STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

i wish i could say that i'm surprised by this but the truth is i'm not. i always felt (and still feel) that the reasons for the war in iraq were flimsy (to put it mildly) and this just confirms that. the thing is i feel like outside of my little bubble i come across as some sort of wild eyed conspiracy theorist. (i've had many arguments with my brother about this and he thinks i'm crazy).

what saddens me is that even if this becomes a big deal (which i doubt, but i'm not without hope), many people will ignore it, in the same way people kind of ignored the fact that they didn't really find wmd's in iraq. and it just highlights one of my biggest issues with american society (and this is not an indictment on america b/c it is a great country) in that very few people bother to critically analyze the information they receive from the media on a daily basis, whether it's bullshit about lindsay lohan and brangelina, or more pressing issues like this.

Drew wrote:

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My feeling after reading that was, "So what am I supposed to do about it, and what could be done to 'fix' it?"   Nothing. Should we impeach Bush?  The thing is that as "corrupt" as our government can be, we are way better off than anywhere else I can think of.  Say we impeach Bush; who do we elect?  Who can fix this mess?  It is way bigger than one person, and most people don't want to deal with something that they can't think of a solution to. Not saying it's right; just my observation and opinion.

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Hey Drew - I don't think anyone thinks it can be "fixed," but people would like someone to be held accountable.  Did anyone intend to "fix" it when Clinton lied so earth-shatteringly about getting a BJ?  No, but they sure as hell held him accountable for it.  The tenacity of the angry mob that went after Clinton was impressive to say the least - I just wish we could get people equally riled up when a President commits an act of actual consequence! 

So on that note, when so many lives have been lost based upon what was possibly a deception (ok, you know I think we were lied to, but I am being fair), it bears full investigation and as many people as possible should be held accountable.  When someone is murdered, for example, we don't say, "Well, we can't fix it so let's not take anyone to task."  We investigate and ultimately hold someone responsible.  IF Bush and his cronies lied, no matter WHAT good comes of the war, he still lied, and this is not something we should accept.  If we won't accept a lie about a President's sex life (done to protect his own privacy), we definitely should not accept a lie that affects everyone - basically - in the world.

As for the logistics were Bush to be impeached (my dearest dream, but it won't happen - his political machine is too powerful) well, that would work itself out.  But you don't stick with someone who does you wrong just because you can't figure out who else to be with - it's true of a boyfriend and it SHOULD be true of a leader.  We can do better, and when it comes to our leaders, why should we "settle" when lives are at stake? 

And I totally agree with honey - people can't be bothered to think critically, and probably for the reasons Drew pointed out - too messy, too ugly.  It's depressing. 

Moreover - and this is a side note, because that was somewhat off-topic - how are we "better off" than other countries?  For the sake of argument, I'll use Finland - the government has the lowest rate of perceived corruption in the world, and the school system (free at ALL levels, including university) is ranked as the best in the world - you can't even teach primary school without a master's.  The Finnish economy is ranked as the world's most competitive by the world economic forum.  I am not saying THEY are "better" (it's apples and oranges, and they do have very high rates of unemployment and very high taxes) but how are WE "better off" in any general sense?  You can't say that we are.  Just trying to illustrate that that's a narrow worldview and things just aren't that simple.  ARE we better?  Bigger, yes.  More powerful, sure.  Better?  Hmmmm.  I just don't believe this, "Well, we're not perfect, but we're still the best" approach - not just because untrue, but because it is lazy.  We have puh-lenty of room for improvement, starting with being sure this great nation is effectively led - not led into quagmires with a passel of lies.  Anyway, not to take away from the topic as hand, but I always curdle when I hear people say we're "better off" than people in the rest of the world, because many people I know in other countries would find that laughable.  Sure, lots of people ARE easily worse off, but we're not the "best" - nobody is.  So it's no excuse for not trying to be better. 

Thanks for posting this, dc.  I am pretty lazy when it comes to following news like this, but after reading this, I realize people like me are part of the problem.  I care, but not enough to waste my time investigating the issues.  How selfish.

If we don't hold the White House accountable for this, what else can they get away with?  I totally agree with your comments about patriotism, dc.  People get confused and think the government has command of the people instead of the other way around.  Defending our country has nothing to do with unconditionally backing the WH and everything to do with backing the integrity of our system.  That means putting it to use.