Jan. 01, 2006 - 18:31 MST

MAKES SENSE TO ME

Rather than try to keep up via radio and TV news which is confusing to say the least, and the news seems to change no matter which system I chose to watch or hear, I stick by the newspaper I have read since I first began to read. It may not be perfect, nor do I always agree with the viewpoint of all the columnists or editors, but at least I have a good idea of where they are coming from. Not the latest is in the paper, but errors of the day are pretty well filtered out. In todays Denver Post - Rocky Mountain News is an article by Mark Moe, a retired english teacher. Quoted in full here :

FREEDOM AND THE AMERICAN WAY

"I've been worried about freedom lately. Not just the concept, but the word itself, too. It seems a bit tired. Confusing, too. Maybe certain people are using too much, like, you know, the word "like." It's becoming a word we don't even, like, hear anymore."

"Politicians use it, like, a lot. (All right, I'll stop.) They use it mainly when they need a fallback word, and they do a lot of falling back. Freedom will fit in just about anywhere on any occasion where cheap inspiration is called for, except maybe in a prison, where it's probably frowned upon. But otherwise it's a good clean, American word. I'm pretty sure we coined it ourselves somewhere between bringing the slaves over from Africa and putting the natives we hadn't killed on reservations."

"President Bush likes that word, and so does Dick Cheney. They've been preaching freedom every chance they get, especially when the Iraq war comes up. According to them, once Iraq gets freedom, then other non-free countries will want in on it, and pretty soon the whole world will be free."

"Well maybe not."

"You see, it's not just some generic kind of freedom Bush and Cheney talking about. It's freedom. American-style. It's not some second-rate wannabe. It's the freedom to force others to get freedom. It's the freedom to tell others how to think in order to free them from their moral confusion. It's the freedom to be environmentally irresponsible, free from restraint of future consequences. It's the freedom to condemn extremists around the world, but to court them at home. It's the freedom to justify barbaric torture because they did it first. It's a blind, hypocritical, jingoistic freedom on steroids."

"Certainly the American Revolution and the Civil War are rightly revered as examples where freedom from tyranny and slavery were won. but I think the Bush administration's cowboy brand of freedom is more related to the settling of the frontier than those events, because it's a selfish, reckless kind of freedom -- the freedom of the scofflaw. Cheney in particular seems to embody this perspective: that we are free to do what needs to be done regardless of international law or the Geneva Convention. To hell with the rules or the law or the truth, let's kick some butt. After all, we're Americans."

"Our leaders make the mistake that freedom equals democracy. While freedom may provide an opportunity to practice democracy, it does not guarantee it, and it certainly doesn't guarantee that the Iraqi form of democracy will mirror ours. Centuries of entrenched theocratic tribalism in Iraq will not vanish when we say the magic word. Though I'm certain that many in Iraq will use democracy and the freedom it engenders in positive, constructive ways, I'm just as certain that many will see it as a way to self-promote, to grab power, to further their genocidal prejudices, or to control riches. If that sounds familiar, it should, It's the history of the American frontier in a nutshell."

"Freeing Iraq from Saddam Hussein was not "Mission Accomplished." That was the easy part. The real work is in how to handle the Irqaqis' new found freedom, including how "American" we want that freedom to be. But what if their idea of freedom differs from ours ? What if their freedom leads to civil war ? What then ? The truth is that no one is sure where the Iraqi people's freedom will lead them." Should we interfere with the shape it takes, however, it will certainly cease to be freedom."

"Lately, some have been decrying "cut and run" cowards such as Democratic Rep. John Murtha. coward, indeed. What Murtha and even a growing number of Republicans realize is that Iraqis will never have any real freedom so long as we occupy their country."

"Perhaps someone should remind Bush of another insurgency that took place in Massachusetts in the 1770s, fueled by another arrogant occupier. Dare we think that in some twisted ironic way, the Iraqi insurgents are now also fighting for freedom, American-style ?"

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Mr. Moe has a way with his words and equally his thoughts, I think. He says what I think and feel in much better langauage and construction than I. He MAKES SENSE TO ME . . . . . . . . . .