It’s all under control
October 27th, 2006 by Wil Robinson
“[T]he worldview of the Party imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening.”
George Orwell - 1984
Every day that passes feels a little closer to an Orwellian nightmare. The newspeak, the unspeak, the convenient euphemisms, the distortions, the control over information, the “liberal†media passing off Bush administration propaganda as news – and now assurances to the American public that such worldly problems are too “complicated†for them to bother themselves about.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s comments on Thursday provided further evidence. He spoke down to Americans as if they were little children, and assured them that their simple minds couldn’t possibly comprehend how to solve the crisis of Iraqi security, so don’t bother even trying.
“[The Iraq withdrawal] is complicated stuff. It’s difficult…So you ought to just back off, take a look at it, relax, understand that it’s complicated, it’s difficult, that honorable people are working on these things together…They will be discussing this and discussing that; they may have a change here or a change there, but it will get worked out.â€
Is this the “informed†public that is required to maintain a democracy? Is ignorance an option when “the people†are supposed to be ruling themselves? Is this kind of blind and misplaced trust in power what America’s founding fathers intended for the body politic?
This kind of attitude – the “they’re smarter than me so I’ll just leave it up to them†– is similar to what kept the U.S. mired in a decade-long war in Vietnam. It’s the type of mentality that allowed the U.S. government to arm both Iraq and Iran in the 1980s just to watch them kill each other. The same idea allowed public ignorance of right-wing death squads that empowered dictators in several Latin American countries over the past 30 years.
And, unfortunately, it’s the same ignorance that allowed the Bush administration to invade Iraq based on selective and faulty intelligence.
A misinformed, ignorant and uncaring public is exactly what imperialism needs to maintain a monopoly on power. The more the American people are convinced not to bother trying to understand the world around them, the more power coalesces into the hands of a few wealthy elite who abuse their positions.
America needs a public that won’t listen when its leaders tell them it’s “complicated.†America needs a public that cares, that wants to understand and never accepts answers at face value.
In order for that to happen, American first needs journalists that provide untainted information and facts – something the Bush administration continually seeks to suppress.
Rumsfeld Bush media Iraq Orwell 1984
As a non-American I am continually amazed at the level of “connectedness” that the average American shows with the the outside world. Even those that claim to be experts in the field of foreign relations are not much better.
On a seperate note the Europeans are just as amazed at the level of respect and reverance that Americans afford their political masters irrespective of their level of intelligence or competance.
Wil,
I am growing more use to the fact that you like to take comments, stories, etc and put your own twist on them to achieve your leftist slant. For the quote you gave, you forgot to mention Rumsfeld’s comment about looking into the future and the fact that no one can predict the future with absolute certainty, no Republican, no Democrat, no Libertarian. However, you left this out to strengthen a post that you knew most readers on this site would not check out.
Think about Bill Clinton’s quote while wagging his finger saying, “Now, I have to go back to work on my State of the Union speech. And I worked on it until pretty late last night. But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I’m going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people.†So the entire blind and misplaced trust in power goes both ways, yet you seemingly only want to try to condemn Republicans only.
Next, for the ‘Selective and faulty intelligence’ I would suggest that check this out from my site, I’ll save you the time and place some quotes in here:
“[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.” — From a letter signed by Joe Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara A. Milulski, Tom Daschle, & John Kerry among others on October 9, 1998
“Saddam’s goal … is to achieve the lifting of U.N. sanctions while retaining and enhancing Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs. We cannot, we must not and we will not let him succeed.” — Madeline Albright, 1998
“(Saddam) will rebuild his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and some day, some way, I am certain he will use that arsenal again, as he has 10 times since 1983″ — National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, Feb 18, 1998
“The community of nations may see more and more of the very kind of threat Iraq poses now: a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction, ready to use them or provide them to terrorists. If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow.” — Bill Clinton in 1998
“In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security.” — Hillary Clinton, October 10, 2002
“I am absolutely convinced that there are weapons…I saw evidence back in 1998 when we would see the inspectors being barred from gaining entry into a warehouse for three hours with trucks rolling up and then moving those trucks out.” — Clinton’s Secretary of Defense William Cohen in April of 2003
Now, if that was faulty information, then there sure were a lot of Democrats speaking out about it.
Next, are you trying to say that Democrats do not try to suppress Conservative news? What’s your opinion with Conservative talk radio and how they try to stop it? That’s right, you’re probably going to come back and say, “They’re all jokesâ€â€¦but guess what, if they’re jokes…so are Keith Olbermann and his fellow cronies.
For Brother Tim, you want to talk about the ‘arrogant’ administration, but what about the Democrats that is in the House and Senate as well? Trying to give them a free pass because they’re not Republican?
You want to talk about Bush being a ‘C-‘ student, yet reports released from John Kerry’s past revealed that Bush actually had better grades than Kerry…so if Kerry would have won the election (Thank God he didn’t), we would actually have someone in the oval office who made lower grades than our Current President…the Democratic Party really is the party of the dumb as proven here.
For the journalists bile in your posting (Brother Tim), the writings here are a left-wing slant; anti-Republican; anti-Conservative perspective. Start giving both sides of the stories, showing the faults of Democrats as well, then you can write about untainted information & facts. Until then, realize that this is a partisan site.
Diego–
So sorry to see you have your shorts in a knot. To begin with, I was saying the House and Senate, not the REPUBLICAN House and Senate. I was being all-inclusive. You need to stop by my site and read my postings in their entirety. You would then realize that I am frequently epigrammatic. I am neither Democrat or Republican leaning. I used to consider myself an Independent, now I call myself an Eliminationist; in other words, anti-incumbent. If you can’t see the damage being done to our country by the ARROGANT, GREEDY, LIEING scum that we call politicians, then having a discussion with you is like trying to slam a revolving door.
You guys never cease to amaze me. I complain about the transgressions of the people in power. At this point in time, it happens to be Republicans. What is y’all’s standard rebuttal??? You dig up Democratic ‘ghosts from the past’. Every thing is Clinton’s fault. Using your superior logic, I guess it would be fair to say that the black inner-city drug and crime problems are Abraham Lincoln’s fault. If he hadn’t of freed them, they’d still be living on your plantation, right?
I know there is a Liberal Media bias despite what those want to say here, I mean, come on it is blatantly obvious to anyone with an IQ above pond scum.
Also, you can place some blame on Democrats for the black inner-city drug and crime problems, remember, they’re the Party that wants people to be reliant upon the Government…you know, so they are guaranteed votes.
Diego-
Asserting that someone’s IQ is “pond scum,†telling people what they write is “bile,†and ignoring what people write while continually making baseless accusations about support for one party or the other is not reasonable debate nor part of a logical argument.
Thank you for your time.
“Logical” in a democracy is that all sides are free to express and argue their opinions, whatever they may be. If they do it in a civilized manner, one that invites discourse without alienation, that’s all for the better. Open minds and cool heads are vital.
“Logical” in a democracy is that democracy’s leaders speaking truthfully and without withholding information from the people they represent. When Rumsfeld patronized the press with his “back off” remark — and by doing so, gave the verbal finger to all Americans — he was not serving his country well. That’s what people like me are angry about. In fact, the rest of his comment said little that those of us who’ve been paying attention didn’t already know. Those Americans who haven’t looked beyond Fox News for their information learned practically nothing, except that they should sit back and shut up while the grown-ups worked out the problem. Unfortunately, the grown-ups have shown they’re quite incompetent.
Good journalists are vital to American democracy, no matter which “side” they happen to support personally. If they all tell the truth, with integrity, we all stand to gain.
Wren–
Ah - \”grown-ups.\” That was the word I was looking for. Good point. It\’s as if the \”grown-ups\” just told all the \”kids\” to go play out side while they talk…embarassing.