Remember the War

[andrewducker]

It started when the government, in the midst of a worldwide economic crisis, received reports of an imminent terrorist attack. A foreign ideologue had launched feeble attacks on a few famous buildings, but the media largely ignored his relatively small efforts. The intelligence services knew, however, that the odds were he would eventually succeed. (Historians are still arguing whether or not rogue elements in the intelligence service helped the terrorist; the most recent research implies they did not.)

But the warnings of investigators were ignored at the highest levels, in part because the government was distracted; the man who claimed to be the nation's leader had not been elected by a majority vote and the majority of citizens claimed he had no right to the powers he coveted. He was a simpleton, some said, a cartoon character of a man who saw things in black-and-white terms and didn't have the intellect to understand the subtleties of running a nation in a complex and internationalist world. His coarse use of language - reflecting his political roots in a southernmost state - and his simplistic and often-inflammatory nationalistic rhetoric offended the aristocrats, foreign leaders, and the well-educated elite in the government and media. And, as a young man, he'd joined a secret society with an occult-sounding name and bizarre initiation rituals that involved skulls and human bones.

Yup, it's a fantastic article comparing Bush with Hitler's rise to power. Nicely scary comparison, well written.

Comments

[cleodhna.livejournal.com]

Dude, we are like so totally reading the same pages! :)

[heron61.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about these very issues. I think the big questions for the US is whether we are facing a new version of McCarthyism or something significantly worse (because at this point, it's clearly one or the other) and whether there will be a 60s-style backlash anytime in the near future. If the answer to the second question is no, then I'm moving to Canada within two years.

[andrewducker]

May I recommend Scotland?

[heron61.livejournal.com]

You people had Thatcher in the 80s and more state-monitored security cameras than I want to think about now. Britain is definitely an improvement over the US, but from my PoV, it's not a sufficient improvement.

[andrewducker]

I'm in favour of the security cameras. They demonstrably cut crime, they only get positioned in public areas and generally they've been a good thing.

But then I'm a believer in the transparent society.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

I'm interested in the idea of a transparent society, but have so far only seen that lots of cameras means that the government is watching us and not that we are more able to watch them and I seriously dislike that sort of inequality.

[derumi.livejournal.com]

I suppose one could leave their country, or work to change it. I'd like to move to Canada for reasons other than politics or fear of the government. Alberta's pretty, and people are friendly there.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

I do - I send out regular emails and snailmails to congress people, I go to peace marches and near election time, I sometimes volunteer to call people to help convince them to vote for bills and candidates I approve of. However, if the majority of the US people are actually happy (or at least willing to accept) a government that to me is beginning to resemble a theocratic police state, then I'm done and will move somewhere else, where most people have views on government that are more in keeping with my own. It seems only reasonable that if most citizens in a democracy honestly want something far different from what I do, my best answer is departure.

As for Canada, I know some people there, I like it, and Vancouver BC has the same sort of PNW flavor that I prefer.

[andrewducker]

I don't hink I could live in a country where more people believe in the literal existance of the Devil than believe in Evolution. Their thinking is liable to be solidly divergent from mine.

[derumi.livejournal.com]

Meanwhile, I moved out of the PNW once because I figured most of them there were fascist dicks, and again to find work. 9_9 Vancouver International doesn't give me too much of an impression of BC, unfortunately. I imagine Ontario and Alberta would be where I'd most like to retire (presuming that I'm ever able to).

There's a lot of things I'm hoping for, and a lot of things I'm worried about. Saddam should be busted, but we shouldn't fall into the trap of thinking that we are something special above the rest of the world. We're pretty damn lucky people, and we should keep it that way. And we should remember there's a huge difference between "protecting the free world" (which the rest of the world likes of us) and "liberating the world" (which is a fuckin' scary idea if unchecked). What really makes me sick is the realization that the major players (US, France, Iraq, Russia) don't really give a damn about the Iraqis (maybe the Germans and Brits do), and have a whole lot of their own ideas for the post-war. If the Iraqis are allowed to govern themselves, then I should suppose all is good. If we start eyeballing other countries (Hey, look, Russia's killing Chechens again), then we can kiss world peace good-bye.