I'm not surprised so far with anything GWB has said or done. What I find so
distressing is the intolerance shown among American people for dissenters
and their bullying in the name of patriotism. Lynn Cheney has played a role
in this with her effort to silence dissent on campuses--see
http://www.goacta.org/publications/Reports/defciv.pdf. In today's paper
there was an article about the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, a native
of Lubbock, TX, who apologized to a crowd in England because GWB is a
Texan, and in response was met with boycotts of their music and CD
-smashing (see http://www.salon.com/ent/wire/2003/03/15/dixie_chicks/),
after which she apologized for her remarks. Protesters have been bullied
(e.g., http://www.indypgh.org/news/2003/01/886.php), etc. It's a short step
from here to fascism, and the alarming thing is that the people are complicit.
Peter
At 11:57 AM 3/18/2003 -0600, you wrote:
>Thanks for your note, Gordon.
>I appreciate your confidence in the power of international voices of
>dissent, but I don't share it. As the only superpower, the U.S. is fast
>becoming a swaggering bully upon the international stage. What's important
>to remember about President George W. Bush's policy toward Iraq is that it
>isn't foreign policy, at all. It's domestic policy. To the extent he
>succeeds in appearing successful in the eyes of the American public, he
>will have laid a blueprint for electoral success at home. Sure, ideals of
>international cooperation will continue to be spouted as part of our
>political rhetoric. But the successful candidate will be the one who
>swaggers most brazenly upon the international stage--a downward spiral into
>international coercion and destruction. There is no world power left to
>check the untamed imagination of the American public as to its moral,
>intellectual, and spiritual superiority over the rest of the world.
>...Would it weren't so.
>David Kirshner
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Gordon
> Wells
>
> <gwells who-is-at cats.ucs To:
> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> c.edu> cc: (bcc: David H
> Kirshner/dkirsh/LSU)
> Subject: Re: An Open
> Letter to George W. Bush
> 03/18/2003
> 10:55
> AM
>
> Please
> respond
>
> to
> xmca
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>David,
>
>I, like many others, agree with your assessment of the reckless policy and
>immoral and unjustified actions of George W. Bush and, equally, of Tony
>Blair's involvement of British troops in the impending invasion of Iraq.
>
>However, we must not underestimate the voices of dissent, from the many
>individuals who have shown their protest to the substantial number of
>governments in Europe and elsewhere who continue to stand firm against the
>war on Iraq. It is heartening, for example, to see that three members of
>the British (Labor) Government have resigned in protest. In particular,
>see Robin Cook's speech of resignation yesterday in the British House of
>Commons: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2859431.stm
>
>Although there are always vested interests as well as ideals behind
>political actions, we should continue to stand up for the United Nations as
>the forum in which international relations should be debated and decided.
>
>Gordon Wells
>
>
> Please distribute:
>
> March 18, 2003
>
> Dear George W. Bush,
>
> You are a man of conviction. Singly-handedly you are creating a new
> world
> order based upon the U.S. view of what is right and what is
> necessary.
> Saddam Hussein is a threat to the world. But an even greater shadow
> looms
> large upon the dawning of the new millennium: A rogue superpower that
> imposes its will upon the world community--that robs the peoples of
> world
> of the possibility of directing their mutual destiny through the
> institutions of international diplomacy. If you fail in your bid to
> remove
> the Iraqi leader from power, either through the threat of military
> force or
> through its quick and efficient use, you risk igniting the very fire
> you
> have vowed to stamp out--the distribution of Iraqi terror weapons
> across
> the world. If you succeed, you will become a hero here at home,
> imprinting
> indelibly upon the American political landscape the imperative of
> subsequent leaders to live up to your example of international
> bullying.
> Either way, President Bush, this will be the American Century--a time
> of
> instability and fear in the world. Citizens of the United States (and
> elsewhere), join with me for a peaceful and quiet candlelight vigil
> from
> 7-7:30 PM Wednesday, March 19, your local time at a central meeting
> place
> of your local city or town, that together we may mourn the passing of
> the
> possibility of a world united.
>
> David Kirshner
> 5428 Halls Ferry Drive
> Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA 70817
>
>
> Attachment converted: Wells:vigil.rtf (RTF /MSWD) (00085A37)
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