I feel like ranting tonight. A small hiatus because of some surgery had me convalescing and watching TV news more than I normally do. Like a slap across my laproscopic incisions, I noticed the absolute absurdity of today's America. I'm horrified at reality and I still don't want to believe what's going on.
The complete disconnect of Washington from anything resembling reality is an old observation, but I don't think it's ever been this extreme or devastating. As a nation supposedly governed by laws, you would think our legislative branch would uphold the rule of law. Instead, elected legislators don't serve their constituents and they don't serve the Constitution and they certainly don't serve any useful purpose. They serve their own presentation on TV, blogs, and other media outlets. They want to make laws, but only laws that push the party line. For instance, they use troop funding as a carrot to cram a surrender down the American people's throats. They also spend so much time preening for the press and criticizing each other, I don't know when they actually get work done.
I'm sickened by the continual attacks on the President by elected Democrats. It's not because I'm a major Bush fan. His shortcomings are many, but the Democrats have become bully children with a transparent agenda of crying foul to every comment, action, and move from the White House. In theory, partisan bickering and name-calling would be relegated to election season. That idea is long gone since they are now on stage campaigning from day one. Acquiring power, catering to the most vocal activists (even if the most vocal is the most wacko), and destroying the ideology of the other side seems to trump any decency left in these people. Their egos are like insatiable farm hogs getting fat on media attention and paying little attention to anything real.
The media plays right along. The Valarie Plame case, if anything, showed the cozy relationship between political figures and the media. As a result, with every breaking story, the timing is suspect and the sources are questionable. Who has agendas? What type of Washington insider leaked what information and how did they get it? The New York Times and CNN love to have major stories with leaked classified information, regardless of the consequences. When the story broke about how the government was using banks to track terrorist financing, I thought of the "reporters" as soulless and gutless. They would never have run a story against our Islamic enemies with as much detail–our government doesn't behead those insult it.
We are at War and even our own government doesn't act like it. For that matter the British are embarassingly spineless when their best and brightest are kidnapped by Iran, in an obvious attempt to show just how weak the West really is.
There is a story about Reagan after Leon Klinghoffer was murdered by Palestinian terrorists. He met some resistance at going after the terrorists and he said, "Good God! They've murdered an American here. Let's get on with it."
I think that is what I'm missing here. Let's face it, Bush, while being one of the few world leaders to stand up and address Islamic terrorism, has been fighting a politically correct war. Tony Blair has just shown that his eloquence cannot be matched by action. Iraq is a mess because we didn't destroy the enemy. We have given the terrorists too many opportunities to move around and kill civilians and almost completely eradicate the Christians living there.
We are not leading the UN in addressing Iran. We are allowing them to build nuclear weapons; they might as well have our blessing. We now allow them to take military members hostage with no recourse. When are we going to wake up rain hellfire on these Islamic wackos? We won't because our elected officials have zero backbone to stand behind the use of force they authorized for Iraq. In addition, they would rather have show trials over perfectly legal firings of U.S. attorneys than to get together to figure out a good response to Iran.
What's missing is the America I learned about in history. The one the world once respected because, in spite of our faults, we stood up for what's right. We stood up for countries that couldn't defend themselves against aggressors and we fought and died protecting freedom worldwide. It was like after World War II, we just decided to covertly meddle in other governments' affairs and go to war occasionally, but pull out before the job was done.
I don't know if our culture has changed so much that most people don't care about right and wrong. I often wonder why American citizens tolerate the hate and violence of the Middle East, but they go nuts when gas prices approach three dollars a gallon. Americans don't get angry anymore unless it's directed at ourselves. Where was the outrage over the Arabs dancing in the streets when the World Trade Center buildings fell? Where is the outrage over the extremism driving this violence toward us from the so-called Religion of Peace?
Ultimately, I blame this on our leaders. Their leadership consists of what I described above: sound bites, show trials, and continual criticism. Their strongest rhetoric is always against fellow Americans. Their strongest proposals and actions are directed across the isle. Their strongest positions involve being contrary to the Administration. This is not the leadership we need. Our culture must change if we are to survive. The only way to do it, is to find and elect leaders who lead by conviction, not opinion polls.
Okay, I feel a little better now.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Unrest by Parkway Drive