Spinning Yarns

&otSince the U.S. Presidential elections of 2000, there has been a lot of talk about the notion of “regime change.” This term, like so many of our favourite sound-bites (e.g., ;clear and present danger”, “weapons of mass destruction”, “acts of terror”, and “homeland security”) has picked up a lot of baggage in its travels through the digestive tract of the world media. As far as I can tell, the phrase “regime change”, as interpreted by our current administration, means that the people of the United States (represented by the capable men and women of our armed forces) will remove the governments of certain nations with whom we disagree, on the grounds that they are repressive, irresponsible, undemocratic, and represent a threat to the interests of ourselves and our allies.

For the sake of comparison, let’s consider some of the things our own government has been doing, lately, right here at home.

• Repressive : Passing the so-called “USA-PATRIOT” act, an unprecedented abrogation of our Constitutional liberties; the detention without charge or counsel of an uncounted number of unidentified persons, many of whom are apparently our own citizens. Under the provisions of this Act, secret wiretap orders can be issued, and even library records may be traced, and anyone who reveals this tapping or tracing activity to the target may be found guilty of a felony.
• Irresponsible: Enacting large cuts in the tax revenue stream, while simultaneously incurring vast and far-reaching expenses for foreign military campaigns. Meanwhile, important domestic matters such as education, research funding, civil infrastructure, and environmental protection, are being left with unfunded mandates as we rack up billions of dollars of long term debt.
• Undemocratic: In at least two states, unwarrantable re-districting efforts are being forced through, in an apparent effort to disenfranchise voters in areas where representation is already proportional, according to the most recent Census. Meanwhile, reacting to the vote counting debacle of 2000, the Federal government is pushing for the use of electronic touch-screen voting machines — despite credible allegations, some on the part of respected academic security researchers, that the Diebold machines in question are not safe, and may already have been used to usurp the midterm elections.

As far as threats to our interests, and those of our allies, one need look no further than the Bush administration’s interactions with the United Nations. We took unilateral military action, disregarding the will of our strongest allies (as expressed through the U.N. Security Council), and then a few months later, without a hint of humility, President Bush went back before the United Nations with the temerity to request unconditional financial support for a war our allies never wanted. Anti-American sentiment is at an all-time high world-wide, and even the governments of our closest allies are speaking out against us.

A super-power we may be, but only a fool burns all his bridges, even if he happens to be the biggest and most powerful fool around.

And so, I think it’s time for the American people to stand up and lead by example. If we really do believe in responsible, democratic, and accountable government, which works in our interests and those of our allies, then we have no choice but to take action! For all its flaws, missteps, and lies, our government has not yet taken away our most crucial ability — the ability to vote them right out of office. It’s time we used that ability clearly, swiftly, and decisively.

In honour of the many men and women who have fought and died to earn us our liberties, and to defend them from our foes, we cannot stand by and let a clique of ill-spoken and deceitful oil barons steal our lives, liberties, and pursuits of happiness. We hold these truths to be self-evident: Regime change begins at home.

Filed by Michael at 15:31 under Diatribe, Political
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