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Winning the Hearts and Minds of Americans: The Battle for Democracy in Our Homeland, Part V
A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL
Fifth in a Series of BuzzFlash Editorials
OPTION 3c
By Guest Editorial Writer David Podvin
One of life’s more depressing rituals is the Retreat of the Dissenting Democrats. This frequently recurring disgrace features a liberal voicing a valid criticism of George W. Bush, followed by the frenzied wailing of right-wing banshees, after which the dissident just kind of dissolves into nothingness like the Wicked Witch of the West.
It is a truly nauseating scene that has been endlessly repeated in recent years by – among others - Dick Gephardt, Hillary Clinton, and serial dissolver Tom Daschle. They each have criticized Bush, apparently oblivious to the fact that their candor would subject them to being brutally attacked by America’s reactionary political/journalistic complex. Rather than defending themselves (and our principles) against the conservative onslaught, these chastened victims have meekly skulked away, more submissive than ever and none the wiser.
Modern liberal leaders are not warriors at heart, but they must either develop a battle plan or continue to be marginalized. The first challenge is to master the sequencing of this familiar scenario:
1) As a prominent liberal of conscience, you feel compelled to criticize Bush because he has ruined the economy, declared war on the world, and lied with superhuman frequency.
2) Literally within minutes, you are the target of a well-coordinated sliming by this nation’s elite Republican Guard. The public is promptly alerted to the fact that you are an unpatriotic congenital liar whose demented hatred for America imperils us all.
3) It is the third phase of this dance of the macabre where things go horribly wrong. After voicing disagreement with Bush, you are now being eviscerated by your werewolf enemies on the right while being abandoned by your gerbil allies on the left. What will you do? What WILL you do?
a) Apologize profusely, and promise never to think unpleasant thoughts about Dubya again (this is the most popular choice).
b) Know your role and shut your mouth, thereby earning accolades from Tom DeLay for your obedience (this is also a frequent selection).
c) Embrace the tradition of Harry S. Truman, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy by revisiting the glorious days of yesteryear when liberals were tough and strong. Stand your ground with a spirited defense of your position. Launch a factual counterattack against those who seek to browbeat you into silence. Serve as an inspiration for less intrepid souls who agree with you but fear being shouted down.
Option 3c is also known as "fighting back", a tactic which is employed by people who sincerely believe in the principles that they espouse.
If liberals ever decide to defend themselves, they will be blessed with an unlimited supply of ammunition. The conservative movement is chock full of pseudo-moralizing faux patriots who believe that the Ten Commandments were meant only for others to keep and who enthusiastically support wars in which they are personally unwilling to fight. They prosper because hypocrisy and contempt for the truth become liabilities only when aggressively challenged; regrettably, the challenges have been few and far between.
Conservatism is an intellectually and morally bankrupt elitist movement that exists to enrich the few by manipulating the fears of the many. Right-wingers are repressive and belligerent, but – like all bullies - they are dependent on no one calling their bluff. When forcefully confronted, conservatism collapses under the weight of its own decadence.
Think of Joseph McCarthy.
Think of Richard Nixon.
These reprobates have blazed the trail to oblivion for the trespasser in the White House. Bush shares their conservative traits - their obsession with secrecy, their demand for conformity, and their paranoia that disagreement is treason. If McCarthy and Nixon had gone unchallenged, they would never have been exposed as the un-American tyrants that they were. It is only because they were ultimately confronted that our nation has retained the right to dissent.
Once again, that right is being assaulted. And once again, it is the moral obligation of people who love this country to fight back. It is our patriotic duty not just to condemn Bush, but to condemn him constantly. We must refuse to be intimidated by those who – like the bleating sheep in George Orwell’s Animal Farm – seek to drown out all dissent with meaningless noise.
George W. Bush has a philosophy that cannot be defended and he has policies that cannot work; once he has opponents who cannot be bullied, then he will be political road kill, and the United States of America will be better for it.
A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL
* * *
Also see:
Winning
the Hearts and Minds of Americans: The Battle for Democracy in Our
Homeland, Part
I: The "Infallibility" of America's God King
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/03/31.html
Part II: The Democratic Leadership Doesn't Even Have a Clue
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/04/01.html
Part
III: These Men Died in Vietnam While George W. Bush and Dick Cheney
Avoided Combat Like Cowards
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/04/02.html
Part
IV: John Kerry, Don't Apologize For Telling The Truth: The Future
Of Democracy Depends Upon Exposing The Chronic Lies And Deceptions
Of The Bush Cartel
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/04/04.html
* * *
The
Perfect War
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/03/27.html
We
are in a Nation Ruled by Madmen Who Will Bury the U.N.
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/03/21.html
Endgame
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/03/17.html
The
U.N. "Win-Win" for
the Bush Cartel: Security Council Supports Iraq War Or U.N. Disbands
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/03/04.html
George
W. Bush Can't Tell the Difference Between a Democracy And a Puppet
Government
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/03/03.html
There
Tom Daschle Goes Again
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/02/06.html
In
Just Two Weeks, Rumsfeld Insults, Disparages and Demeans Veterans,
the French, the Germans and the Joint Chiefs of Staff: The Ship of
Fools
is Running Our Ship of State
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/01/27.html
Welcome
to the Muscle Beach Party
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/01/23.html
