25th of August last year I sent the letter copied below to Senator John Warner, one of the two who represent me in the major chamber on the hilltop. A month later I sent essentially the same letter to Congressman Eric Cantor. (I had waked up to the fact that impeachment proceedings must begin in the House.) I received no reply from the Senator, but just yesterday received one from Cantor. He thanked me for "my support," and proceeded to list off the "achievements" of the Bush administration. I suppose if the matter weren't so serious, I would have laughed aloud, but . . .
Sincerely,
Frank Dixon
The Letter
I feel reasonably certain that you and I have reached the same conclusions about the Bush administration's wrong-headed policies, but since our understandings may differ in a few details, I will summarize mine.
1) Influenced by the so-called "neo-cons," George W. Bush has adopted a unilateralist policy designed to impose America's will upon the world. ("America's will" in this ambition may or may not be the same as the will of the American people.)
2) Driven by a mistaken understanding of freemarket capitalism, George W. Bush has implemented -- with the help of a politically motivated Congress -- a fascist economic policy, more accurately, a corporatist policy similar to the policies implemented by Mussolini in the 30s.
3) Seeking political advantage, George W. Bush has managed to conflate the aims of the Christian religion with those of corporatist America, corrupting both the religion and the nation's business leaders.
4) To further his policies, George W. Bush has manipulated the consciences of the American people, by lavish appeals to their fears, by distortions of fact, and by control and manipulation of the public media.
These policies and techniques have been implemented with reckless disregard for the sensitivities of the American people and the rest of the world. The expressions of discontent here at home have been somewhat muted (thankfully) by the successes of the administration's propaganda machine. But the appeals to patriotism and religion that work well here are useless overseas, with the effect that anti-American sentiment is at its highest level since the founding of our nation. In the eyes of the world, the hope once represented by the American ideal of a nation governed by the will of the people has been transformed into a hideous ogre.
And not without good cause. There was a time when we could honestly deny the perception of America as an empire-seeker. Today those perceptions are grounded in reality. The published ambition of the neo-cons is real. The blood of the Iraqi people is real. The rubble in the streets of Baghdad is real. To the major part of the world, George W. Bush's America is a monster.
George W. Bush's policies have magnetized the world's discontented hoards. And rather than find expression in the relatively harmless threats posed by al Queda and similar terrorist groups, the angered nations are coalescing around an emerging alliance of the eastern powers. China and India are joining forces. Russia and China are coming to terms. The so-called "third world" is now falling in line with the new "allies," not by a domino effect toward a false ideology, but by a genuine fear of the United States of America.
If the threat posed by the coalition of the eastern world materializes -- and it seems that it will -- the policies of George W. Bush's administration will have sealed the end of America, not only as a super power but as a prosperous nation. The "decline of the west" will end in the death of the American dream.
1) Influenced by the so-called "neo-cons," George W. Bush has adopted a unilateralist policy designed to impose America's will upon the world. ("America's will" in this ambition may or may not be the same as the will of the American people.)
2) Driven by a mistaken understanding of freemarket capitalism, George W. Bush has implemented -- with the help of a politically motivated Congress -- a fascist economic policy, more accurately, a corporatist policy similar to the policies implemented by Mussolini in the 30s.
3) Seeking political advantage, George W. Bush has managed to conflate the aims of the Christian religion with those of corporatist America, corrupting both the religion and the nation's business leaders.
4) To further his policies, George W. Bush has manipulated the consciences of the American people, by lavish appeals to their fears, by distortions of fact, and by control and manipulation of the public media.
These policies and techniques have been implemented with reckless disregard for the sensitivities of the American people and the rest of the world. The expressions of discontent here at home have been somewhat muted (thankfully) by the successes of the administration's propaganda machine. But the appeals to patriotism and religion that work well here are useless overseas, with the effect that anti-American sentiment is at its highest level since the founding of our nation. In the eyes of the world, the hope once represented by the American ideal of a nation governed by the will of the people has been transformed into a hideous ogre.
And not without good cause. There was a time when we could honestly deny the perception of America as an empire-seeker. Today those perceptions are grounded in reality. The published ambition of the neo-cons is real. The blood of the Iraqi people is real. The rubble in the streets of Baghdad is real. To the major part of the world, George W. Bush's America is a monster.
George W. Bush's policies have magnetized the world's discontented hoards. And rather than find expression in the relatively harmless threats posed by al Queda and similar terrorist groups, the angered nations are coalescing around an emerging alliance of the eastern powers. China and India are joining forces. Russia and China are coming to terms. The so-called "third world" is now falling in line with the new "allies," not by a domino effect toward a false ideology, but by a genuine fear of the United States of America.
If the threat posed by the coalition of the eastern world materializes -- and it seems that it will -- the policies of George W. Bush's administration will have sealed the end of America, not only as a super power but as a prosperous nation. The "decline of the west" will end in the death of the American dream.
In my opinion, only dramatic action by conscientious Americans can alter the course, and I think of you as one of them. The present administration must be impeached, and not only impeached, but brought to justice. We must demonstrate to the world that the policies of the present administration were an aberration, that George W. Bush and his neo-con advisors never represented America's ideals, and that a new course has been set, not for a "new American century," but for a new world grounded in the ideals upon which this nation was founded.
I realize that I am asking a lot of a Republican to impeach his party's leader, but when you think about it, no other way is open. In fact, if the movement comes from within the party, it will seem at least to some of the world's leaders that we are sincere in our undertaking . . . as indeed we must be.
I wish you God speed and good fortune.
I realize that I am asking a lot of a Republican to impeach his party's leader, but when you think about it, no other way is open. In fact, if the movement comes from within the party, it will seem at least to some of the world's leaders that we are sincere in our undertaking . . . as indeed we must be.
I wish you God speed and good fortune.
Sincerely,
Frank Dixon
posted by Benedict S. at 9:15 AM
1 Comments:
Nope. I really meant it.
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