Cindy Sheehan's Exit
This should be required reading these days: Cindy Sheehan's letter to Congress hit the nail on the head. She accurately points out that the United States is operating underneath a broken "two-party" political system. Why did the Democrats cave-in on their vocal promises to swiftly end the occupation of Iraq? Senator Russ Feingold summed it up best:
Under the President’s Iraq policies, our military has been over-burdened, our national security has been jeopardized, and thousands of Americans have been killed or injured. Despite these realities, and the support of a majority of Americans for ending the President’s open-ended mission in Iraq, congressional leaders now propose a supplemental appropriations bill that does nothing to end this disastrous war. I cannot support a bill that contains nothing more than toothless benchmarks and that allows the President to continue what may be the greatest foreign policy blunder in our nation’s history. There has been a lot of tough talk from members of Congress about wanting to end this war, but it looks like the desire for political comfort won out over real action. Congress should have stood strong, acknowledged the will of the American people, and insisted on a bill requiring a real change of course in Iraq.And where does this land Sheehan? Apparently, there are those on the left who actually believe that the Democratic party represents their interests. I hate to break it to you people, but only the far Right-wing and the center Right-wing are acceptable in mainstream political discourse. Just turn on your TV if you doubt this.
I, for one, am sad to see another realize the immovable path that our country appears to be walking. Unless there is a total collapse of the existing system, there will never be true reform for a more progressive future.
This morning, a man on the elevator noticed my Sex Pistols shirt and started up a bit of chit-chat. God Save the Queen seems strangely appropriate right now, so I'll end with a piece of that.
God save the queen
The fascist regime
They made you a moron
Potential H-bomb
God save the queen
She ain't no human being
There is no future
In England's dreaming
2 comments:
The Senate Democrats really blew it when they caved in to Bush. It doesn't help that there was disconnect at the top with Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin's 'no funding cut-off, period.' and other wobbly but high-profile Democrats like Biden also unwilling to stand up against Bush and the war. Such high-profile Democratic leaders being weak in the face of Bush allows the sheepish Democrats political cover and an excuse to wimp out.
That being said, the system is so screwed up and our leaders so inept that I too join Ms. Sheehan in her lament at this country scarcely resembling its promise and that it is very true that more Americans seem to care more about who wins American Idol than those lives being lost in Iraq. Otherwise, we would have left long ago.
I hate hearing my parents and other elders of the 60's speak nostalgically about how they actively participated in bringing about change in some of the smallest ways they could. (my mother, the exception. She worked for CREEP.) We simply do not have that level of involvement any longer because people simply do not care. What is it? Is it the saturation of disinformation? or is it the simple fact that all politicans are opportunist that simply cave when faced with corporate money?
Or both?
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