BuzzFlash
presents Southern Style
by Rebecca Knight
September 17, 2002
Abiding Anger, Part II: The People Speak
Southern Style by Rebecca Knight
"The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair."
-- H. L. Mencken
Well, patriotic friends and readers, it appears "Abiding Anger" touched the hearts and minds of the "good citizens driven to despair." H. L. Mencken's words so eloquently describe we who criticize the Bush administration. There is, indeed, a seething anger torturing those of us who are distraught over our nation, "debauched" at the hands of the Bush administration.
"Debauch" is defined: to morally corrupt; to lead away from excellence or virtue; to reduce the value, quality, or excellence of; to debase; and to cause to forsake allegiance. That pretty much sums up the record of the Bush administration to date and there is no indication of positive changes in the next two years. How depressing.
Many of you sent messages responding to "Abiding Anger" describing your frustration, despair, and determination. Here is an assortment of heartfelt messages indicative of your love of America and contempt for the Bush administration.
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"In school, I always wondered how could Hitler have happened? Then I read about the hyperinflation after the Great War and how Hitler restored their self-esteem. I read about how he invented image-management and played upon the patriotism of the German people.
Since school, I have on occasion lived and worked in Germany and once again wondered how these wonderful people could have produced and supported Hitler. As an expatriate watching events in my country from afar, I fear that I am beginning to understand. Ann Coulters spit venom unimaginable in the responsible press of Walter Cronkite, respected TV financial commentators advocate war with Iraq as an antidote to recession (depression?), and a major journal headlines "Wag the Dog, Please" or something to that effect. Is this not madness on a par with the days of the German brown shirts?
The Germans are distancing themselves from the pResident with a polled plurality of 75%…maybe their memories have not faded.
Regards,
But perhaps most telling of all, as I started to type my name at the end of this message I felt a stab of fear and for a moment my hand paused. I have never felt that before."
MY COMMENT: Yes, I feel that same stab of fear many times as I write my columns. It is a sad commentary on the times in America.
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"AMEN AND THANK YOU FOR SUCH A WONDERFUL AND TRUTHFUL ARTICLE ON THE TERRIBLE WASTE THAT SITS IN OUR WHITE HOUSE"
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"Bravo! I couldn't agree more. Thank you for expressing it so well."
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"Ms. Knight, We could not agree with you more. We've read most of your articles, and even though we do not feel good about the present situation, we do feel good that someone is on the same page as us. We also turn channels EVERY time Bush is on TV, and we have NOT listened to one of his speeches. We are both 65 years old, and have lived through a lot of administrations, good and bad, Republican and Democrat, but this administration of thieves and liars top them all. How the citizens of this once fine country put up with this administration is beyond me. Is it that IMPORTANT to have a Republican in office, no matter who he is, and what his convictions are? I could go on and on about the Bush administration, and Bush himself, but you've heard it all, I'm sure. We are just totally sick, and it seems like there is not a thing we can do about it. Our own Democrats in office stand by and take it all too, so what can the little guys do? I don't want to wish our few years we have left away, but I pray for the day we have a president one can respect, Democrat or Republican."
From Ohio and Florida
MY COMMENT: The Democrats in office are not just standing by and taking it. Now some of them are signing on to Bush's preemptive strike against Iraq! Outrageous! Demand he make the case to justify such actions first!
Democrats should heed these words of H. L. Mencken: "We suffer most when the White House busts with ideas."
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"Thank you so much. I am so engulfed with anger towards this man that I can hardly contain myself for the very reasons you mentioned. I refused to watch the 9/11 memorial because the very presence of George Bush desecrated the entire event. I thought if I had to look at him I would bash my television screen."
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"I just read your article and want to thank you for your words of truth, especially the part about turning the television off when Bush comes on. Whenever I see him I feel sick and disgust from the bottom of my soul…When I hear someone saying what a great speaker he is, I want to shake them and ask them what is wrong with them. Did aliens invade their minds? He exudes stupidity with almost every word he speaks. So thank you from the bottom of my heart – keep on speaking out and may more and more people join your voice."
MY COMMENT: The stupidity of George W. Bush is exceeded only by the stupidity of those who continue to deny that he is immeasurably harming this great nation. In the words of Mencken: "...people will believe what they want to believe." In this case they want to believe that George Bush is "Mr. Wonderful" for the purely selfish reason of having a Republican in the White House. Shameful!
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"There is comfort in the knowledge that I am not alone in my sadness and terror for my country and it's people. Keep writing – we need strong voices in opposition to the fascism that is engulfing America."
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"I'm a Canadian who greatly enjoys reading your BuzzFlash commentaries. Keep up the good fight…it's incredibly important that American voters become educated about what's happening to them.
Here in Canada, I feel, as many Austrians must have felt as they watched Hitler manipulate the German public. Once he got momentum on his side it was too late to stop him. Your Constitution is correct "all men (and women) are created equal." Some (like Bush) become far less than equal due to a lifetime of coddling and faulty education. The German people were no better or worse than Americans, Canadians or Iraqis, they just got lazy and gave up their individuality to follow a snake oil salesman.
I desperately hope that there's a lot more people like you in the US who see what's happening and aren't too afraid to speak up. I and many others around the world have been a great admirer of what the US used to be. Your Constitution was one of the best inventions of all time and it worked for many years. Bush and the puppeteers who control him are poised to end that great tradition and turn your once proud nation into a pathetic bully.
Don't let that happen! I too am for "regime change"…that truly evil and dangerous one in Washington!"
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"You wrote everything I am feeling…good Lord I am pissed! What has happened to Joe Lieberman and Dick Gephardt…where is Ted Kennedy??? Why are they not screaming?? Because the Repukelican propaganda machine has paralyzed them into silence. Don't you just long for the days of Clinton's intelligence and eloquence? Did you see him on Letterman last week?"
MY COMMENT: I did not see it, but listened to the audio. Yes, I yearn for a president with not only the intelligence and eloquence of Clinton, but also the compassion.
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"Thank you for expressing so much that I feel in my heart."
From California
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"Your column moved me this morning…so true…so much of what I am feeling. I just had to write to tell you that I agree. I wake up every morning fearing what comes next. I am depressed, frightened, and aghast that there are still people in this country that support this madman."
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"Thank you for the clarity of your outspoken and brave message. You have many readers who echo your feelings and understand your outrage."
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"I couldn't agree more with everything you said. You were so right about the anger so many of us feel from sunup to sundown. We go to bed angry and get up the same. And you are so right when you said that whenever we even glimpse this arrogant smirking chimp, we immediately reach for the remote and turn to a movie channel or turn the set off altogether. I refuse to listen to anything this truly evil jerk has to say along with the rest of his whole evil regime.
I never thought I could despise anyone but know that's no longer the case. I truly love my country but hat what's being done to this great nation by undoubtedly the most corrupt, evil regime in its history. I honestly believe that Bush knew that 9/11 was going to happen and let it happen so he could push through his evil agenda and become a great wartime president in his mind and in the minds of those rabid right wingers who'll do anything, even kill, just to see the agenda they've been working on for at least the past 20 years through think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and organizations like the Federalist Society whose members make up most all of this regime pushed down our throats. And the spineless Democrats in DC have really made the anger even worse.
But what scares me is that somehow we'll wake up after the November 2002 elections and things will be even worse with the Democrats losing control of the Senate and not regaining the House. And we'll find that this election will have been stolen just like 2000. The stupid chimp squatting in the White House will have gotten his war in Iraq where we'll be bogged down even if Saddam is ousted in a very short period of time; Americans won't be safe anywhere they travel, whether in the US and particularly overseas, and the evil one and his regime will suspend the 2004 Presidential elections because we're at war or some other sorry excuse and that most Americans will be too afraid to speak out or protest for fear of being branded "unpatriotic" or a traitor or a terrorist. And we'll be stuck with the evil imposter from here on out. The media sure can't be trusted to tell the American people what's truly happening, and I'm afraid that most Americans will do just what they did in 2000 when the election was stolen – nothing but giving Bush more and more power until we'll have lost all our rights.
<snip>
I really do enjoy reading your articles and do hope you're right that there are millions of us with this anger over everything that's happened since 2000 and that Democrats hold onto the Senate and take back the House. I live in the western part of Texas about 100 miles east of Midland/Odessa, and I was visiting with a friend who has a large business and has clients come from all over Texas, and she said the mood and dislike for Bush has grown steadily, especially over the past three months, even among people who supported him in 2000 but said they'd not ever make that mistake again. This surprised me because all of this area of West Texas is very conservative, although 20 years ago it was a totally Democratic area, and Republicans never ran in any races, but I'm sorry to say that changed with Reagan."
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"I usually refer to 'em as "right wingnuts" – I believe there's a use of the term "wingnut" that includes someone not quite dead spot right on; I know there's a homeless guy in Santa Cruz who refers to himself and his friends a "wingnuts & winos."
I think these people actually think they can rip off the Whole Shebang, but I'm afraid (hopeful, actually) they'll run afoul of the law of Unintended Consequences. I think the problem with us Americans is that we've got too much to lose (even if we may bitch about suffering the indignity of driving a Ford Explorer rather than a Mercedes SUV) and too many are convinced that rooting on the maniacs is their way to a bounteous future – they don't understand that these psychopaths would rip out their internal organs and sell 'em on the black market in an eye blink. But such is the world we find ourselves in – for the moment, at least."
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"I'm tempted to tolerate another 2+ hours of half-assed, B.S. airport "terrorism security measures," fly across the country from San Francisco to Nashville, just to kiss you. Thank you, thank you, a billion times, thank you."
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"I just read your "Abiding Anger" essay and you are right about everything. I found myself writing an essay too while squirming through the televised overkill of the 9-11 anniversary. Writing about all the awful things that have happened since the first 9-11 and the others that will surely follow if we pursue these bloodthirsty, arrogant Bush foreign policies.
The coup of 2000 was indeed a crime and a disaster of greater magnitude than I thought possible at the time – every day brings fresh horrors from the Bushies. And indeed, war is the only thing they've got since they've screwed everything else up, and have not been a success at all in the war on terror: the anthrax killer is still at large, as are Osama, and Afghanistan is crumbling back into chaos. The Bushies remind me of a rabid dog, or a vampire, with sick blood lust and desire for American dominance over the world. Thanks for your passionate patriotism, and keep on writing!
From Ferndale, Washington
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"ALWAYS READ YOUR BUZZFLASH ARTICLES, FULLY AGREE WITH YOUR THOUGHTS AND INFORMATION. I SPENT 12 YEARS IN THE ARMY AND AM TOTALLY SICK OF THE WHITE HOUSE RESIDENT AND HIS CREW ALONG WITH THE SPINELESS MAINSTREAM MEDIA."
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"AMEN AND THANK YOU FOR SUCH A WONDERFUL AND TRUTHFUL ARTICLE ON THE TERRIBLE WASTE THAT SITS IN OUR WHITE HOUSE."
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"You write beautifully and truthfully. It is wonderful to learn that I am not alone with the torment caused by the catastrophic miscarriage of electoral justice. Dec. 12, 2000 is the second "date which will live in infamy" in my lifetime. The incredible damage this former drunk with a criminal record, who illegitimately occupies the White House, has inflicted on our country and the world in so short a time is almost beyond belief. I cannot respect him even as I revere the office he so cavalierly stole. Please keep up the good fight. FDR, in the midst of great crisis, promised us "Four Freedoms." You are helping greatly in this new period of crisis to protect his legacy to us and keep us a free people. God bless you."
From Ohio
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"Yes, ma'am, I agree with every word of your article, "Abiding Anger." And I will write, speak, and do my bit to help defeat this son-of-a-bu$h and his party in 2002 and 2004! And Mullah-General Ashcroft can come arrest me – my address is readily available."
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"You have captured my feelings exactly, as you often do. I would have imploded without BuzzFlash and MWO to help me realize that the truth lives out there. Thank you so much for contributing to that!"
From Vermont
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"Thanks for venting at least some of what I am feeling now days. The greatest part of my anger lies in the fact that the citizens of this nation evidently cannot or do not recognize the fact that we are living under a dictatorship. I can forgive them their delusions, but I cannot forgive their adulation of the criminal who fouls the White House. The Bush clan is truly a criminal cabal, worse than the mafia since their influence spread throughout this nation. If there is a future, those then will look back and wonder why and how those now could have allowed this to happen. Thanks for being a voice in the wilderness."
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"Thanks for the brave and forceful words. I feel beaten down and trampled on – I feel helpless against these warmongering and self-serving Texans and yes the small letter is purposeful. No one likes Hussein, but why conveniently right before an election is war so necessary? Because the Bush family, like so many others who never had to find a job or stand on their own two feet, are mean spirited and vindictive little boys and the United States of America, our country, is their own little plaything. What scum."
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"It's good to know that my sister and I are not the only ones who use the remote to eliminate having to watch our unelected emperor stumble through another speech."
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"A powerful, well written, to the point article that I agree with 100%. Well done! My concern, however, continues to be to answer the question: What can be done about this? I am so frustrated and feel so totally impotent…when I live in a county and area just full of Shrub worshipers and numb nut crackers."
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"I stand behind every word you say a hundred times over. We simply must take back our country and in my opinion there needs to be some trials for treason. Thank you so much for speaking out."
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"I agree with everything you said. And I will keep the faith, and write and protest. But, with my anger, I'm old enough to remember opposing Vietnam from early days, being called a commie, a traitor and told to go back to Russia (never been, although I'd really love to see the Hermitage). Then, bit-by-bit, people began to realize that what we were saying was true. First my family, it was the 1968 Chicago convention that opened their eyes. Then Walter Cronkite, who convinced half of the country that it wasn't working, and slowly, things changed, better people ran for office, better people were elected.
Same thing with Nixon – when Watergate started, very few people thought Tricky was involved. But, story by story, first the Washington Post, then the New York Times, then NBC, CBS, ABC – slowly the truth became so obvious that the big media outlets couldn't ignore it. Now the Post and the Times may be less willing to speak truth to power, but we have BuzzFlash and Salon and Media Whores Online, and all the other sites. More and more I find a story that starts online ends up in the mainstream news magazines, or on TV news. Whatever the polls say, I think that when (because you know they're going to do it) the Bushies declare war, the response will not be as positive as they think, and they won't be able to shut us up. My generation refused in large numbers to go to Vietnam, we're not sending our sons and daughters to Iraq.
So keep the faith, girl. I know how much difference one person can make: I once brought down a corrupt administration of a small town bank because they refused to pay me what they paid men. Keep writing and protesting and tell the truth as you see it. There are lots of us out here, and we'll change the world."
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Yes, we can change the world. It may not happen fast enough to satisfy current anxiousness, but it will happen. Just remember that within anger and frustration lives determination. Take with you in your fight for America these words from the wonderfully eloquent former Congresswoman from Texas, Barbara Jordan: "The stakes are too high for government to be a spectator sport." Keep the faith!
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Rebecca Knight is a native Tennessean, who grew up in Nashville, and currently resides in a small town near Nashville. Ms. Knight's political awareness evolved through the civil rights movement, the Vietnam era, the Watergate era, and the cold war. The debacle of the 2000 election increased her sense of responsibility for political activism. You may contact Rebecca Knight via e-mail at tennessee_gal655@yahoo.com.
© 2002 by Rebecca Knight
