Well, I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 today. It was, at times, very “documentary” like… but at other times, very “propaganda” like. And of course I knew that, and so its effect on me was limited. If nothing else, it will cause people to think (or re-think) some things, about fear, terrorism, government, policy, and so forth. Unfortunately, it will also scare a lot of people into just following a crowd – the same thing that it advocates that the Bush administration was doing to America. You’re either scared of terrorists and thus pro-bush, or you’re scared of Bush (and government in general) and you are anti-bush.
Well, I’m NOT scared. I make up my own damn mind.
We are living in a time of unparalleled propaganda. We’ve got propaganda telling us to be afraid, to expect attacks at any time, to fear Arabic people, to believe that all these people fighting in Iraq are terrorists and thugs – but that’s only half true. Remember, as I have said before, terrorism is a means to an end – a political tool (violence) designed and used to achieve a political end. But we cannot fall victim to the fallacy of believing that all terrorists are the same, or that they all have the same goals and beliefs – because I can tell you they don’t. Some terrorists (and I hate to use that word) are indeed angry at America, but they don’t want to hurt us because they hate us… they want to hurt us to change our policies, and achieve their own goals – political goals. To look at it one way, they HAVE changed our policies because of their terrorist actions. Whether our changes are perceived as good or bad to them remains to be seen – and perhaps we will never know unless we capture their leaders and ask them. But in one sense, I can only believe that we have done exactly what they wanted us to do – and that is be afraid. Terrorism, remember, derives from terror, or fear. And we are very afraid here (although as I said, I am not). Was that their ultimate goal? Probably not. But it probably makes them feel good to know that they really scared us, to the point that we’re scanning people’s shoes before getting on planes, closing down entire highways, and so on. In a sense, we have given in to fear – although under the guise of prudence. And to a certain extent, prudence is needed – we certainly don’t want to be attacked again. But, as I have said before, there is prudent fear, and suspicion… and then there is paranoia. Prudent fear is good – rampant paranoia is bad.
Let’s turn to the war in Iraq for a moment. It was, of course, a big thing in Fahrenheit 9/11. As Americans, we went into Iraq with an unbelievable amount of ARROGANCE. Vice president Cheney’s assertion that the people of Iraq would be throwing flowers and candy at us is the prime example of this arrogance. It’s a problem that we as a country have had for some time. We simply cannot accept the idea that some people don’t want to live like we live, and don’t want to be forced to live like we live. Unfortunately, we didn’t take that into consideration when we invaded Iraq.
Another problem here is that we have had a pathetic attempt at “winning the hearts and minds” of the people of Iraq. We say we’re doing it, but we’re not. The terrorists (I hate using that word!) on the other hand, have been winning hearts and minds of LOTS of people in Iraq (and other places), using our own actions as evidence against us. The terrorists have been playing a propaganda war with us – and they’re winning. Why, you might ask? Because we are arrogant. We think we’re the best – and we may be – but we claim to believe in freedom, and the right to choose, and freedom of religion, and the rule of the people, majority rule, and so forth, and yet we do things… that only seem to illustrate how we ignore those very principles we claim to hold so dear. We do these things because we don’t think of how other people are different from us – how they have different beliefs, and so forth. We should have been waging a propaganda war of our own from the very beginning – explaining what we wanted to do – but not the way that President Bush explained things. He just babbles on about “bringing freedom to the middle east” and so forth. What is freedom? Abstract words don’t work when you’re trying to change a country like Iraq. You need to spell it out – and assert it everywhere. Posters. Flyers. Radio. TV. Newspapers – whatever you can do. Shower the people with so much information about what we’re doing – AND WHY – that they understand our point of view. But we just came in, falling into the stereotypes that they had already developed of us – the stereotypes that the terrorists have been propagating and using to show why people should turn AGAINST us. And because we made no effort to counter the terrorist propaganda… well, just turn on the news and see how many soldiers, citizens (of many different countries, but largely of the US) and even native Iraqis have died. THAT’s why I think we’re loosing the war in Iraq. Because, although our government is very good at doing propaganda HERE, in the United States, we essentially SUCK at propaganda in the middle east. And everything we do to try to make up for it, just makes us look worse – and remember, when people aren’t fully informed, when they don’t have all the facts, and they only hear one side of the story – looks, appearances are everything. (Just listen to the media and talk radio going on about Kerry’s selection of his running mate – how his appearance will help him, even if he isn’t very experienced. Of course, when people call John Edwards a “young” person, I cringe – he’s 51 for crying out loud!! To me, that’s OLD!)
So, we have a situation where our “appearance” to the people of Iraq, coupled with the propaganda being fed to them by terrorists is turning the people against us, despite our best intentions. And we have an administration which refuses to admit that it might have done things wrong, and change, and adapt. And this adds up to the mess in Iraq, and ultimately, is bad for all of us here in America – and, to a lesser extent, to everyone around the world. So, when Bush says he is fighting to protect America, what he is in fact doing is undermining our defense… or, rather, he is strengthening our enemy. But nobody admits that. The issue is confused by the poor definition of “terrorist,” the partisan politics that has taken over our government, and by the ignorance of the masses.
What should we do about all this? That’s the question I ask myself every day. Do I think that the Democrats could fix all this? No, unfortunately I don’t. They’re so anti-bush, that they would just distance themselves from anything he’s already done – and there are some things he’s done that they would need to do again, or keep doing – and they would never do that… because it conflicts with their whole platform, which is of course “anti-bush.” Do I think that the Republicans can fix this? Again, unfortunately I have to say no. Because the only Republican candidate is Bush himself, who has (along with his incompetent administration) proven that he is incapable of properly handling the situation, and is unwilling to change. That sort of stubbornness is MADDENING. (It reminds me of someone I know, actually… who shall remain nameless.) So what to do? Honestly I don’t have an answer. There are some in the Congress who might be willing to do these things which I have laid out – some Democrat, some Republican… but alas, the guiding force behind American policy is the president, not Congress. But, it would be nice to see some of these people stand up in Congress and actually say something… but they won’t, because they don’t want to distance themselves from the “core” of their party’s position. Because if they do, they might not get elected again – because they depend on their party’s support. Unfortunately, the two-party system in America is breaking down (in my opinion). The Democratic party’s “platform” is swinging far, far, to the left… and the Republican party’s “platform” is swinging far, far to the right. There’s just no middle ground anymore – no way for people to arrive at a compromise. And without compromise, without intelligent debate, government grinds to a halt. The will of the people becomes secondary to party objectives – and we become less of a democratic republic, and more of just a republic.
And that, my friends, is a sad thing. All of this can be inferred without watching Michael Moore’s movie… but one good thing I can say about it is that it did encourage me to think, and to write about all this stuff that’s been floating around in my head. Perhaps it will do the same for others: to re-think their positions, to wonder “am I just following someone else’s lead, just jumping on one political bandwagon or another?” To encourage people to think for themselves, to research issues objectively, and to arrive at their own conclusions. Too often, people only read stuff that agrees with the position they already have. I try to avoid this, by looking up and reading articles written by both sides, even though some of the stuff infuriates me. I listen to radio show hosts who make my skin crawl with some of the things they and their guests (or callers) say. I do all of this, I subject myself to it, because if I don’t, then my view is skewed, and my opinions are invalid. Sometimes I’ve called myself “the great mediator,” because I’m good at mediating between two people with very different views or opinions. I think that the reason I’m a good mediator is because I see both sides of the issue, and take great care to make sure that I’m not just rejecting an idea or opinion “out of hand.” I think things through, and try to explain – even if it’s only to myself – why I arrive at my opinion. And then I can help other people, who maybe aren’t willing to look at the other side, to understand WHY the other side opposes them, and how their opinions are just as valid as yours, or whatever, and that the only way to reach resolution is to compromise.
So if you, dear readers, have made it this far, I thank you. And furthermore, I encourage you to re-think your positions on important issues, or at least try to see how you arrived at your opinions – and if you can’t see how you can defend your position (without committing a logical fallacy, I might add – a common mistake), then perhaps your position isn’t as valid as you thought.
If you have opinions to share about this, feel free to post comments… or, if you don’t want to post a public comment, use the link in the sidebar to email me. But at least, please… THINK.
Goodnight.
-Keithius
