619,236
This is the number of people killed on September 11, 2001:
2752
So, the ratio of dead civilians that horrible day in September to soldiers who died fighting for America is:
1 : 225
Now, think of the Bush Administration, and its legacy of lies, wiretapping, torture, no-bid contracts to cronies, destruction of American Prestige and moral authority, usurpation of checks and balances, corruption, subborning of the Justice Department, stacking of the Courts, removal of habeas corpus, jailing of prisoners without trial or legal representation, extraordinary rendition, mocking of the electoral process, mail searchs, placing of wolves to watch over our regulatory sheep, the triumph of money over policy (or money as policy), and out-and-out ignoring of the will of the American people in favor of a "base" made up of the Un-American religious zealots who make up about 25% of the population, and (more importantly) the richest 1% of the nation*.
Got that image in your head?
Now look at that last ratio, because that is the number of soldiers who have been betrayed in the name of each the 9-11 dead, not just by the Bush Administration, but by every single American who still supports the Republican Party that enables King George's Cabal. We can also include the Democrats in Congress who sent Bush the war funding bill he wanted in exchange for 40 pieces of pork, betraying those who voted them into "power" last November.
These are all people who are more interested in their careers and their wealth and in petty political gain than they are in the maintainance of the Constitution as an instrument of freedom and choice, regardless of personal sacrifice. That's what the dreams of our Founding Fathers have come to.
Someday, when some Viet Namese scholar is doing his doctoral thesis on the collapse of America, they'll point to these times, and the lack of foresight, insight, or even on-the-tip-of-your-nose-sight that Americans display these days. I hope they can make some sense of it, because I sure cant.
7 comments:
one word dave...values. these guys have values, and if they say they are family values well must they then be holding up a mirror? i think so.
Values? The only "values" I see honored in Washington anymore is the "value" of a campaign contribution. Or the "value" of a dollar (actually, of lots of dollars).
I hear a lot of talk about "Family Values", but I see no action, unless you want to count the hate-talk about anti-homosexuality, or about anti-sexuality, or about anti-intellectualism, or about anti-liberalism. Because God knows that (gay) love, sex, questioning, and progress are all terrible crimes against The Family.
They may be holding up a mirror, but they're holding it up facing the voters, and then claiming it for their own face. Behind the mirror though is a face of greed and amorality that'd make Dorian Gray look away.
could not agree more. but as for the majority of americans dave, i see little difference from their leaders. i will come visit you in new zealand. i hear it's beautiful.
Dave,
Good answer. I don't see values. I see young men and women going off to be slaughtered in a country far away from home in a war no one knows the real reason for fighting. How is that a family value?
sorry that I can't provide the ISBN right now, but will get it to you in short order, probably out-of-print but it's called 'Hemmingway, Best Between The By-Lines' or something like that. Old newspaper articles...anyway, he did this bit on the value of valor or honor or somesuch where he described WWI vets coming back to the US and Canada after The War To End All Wars, and described how little your medals got you in trade or weight value to buy a sandwich on the next block over. We are dealing with nothing new here, other than our current speed of conveyance of info and ability to 'dress it up'. And the sterile, not interactive, solitary, physical reality of our current "interactive' media, which, just calling it that don't make it so.
"Dave,Good answer. I don't see values. I see young men and women going off to be slaughtered in a country far away from home in a war no one knows the real reason for fighting. How is that a family value?"
apparently everyone missed my smartass remark about values. jesus, do you sane intelligent people really think i feel the bushies have family values or any values other than cashola? shit no wonder i have had trouble with my blog, good damn thing i am hanging it up, because apparently i am not f'in black and white enough.
sorry i cannot just drone on in the literal world. %^*#@
Rev, I got what you were doing. You were answering in the voice of the person you were mocking. I do that myself sometimes, and it often confuses people (not that I care much).
But I had a choice, to answer in kind or to answer as if you (or the person you were giving voice to) meant it. I chose the latter, mostly because I just was in the mood to be angry, rather than mocking. Sorry.
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