I was just a teenager visiting St. Louis to see the Browns play the Yankees
on VJ Day (victory over Japan). Hordes of St. Louisans were on the streets,
fire hydrants were spewing water, and everybody was in a festive mood. The
war was over, no doubt about it.
The jubilation continued on the bus I took to the ball park. One man in the
back was having a jolly good time mimicking Franklin Roosevelt. In his best
Hyde Park accent, he kept bellowing, "I hate wah, Eleanor hates wah---and now
the wah is ovah." Each time cheers rang out throughout the bus. I have never
forgotten it.
I knew then what war was. I knew what victory was. Now I'm confused. After
9/11, the president told us that we were at war against terrorists. Unlike
most wars, he warned, this war could last a very long time. When I heard our
commander-in-chief utter these words, I began thinking about what to plant in
my victory garden and how to get by with gas rationing. Many say the Iraq war
is about securing a steady supply of cheap oil but I haven't been asked to
use less gasoline. So far I haven't sacrificed at all. Quite the reverse. We
were told not to change our habits. Keep going out as always and most of all
keep spending.
The only ones sacrificing are the brave soldiers in Afghanistan, Pakistan and
Iraq-and their parents. What kind of a war is this with no ending and no
victory in the offing to celebrate?
When a president declares war on cancer or poverty or drugs, we know that
"war" is a metaphor because these wars will last forever, Cancer, drugs and
poverty will always be with us. Real wars are not metaphors and have a
beginning and an end. Even the horrendous, intractable war in Iraq will end
one day. But this anti-terror war can never end. That is one sign that it is
not a real war but, rather, a mandate for expanding the use of American
power.
Rummy, Cheney and the president have learned how to use (abuse?) this power.
It must be a heady feeling to watch heads of state cower to the economic
pressures of the U.S, These pressures are now backed up by the very real
threat of invasion and overthrow because of our stated policy of pre-emptive
strikes. We are hated around the world because of our arrogance in flaunting
these powers. The Bushevics say we don't need treaties, we don't need the
United Nations because we are the super power and we will do what we want to
do.
That's foreign policy-- what about here at home? The domestic spying scandal
uncovered by the New York Times is an example of unfettered power. It was easy
enough and quick enough to get a warrant but Bush, Cheney and the boys didn't
want to bother with this inconvenience. They believe they are above the law
and besides how were they to explain to this secret court that they wanted
to spy on Quakers, animal rights groups, anti-war demonstrators and people
like you and me if we are seen protesting the war, lack of health insurance,
the scandalous minimum wage, tax cuts for the rich, and on and on.
It's ironic that while we are attempting to spread democracy around the
world, we are in danger of losing our own
