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We felt relief: a line in the sand had been drawn that we would not cross. The new American protocol called for self-protection but also restraint, a hint of nobility, and the belief that, above all, we were the primary bastion of freedom, diversity, and the rule of law. September 11 shook that hard-fought-for ideal. No longer must we simply protect our borders but now we had to look around us wherever we were - at the stranger waiting for a train, the sweating, swarthy fellow traveler at the airport, the foreigners in the upstairs apartment. We felt betrayed. The quid pro quo of 'You leave us alone and we'll leave you alone' went awry. Those who hate us were intruding into our private space. We felt violated. In a predictable reaction, we struck out, seeking the enemy in the hills and caves of Afghanistan where our agony had been meticulously planned with premeditation and cold indifference to our pain. For two years, we slowly revised our goals, our ideals, our national commitments. Our outraged sense of self, revulsion, and anger gradually overcame our democratic belief in the rights of all to national self-determination. To fight the enemy, we became him. We adopted his mindset of the ends justifies the means. Angry and frustrated at his ability to strike at our very heart and make our world fearful and dangerous, we morphed into him, using offense as a means of defense against the terrifying vulnerability we feared to face. In 2003, the decision was made to openly attack a sovereign nation state which, although famous for verbal saber rattling, posed no direct threat to us nor had it committed an illegal invasion or recent attack on anyone else since the last Gulf War. With guns blazing, we marched into the OK Corral. Despite the absolute predictability of enemy combatants fading into the general population rather than standing their ground and being annihilated, we were 'surprised' as the ease of entering Baghdad. We had forgotten the lessons of our own Revolutionary War when it became clear that standing face-to-face with well-supplied redcoat squares was a recipe for total destruction. 'Mission Accomplished' trumpeted the President, the Administration, the temporarily impotent and sleeping media. The worst was over. There was now simply 'mopping up' operations left in a country which should be overwhelmingly grateful for what we had achieved. Instead, of course, more U.S. troops would die after our mission was 'accomplished' than in the hot war itself. Why the surprise? Once again, as in the days of Vietnam, the Tet Offensive, the bombing of Cambodia, once again the face of the Ugly American was exposed to the world. Why are we hated? We are the superpower, the bully in the school yard. Difficult as it is to forge an uneasy truce with us when we act with restraint and decorum, it becomes impossible when we throw our weight around and beat our collective chest with pride, hubris, and the will to move alone without trying to rally allies or international support. The Ugly American is loose in the streets of the Middle East, a target for all, a friend of none: arrogant, defiant, outcast, and alone. Never again, we said. Oops - the isolation and the hate is back. We can now have the satisfaction of knowing we generated it all by ourselves. Who needs an enemy when we have us?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan proposal for the government to spend $109 billion over two years to upgrade roads, bridges and transit systems and create jobs easily cleared a crucial hurdle in the Senate on Thursday. Article Index: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 |
More Articles:1. Republican/Conservative Hate Members of the Media TOP TEN MOST OUTRAGEOUS STATEMENTS OF 2004Taken directly from: http://mediamatters.org/items/200412230005Here are the Top Ten most outrageous statements we have heard this year from members of the media. From anti-Semitic comments and attacks on women, gays, and lesbians to reprehensible acceptance of the Abu Ghraib prisoner torture, these statements are acutely representative of the conservative hate speech we found in the news media:Rush Limbaugh on the Abu Ghraib photos: 'I'm talking about pe… 2. Shimon Peres Sued for Slander in Tel Aviv Israeli David Rutstein, representing himself, writes an 8 page response to Shimon Peres' attempt to 'get away with murder' in a slander trial. Shimon Peres is getting sued for slandering David Rutstein. The response Tel Aviv Court of Peace case #51059/05 Box 28376 Jerusalem 15 Yaacov Berav Street Jerusalem tel: 052.669.4999 email: YitzhakRabin@gmail.com The Defendant: Shimon Peres Attorney Ram Caspi: Marchov Yaacov 33 Tel Aviv 65258 tel 03.796.1000: fax 03.796.1001 1. Dear Honorable Judg… 3. Cracking Down on Cigar Counterfeiters By Tynan Szvetecz In the most rewarding new industries, there is often a convergence of factors that make them lucrative and sustainable. Factors like the emergence of new technologies, a ripening of the consumer market, or a political climate that spawns laws and regulations that give a particular business model oomph can revolutionize an industry. Over the last two decades, the counterfeit cigar industry in the United States saw all three of these factors converge to create the perfect storm of the illicit tr… Roissy En France hotels 4. Tales Of Hollywood And Politics Arnold Schwarzenegger's surprise announcement that he was seeking the California Governorship brought to mind the many times Hollywood figures have been involved in politics. Here are some related anecdotes: When actors first came to Hollywood there were signs put up in front of hotels and apartments that said no dogs or actors allowed, with the performers ruefully complaining about not getting top billing. The insecurity of the profession has come through in political campaigns. When Ronald Rea… |
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