The Myth of Ubiquity and Continuity
in Bush's Iraq War
These are Democrats
There is a myth about ubiquity and continuity of existence on which the Bush Administration is relying in their continuing war against the people of Iraq and their raiding of the US treasury to pay for that war: as long as something continues and is widespread, it ceases to be visible or if visible viewed as abnormal or wrong to Americans.
Americans frequently state that something is done by everybody or has been happening as long as they can remember as testaments to the rightness of a situation. And often a situation is so ubiquitous and continuous that most Americans take it for granted and do not see the harm or injustice of it--an example is "White Privilege." It is so widespread and has existed so long that it is taken for granted as a birthright of most white Americans and is not seen as unfair, but just the way things are in America and should not change.
As a result of the White House's reliance on the myth of ubiquity and continuity, of existence, the hawks have arrogantly disregarded Congress as much as they have disregarded the American people. They see the perceived impotence the Democrats who control Congress and press forward in an illegal and immoral war, paying for it with US taxpayer dollars, while this Democrat-controlled House of Representative stands by passing meaningless resolutions and asking Bush to please listen to them.
These impotent Democrats (so happy to be in Congressional power again) have disregarded the popular mandate that sent them there--to end this war--and are now a part of the problem because they have wimped out to the White House and left the Americans wondering what happened to all the potent talk made as they sought election. So acquiescent are the Democrats to the Bush war direction (that has continued for five years) they now think all America is blinded by the myth the White House has been operating under and they (Democrats) have started operating under it also. Sadly, the Democratic Congress cannot see if they are going or coming. All they know is that they are in power and they love that situation.
Mark Twain once wrote in his "Corn Pone Knowledge" essay that "Americans do not think, they acquiesce to the behavior of others." That is what the Democrats are doing in Congress. As the Bush White House has operated on the myth of ubiquity and continuity of existence, Congress is also operating under that myth and assuming the American people will not see their ineffectiveness, as they side with the White House in carrying on this war instead of stopping it.
The sound of silence is blasting in our ears; no noises of ending this war by Democrats are coming from the capitol, as those sounds were ubiquitous when campaigning for office in the capitol. Then their voices were strong and even strident! Now they are muffled and muted, telling us that those voices were pleas to send them into power, not promises to fulfill the will of those who send them there.
What causes politicians to think they know more than the people whom they are to represent, and in knowing more, they do whatever they want to do instead of the people's bidding? Is this not an arrogance of power? The idea is that once in power, they know better than the plebeians who sent them to represent them; such arrogance causes them to violate the very principle of representative democracy and render it dysfunctional by their blatant nonfeasance.
The Democrats have given us peace in DC, but that is a peace from the noise of real debate over the important issue of who and what this nation is and what we are doing to others who have not harmed us.
We have killed and caused to be killed 3,500+ American; wounded 30,000+ young Americans; killed over 1 million Iraqis; driven 3-4 millions of them into refugee camps out of their country; we have spent $550 billion+ directly in this war and will spend $2.2 trillion before it is over! We have violated treaties on torture, abuse, deceptions, false imprisonment, murder; we have alienated allies and the world!
Why is this picture not seen, and why is there no noise of vigorous debate? Why has Congress (Democrat-controlled) not cut off funding for this war? How many more people must die, how many more dollars must be spent, how much longer should the reputation of this nation be sullied by a man who does not know his right hand from his left in terms of a prudent direction for a nation?
Can the Democrats not see the egregious harm this administration has done and is doing to the world community and this nation's standing in that community? Is this beyond their ability to perceive, as it is surely beyond the Republicans' ability?
The White House is continuing this war on a helpless people--both the Iraqis and the Americans; Americans are helpless because their form of government is shown to be ineffective in carrying out the will of its people to stop an action that will cost us and our children in tax dollars in years to come and that brands us crude killers throughout the world.
However, not all Americans are blinded by the continuity and ubiquity of existence of this circumstance of an illegal and immoral war into thinking that it is right, normal, justice, or invisible. The war of Iraq arose out of deception and lies, and in American jurisprudence, when it is allowed to be applied fairly, all consequences from that situation are fruit of a poisonous tree and not allowed to stand. Why can't that law and principle apply to this war, Democrats?
The failure to stop this war when the power is within Democratic hands makes them accessories to this illegal and immoral action; they should never forget the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that the moral arch of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
It is up to each American not to be deceived by continuity of existence or the ubiquity of existence. A moral battle is a stake, and although Democratic Senator Barrack Obama correctly stated that the Religious Right has high- jacked American politics, while the Democrats are in a position to take back the moral high ground, they do not seem to be traveling down that road quickly
Frank A. Jones
6/24/07.