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THE INSANITY OF
STAYING THE COURSE
WITH BLIND MEN AT THE HELM!
May, 2004
This is all too easily reminiscent of the Titanic heading towards those looming icebergs. Despite warnings of danger, the captain of that doomed vessel chose to stay the course.
Staying the course? So did the Titanic!
Less than a year ago, George Bush spoke to reporters at the White House about his strategy for dealing with insurgency in Iraq. In a moment of embarrassing bravado he snarled to the world: Bring ‘em on! And guess what... they came.
They came from every quarter: the Shia who hated Saddam and the Sunis who supported him. They came from newly recruited terror groups, and from across unguarded borders. Roadside explosions and suicide bombs took their daily toll, and Iraq gradually spiraled into a region of greater and greater chaos and death. Today, as new battles erupt each day, and no one knows for certain the face of the insurgency, the quagmire deepens. Today, close to 900 coalition troops and thousands of Iraqis have died, and so very, very many have been maimed for life.
And today, more than 82% of Iraqis oppose the occupation of their country. And guess what…George Bush is clueless. Despite the morass, despite the warnings, despite the handwriting on the wall, George Bush is clueless. Despite the rumblings of his own military leaders, and despite the growing whispers that the war – both militarily and politically - is rapidly being lost, George Bush is clueless.
With a refusal to deal with any reality whatsoever, the Bush bravado continued. Despite all that happened, - despite the absence of any preplanning, it continued. Despite the failure to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, it continued. Despite the absence of a plan to whom to hand over sovereignty, it continued. Despite any semblance of an exit strategy, it continued.
Despite depletion of our armor and the exhaustion of our troops, - and despite the recent prison scandal, the bravado continued. Despite the hundreds of billions of dollars still needed to fight a war that is going nowhere, it continued. No matter how drastic the situation became, it continued. It continued, and continued because George Bush does not make mistakes. No matter what the cost, George Bush never makes mistakes, so there would be no change in strategy.
There would however be a change of mantra – not strategy, mind you, only mantra. Listen closely to every speech he makes. You will hear George Bush, in the same egotistical bravado as before, parroting his latest Karl Rove phrase: We must stay the course! We must stay the course! We must stay the course!
Never mind that the course is leading this nation and Iraq to an inevitable catastrophe. Never mind. Just stay the course. Never mind that the leaders at the helm are blind. Just stay the course. Never mind that they have been blinded by their own greed, their own ambitions, and their own mistaken sense of invincibility. Just stay the course, at any price, right or wrong. Or not….
The Bush administration is convinced that Americans, too, are blind. They trust that most Americans will agree to stay the course on their say so. They really believe that we cannot see the abject failure of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. They really believe we cannot see the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, They really believe we cannot see the tragedy of a war on terror diverted to a totally unrelated war for global domination. They really believe it.
They really believe we cannot see the secrecy that characterizes their administration. They really believe that we cannot see the stonewalling of investigation after investigation, and the influence of corporate interests on their policies. They really believe that we cannot see jobs being outsourced or tax laws benefiting the wealthiest among us. They really believe we cannot see their disdain for universal health care or affordable prescription drugs. The really believe we cannot see how they cater to the narrow religious beliefs of a few extremists. They believe that we cannot see how they will manipulate the character of the next Supreme Court. They really believe it.
They really believe that we cannot see what they have done to the Constitution, the environment, the economy and the basic needs of the nation. They really believe we cannot see how they have alienated the entire world and made the United States the most feared and hated country on earth. They really believe that we cannot see through their lies and deceptions. They really believe that we have swallowed the nonsense that we are now safer from those who would harm us. They really believe that we are impressed by the ridiculous notion that might makes right. And they really, really, believe that most Americans will rally ‘round their usurped flag and return them to office in November. They really believe it. Yeah, right…
This is all too easily reminiscent of the Titanic heading towards those looming icebergs. Despite warnings of danger, the captain of that doomed vessel chose to stay the course. He stayed the course and the rest is history. If we permit George Bush to stay the course, I fear that this nation, too, will be history. The men at the helm have stated their intentions, and there is little we can do to alter their direction for the moment. But in a very short time we will have the chance to reverse their course and set the nation in the right direction.
The blind will follow George Bush and his cadre and they will try to give him four more years in which to seal that the fate of the United States and the world. But those who choose to see and whose eyes are open to reality, - have an opportunity to choose a new Captain at the helm. This November, we must, we must, we must CHANGE the course of our policies at home and abroad.
For if we fail, and George Bush remains at his post, we will surely all go down with the ship.
Graphic courtesy of Oddman from DemocraticUnderground.com
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