Learning From Our Mistakes
One of the interesting things I found during my recent Jim Webb research was this Op-Ed he did for WashingtonPost.com back in September of 2002. He was undeniably prescient in his assessment of the Iraq situation.
People tend to forget that there were credible folks who were raising all kinds of serious questions about Iraq wayyyyy back in 2002. Their input should have been given more weight in the national dialogue but instead they -- and anyone who tried to point out the logic behind what they'd said -- were systematically shut down. We were called "Saddam appeasers" and "unpatriotic". We were accused of "aiding the terrorists". We were told "people need to watch what they say".
Bush and his operatives drew the line very clearly: "You're either with us or against us."
(You can trace my hatred of Fox News back to this time period, when they made their brand of "patriotism" into an exclusive club and proceeded to villainize the rest of us in order to create a comfortable reality bubble for their membership.)
There were legitimate points to be made in support of invasion but there were equally legitimate -- and in my mind, superior -- points to be made against it. Unless Americans went out of their way to educate themselves on the subject they only got about half the information they needed to critically weigh the situation. Those on the right had succeeded in shutting down the conversation.
The reason I bring this up is because I've noticed a new talking point on the right and it troubles me. I first heard O'Reilly use it with David Letterman, and then I heard Lynn Cheney use it with Wolf Blitzer. I've heard it a few more times since. It goes like this: Someone questions or criticizes our situation in Iraq and they're answered with "Do you want America to win or not?"
That question is designed to do just one thing... to shut down the conversation. To pose the question is an act of mendacity; it equates questioning the war with wanting us to lose it.
2002 Redux. The phrasing may be different but the technique and intent are the same.
Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Our duty as citizens under this American democracy is to think critically and vote accordingly. The people who REALLY hate America are the ones who are trying to interfere with that process.
People tend to forget that there were credible folks who were raising all kinds of serious questions about Iraq wayyyyy back in 2002. Their input should have been given more weight in the national dialogue but instead they -- and anyone who tried to point out the logic behind what they'd said -- were systematically shut down. We were called "Saddam appeasers" and "unpatriotic". We were accused of "aiding the terrorists". We were told "people need to watch what they say".
Bush and his operatives drew the line very clearly: "You're either with us or against us."
(You can trace my hatred of Fox News back to this time period, when they made their brand of "patriotism" into an exclusive club and proceeded to villainize the rest of us in order to create a comfortable reality bubble for their membership.)
There were legitimate points to be made in support of invasion but there were equally legitimate -- and in my mind, superior -- points to be made against it. Unless Americans went out of their way to educate themselves on the subject they only got about half the information they needed to critically weigh the situation. Those on the right had succeeded in shutting down the conversation.
The reason I bring this up is because I've noticed a new talking point on the right and it troubles me. I first heard O'Reilly use it with David Letterman, and then I heard Lynn Cheney use it with Wolf Blitzer. I've heard it a few more times since. It goes like this: Someone questions or criticizes our situation in Iraq and they're answered with "Do you want America to win or not?"
That question is designed to do just one thing... to shut down the conversation. To pose the question is an act of mendacity; it equates questioning the war with wanting us to lose it.
2002 Redux. The phrasing may be different but the technique and intent are the same.
Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Our duty as citizens under this American democracy is to think critically and vote accordingly. The people who REALLY hate America are the ones who are trying to interfere with that process.
posted by Logic101 at 11/01/2006 08:55:00 AM
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