Where do we go from here? Deficits, wars and a world on the edge

Ok so now the war is "over", the votes have been cast and regardless of the glad handing and sunshine pumping from the White house, deep down inside we have to know that democracy and freedom have lost to the old dogs who will not learn a new trick no matter how many bombs the US drops on them. Regardless of our political bias and personal agendas, we should be asking ourselves if the germ of freedom resides on the tip of a smart bomb or if it is a natural progression that must first reside in the masses who will then spur the white horse of man's political evolution towards personal freedom. Did we ever really expect that the middle eastern people, once released from their shackles, would emerge from the cave full fledged freedom lovers with the realisation they were controlled by the whims of a shadow on the wall known as religion? Not really, no more than we believe that Snow White could be woken from the spell of an evil witch with the kiss of true love could we believe that the kiss of Bush's bombs would wake those so accustomed to the rule of oppression. Thousands of years of fermentation has strengthened the poison in this apple.

So, in effect, everyone lost. Almost 2,000 coalition deaths and over 15,000 civilian/insurgant deaths later (and more by the day), we will hand the control of Iraq over to the members of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance most of whom have been in exile in the Islamic-Repulic of Iran where they were trained for war. 152 billion dollars have been spent to seat a theocratic government with ties to a known nuclear threat. A theocratic government who will likely prove to be anything but free.

With the bodies and bombs still smoldering in Iraq, the US has already stepped onto the path towards war with Iran via the pentagon's black recon. The question remains will we be at war again in Iraq as well now that Iran has seeded the parliament with sympathizers who will no doubt side with their former protectors. How much more will this cost in lives and money by 2008? What will Bush leave for his successor? Two words deaths and debt.
Debt to the tune of 335 billion by the year 2015. And this number does not take into account future war costs or the proposed fix to the AMT which could bring the number closer to 700 billion within the next decade. But of course Bush will be out of office and in the tradition of the Grand ole Party, the blame will be shifted to the next administration.

We are on the edge, the edge of bankruptsy, the edge of ceaseless and senseless war and the edge of the end of freedom as we know it. Wars are now started by pentagon black recon bereft of any oversight, deficits are mounting and we are handing over our rights, freedoms and privacy to the government for a promise of safety which will never be realised.

Great post, it would be difficult for me to agree more. and this:




is one of the neatest descriptions of the current administration's mindset that I've ever heard, may I borrow it when I rant on the streetcorner?

Welcome to 1984.

You know exactly where we go from here.

We step away from the computer, sit in front of the TV and watch football and Coronation Street. We feign interest in a royal wedding which has been orchestrated to mask everything else in the news. We stop reading anything of any relevance, and start reading "Britney's Wedding Shock Horror Justin Timberlake Blah Blah Shock" in Heat magazine. We buy mobile phones, cars, clothes, we go on holiday and get fucked in Ibiza to distract ourselves from the fact that it's the world that's completely, utterly and irretrievably shagged.

Phenomenal post, Isis. You should seriously submit your post to the editor of the Post, Times or even USA Today. I had an interesting conversation with a friend last night, as well. He indicated that there are mounting tensions in Europe (Greece/Turkey), and that the seeds of war are sown. Are we really prepared to have the entire world crumbling around us?

Never let a religious fundamentalist define "freedom." It will always be a mistake. Nothing against moderate mainline Christians... those who still remember that Jesus's message was about loving your enemy and turning the other cheek. They aren't the problem. No matter how much lip service fundamentalists pay to Jesus, their god is another beast entirely... a veangeful, petty, and oppressive tyrant. How can anyone willing to bow down to that be qaulified to champion freedom for the rest of us? Add to that the jingoistic ambitions of the neo-conservatives who are still fighting the cold war for American manifest destiny at any costs, who are completely incapable of viewing the world in any terms other than "us versus them," and we may as well be back in the dark ages.

Bravo, Chip. Excellent.

Never fear, we soon will be (if we aren't already).

Excellent post Isis.

The stark truth of your comment Charlotte makes me very afraid for the world. The world has always had tyrants - but they were eventually stopped by people who saw what they were doing and were far sighted enough to realize the potential for future devastation.

We are a world placated with commercial pablum. When the masses scream they stick an SUV in their mouth and throw on a Jerry Springer video and everybody's happy long enough for them to pass their agenda.


..

with each new legislative act i become more and more disenfranchised with our government, so much so that i've been playing with the idea of moving..

say to Amsterdam. pretty quiet and fairly free there.


also, Isis, your post is extremely well worded and it's a coherent expression of your viewpoints. i agree with Paolo, you should submit your editorial for publication.

To echo what everyone else has said, you're an amazing writer Isis! I love reading your thoughts. Your words are made all the more powerful by the fact that you turn so many common stereotypes on their heads. Bravo.

America is at war with terror - America has always been at war against terror.

Addendum - stop - Victory Times 2003 - stop - reads going to war over WMD - stop - to read : going to war to promote freedom - stop.

Osama bin Laden non person - stop - replace - Sudam Hussain - stop.

Doubleplusgood in the Ministry of Truth comrade.

Siggy.

Nope. Not everyone. There are some VERY VERY wealthy folks in the administration, as well as many large compaign contributors that made out like bandits, and continue to do so. Halliburton, BP, etc...

The people that this whole sham was designed to benefit certainly didn't lose.

Thanks for summing up life in Britain today, now I'm even more depressed. But what if there's one hell of an economic crash? When people stop getting their shiny gadgets and holidays to Cancun do u think they will wake up?

Don't worry folks. Nuclear winter will fix EVERYTHING!

Thanks to this administration, we're in a very very deadly and unstable time. The world has been on edge ever since its gotten into power. As I pointed out in another thread, there's only so much the world will take before it starts reacting negatively towards us. I'm not using scare tactics, but its the hardcore truth, and people NEED TO WAKE UP, as to what's going on.

I was fine with afgahnistan (there was a reason for it), but these next two steps I'm very weary about. I'd like to keep politics out of it, because simply the actions caused by this administration is going to affect all our lives regardless our opinions on them.

Democracy isn't and NEVER WAS for war, EVER. Democracy only defended itself in times of desperate need. Isolationism worked as far as military actions went. If we wake up, we could had prevented certain things without involving the MILITARY. Yes, this maybe a bias post, but quite frankly, I'm fed up with the lies of this administration.

I said it before, I'll say it again.

I WANT MY FREEDOM BACK!

Yes, and then I shall lead my people to victory over you mammals!

Exactly, Chip, but I would extend that same philosophy to any and all religions, philosphies, political affiliations and ideologies of the world which focus on war, dominion, elitism and superiority rather than humanity and the furthering of freedom.

Just as a ps....

Thank you for all of your support, all of you in the SL forums. Whether I agree or disagree with you, I consider you my online family and you all spurn me to greater thoughts and actions. This is such a well written forum that I have to stay on my toes just to keep pace with you all!! Man I love you guys!!!!

Far too many of us do just that, Charlotte. What a sad state of human existence. I would rather be prone position before the tanks of government protecting my freedom than lying in some drunken orgy of materialistic gluttony and denial. Though a good screw never hurt anyone.

Awwwww! Thank you, Isis. The feeling is very mutual. You are one of the most well-spoken members of this forum, and I for one very much appreciate your sharing your wisdom with us.

Riiiiiiiight! But the god of the terrorists is a benevolent, peaceful fellow! Damn those Christians! Damn them to Hell...which you don't believe in... damn them!


-Kiamat Dusk
Preventing Liberals from having their cake and eating it, too

...said the person in a public forum without any reprecussions...

-Kiamat Dusk
Censored for your protection

Like Lou Reed, Isis is a Rock n' Roll Animal!

On second thought, I won't go there. Isis, your post was clear and well written. After reading it, I feel that I understand better where you are coming from.

That doesn't mean I agree with you, however!

What I see from you and a lot of Americans who are not simply hardline Leftists is a great deal of fear and uncertainty. I believe a large part of this is due to a Left leaning press who consistently paint the darkest picture they can in order to smear a president they hate.

But, it would be foolish to blame it all on the press. The fact is, we *are* living in uncertain times. We are at war with an enemy who hates us not, as some would have yu believe because of any actions of ours in that region, but simply because we are who we are. Because we are not an Islamofacist state, because our women have the right to vote, go to school, and go out unescorted. They hate us because we have freedom in the West. Pure and simple. This will not go away with negotiation, but only with force of arms.

War is a frightening time, we worry about our loved ones in the military, we worry about ourselves at home. But, as we saw on 9/11, we didn't have to invade a country to become a target. Better there than here.

It is in these times that we must show unity and resolve. I am not saying you shouldn't disagree with the war or how it is fought, but we must accept that we are at war and we must see it through. With all the death toll rising, it is easy to want to cut and run, it's our nature to avoid danger, but that will not make us safer. Our actions in Somalia when we cut and run after the Blackhawk Down incident only emboldened the terrorists.

The economy seems to be in a perpetual state of flux. Everywhere you turn there are dire predictions about the stock market or job loss. We're being told that Social Security won't be there when my generation (X) retires if things don't change soon. And it seems that every day more and more people are without health insurance.

You have every right to be scared, we all do.

But there is hope if you look for it.

Democracy is springing up all over the world, in the Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine. The Israelis and Palestinians are making record advances towards peace.
The latest job numbers show that any job losses from Bush's first term have been recovered and overcome. Our GDP continues to grow.

In Iraq 15 of 18 provinces are peaceful and prospering. Schools are being built, children have been released from Saddam's children's prisons, the rape rooms are closed forever.

In Afghanistan women who were once forbidden to go to school are receiving and education for the first time since the Taliban took over.

Libya has given up its pursuit of WMDs.

In the US homeownership is at an all time high. School children are testing at higher levels and the achievement gap between minorities and the majority is shrinking.

We have seen the appointment of the first black Secretary of State and the first Hispanic Attorney General. Minorities in this country have now held or hold 3 of the most powerful positions in our government and thus the WORLD.

The administration is working with both sides of the aisle in Congress to come up with a viable solution to the Social Security problem.

Tax cuts mean that Americans keep more of their own money.

As for the deficit, Reagan ran up a huge deficit in his race to spend the USSR into bankruptcy and it paid off. The same holds true here. I know it seems like a lot now, but it is money well spent. Think of it like purchasing a house. The initial expense is huge (for most of us) and leaves us with enormous debt, but we do it because we know that the return (security) is worth the risk.

Hang in there, Isis. America has been through worse and we'll get through this.

-Kiamat Dusk

Islamic fundamentalists are fundamentalists last time I checked. I wouldn't want them defining freedom for me either. You need to work on your reading comprehension.