| Reflections From the Heartland Part III:
Sinking Ships, Silver Linings
Jesse Lee OpEdNews.Com
The last article in this series ended with words of hope that
Bush’s stranglehold on the hearts and minds of the Heartland might yet
be broken. Little did I know what would unfold in the weeks since then.
Welcome to the party, George, we’ve got the pot boilin’ for ya.
Before getting into the meat of this article though, a correction is in
order. The point of this series has been to dissect fanatical Bushism, and
to find out how it functions and whence it came. Recent weeks have proven
that this author drastically underestimated a factor which was mentioned
in passing in the majority of the testimonials on which this series is
based, namely the new Cable News Era. This revolution has taken hold on a
new and grandiose level since 9/11, and the fact that it has only existed
in the presence of this administration, and more specifically during the
time that it has been viewed as inappropriate to criticize this
administration, has skewed the perception of the true nature of that
beast. The relationship between cable news and popular opinion is what is
referred to as a positive (mutually reinforcing) cycle. We have seen the
nature of cable news in several cases: the D.C. sniper, the Laci Peterson
case, and indeed, the gung-ho "Showdown Iraq". It is a
snowballing effect in which the more the public sees, the more it wants to
see, the more the networks show, etc., etc.- before you know it you’ve
got 24 hour coverage on all major outlets.
And now George gets to taste his own medicine, and it seems the boys
weren’t quite prepared for it. All hail cable news, for she is our new
master.
The disgrace enveloping this administration (no small thanks to cable
news), has predictably sparked comparisons to Nixon, with many wondering
whether Cheney will be to Bush what Agnew was to Nixon. But the comparison
runs deeper than that, particularly in the Heartland. It is easy to
remember Nixon’s demise as a sudden surprise uprooting an administration
with reasonable support from the public beforehand. In truth though,
Watergate was only a kill shot from a press and a populace whom had had
enough. Nixon had represented a sort of panicked reaction from a nation
perceiving that it was being overrun by drugs (especially pot), sex, and
rock and roll. He brought an appearance of staunch, black and white,
conservative morality, which ultimately proved to be little more than a
cover for the corruption and greed which has plagued the very heart of the
Republican party since the 50’s. In the beginning the country welcomed
the sense of security Nixon brought to a world seemingly gone topsy-turvy,
but gradually the country eased back to its senses and grew tired of
impure moralizing and hard right-wing social policies. When it turned out
that he was a full-blown hypocrite, the entire nation was more than ready
to show him the door.
To many in the Heartland, Clinton was a second coming of the horrors of
hippy-dom. He had smoked pot, had a reputation as a sexual scoundrel, he
even played the sax (can you call that rock and roll?). The Monica
Lewinsky affair confirmed all of their worst fears, convincing them that
although things seemed to be going fine with the country, liberals were at
heart morally bankrupt. Despite the fact that Kenneth Starr and the
Republicans came out the losers in the immediate aftermath, the long,
drawn-out tales of kinky sex which Starr’s efforts exposed did
tremendous harm to the liberal cause in America.
Enter Nixon; Enter Bush. This is what some readers had to say:
A friend of mine…supported Bush because she thinks he is a leader.
Even when she found out that he had been AWOL from TANG, that didn't
change her opinion much. She is still behind him because Clinton was
so morally reprehensible to her.
- unnamed location
The really unfortunate thing is, when asked why they support Bush,
these supporters have a great deal of difficulty spitting out anything
original. In other words, they don't have a clue. "I hate liberals
and the Clintons".
- A small town in PA
Some of the people here are so pro-Bush, but I think its because they
think he is a religious guy…But the scariest thing by far is the sheer
ignorance of his supporters.
-Rolla, MO
Bush took the stage with the words "Born-Again Christian" in
bright letters on the marquee. He invoked God in his speeches at a pace so
startling that Blair, his closest ally, has had to publicly distance
himself from that practice when prompted that perhaps Christian faith was
a deep common bond between the two men. But this administration has
displayed the true colors of the Republican elite, engineering a
government of, for, and by the rich on a scale that Nixon and Reagan could
only have imagined. To repay the dutiful campaigning of figures like Pat
Robertson and Jerry Falwell, Bush has also enacted a socially conservative
agenda that would make much of America shudder were it not so buried by
foreign policy issues in the media. Many Americans are, however, starting
to turn their eyes in that direction, and the fact that this
administration is terrified of a Supreme Court resignation is an
indication that it is afraid it may have pushed too far, just as Nixon
did. If Bush is caught in a web of lies, he may find that his loyal
followers quickly disappear.
Pro-war signs were everywhere during the war, but are now thinning out.
Iowans don't like lying anymore than folks inside the Beltway. –Des
Moines, IA
There is also another large, looming problem for both Bush and Blair.
In their strained efforts to build public approval for war, both leaders
were forced to borrow support from across the political aisle. Blair found
himself surrounded by conservative allies, making up the bulk of his
support in Parliament. Not surprisingly, the hypocrites turned on him the
moment questions came up about intelligence after the war, despite the
fact that intelligence was obviously hyped for the entire duration of the
build-up. As a consequence, Blair has found himself abandoned, and left to
sink by all sides.
Bush borrowed from the left when in his speech at the American
Enterprise Institute he introduced the "liberation"
argument. Right-wing regurgitators seized the opportunity to beat liberals
over the head with what was essentially a liberal, anti-conservative
rationalization, and relished the opportunity to do so. But as it has
become clear that Saddam Hussein was not an immanent threat (although he
may be now), Bush has found himself with nothing else to justify the
continuing US casualties except for that liberal argument. And surprise,
surprise, it doesn’t sit so well with Bush’s conservative base. George
Will’s recent column in the Washington Post goes so far as to
call the Bush presidency a crisis for the future of conservatism, pointing
first and foremost to the fact that Americans are now dying for the sake
of the biggest nation-building project in fifty years.
The first piece in this series began with a quote from a woman whom had
been called a "traitor" by her husband of forty-two years when
she mentioned that she would like to go to D.C. and protest. She was kind
enough to follow up with me, and this is what she said:
Tonight, after hearing about the forged Niger papers and the death toll
in Iraq since Bush declared the war over, a commentator spoke about how we
could combat guerrilla warfare. My husband didn't hear him out but
growled, "Bring the army home!"
Not a dramatic change but a step in the right direction. – Small
town, PA
Whether or not this current trend leads to the downfall of Bush his
neocon manipulators, it must certainly be said that they have reawakened
America’s political imagination, and have taught us all to value what we
have and what America truly stands for. This administration, the greediest
of the greedy, have broken the stagnant status quo into which this nation
had sunk, and the corporate empire for which they stand may well live to
regret the time that they finally over-stretched and pushed the slumbering
free citizens of this nation to the breaking point. Those who have stood
and fought this administration have invoked the spirit of Thomas Paine and
all those whom have preached on behalf of humanity and meant it. This
series is written in commemoration of those who stood for truth and
justice even in the daunting, hateful face of fanatical Bushism. All over
the country, small towns saw their first ever anti-war protests, and a
pledge of allegiance to the core principles of democracy could be heard
piercing through the insincere and hateful rhetoric of fascism. These are
some of the heroic stories a few such citizens related to me:
The seemingly few of us here (Missouri, near KC) who were opposed to
the war were relegated to the loony bin. The one exception was when we
marched in Lawrence, KS- over 1,000 people were there March 15th (and it
was VERY COLD). Grandmothers on their scooters, all different ages. That
was a great experience.
There is a little more room for discussion now, since Bush is hanging
himself with deceit, but it's a long road. –outside KC, MO
I belong to a loosely organized group of people opposed to the war in
Iraq. It's not an easy thing in this very Republican town of
Midland, MI. (world headquarters of Dow Chemical Co.)
In spite of being in a community of only 40,000 that overwhelmingly voted
for President Bush, we attracted hundreds to anti-war demonstrations at
the courthouse, and put together a series of full page newspaper ads that
were an inspiration to other groups around the nation.
check out our web page at:
http://www.midlandcitizensforpeace.com/
We are still meeting regularly, trying to work as we can to bring out
the truth and make our leaders accountable. –Midland, MI
For the first time in my life, (I am 52) I
have become politically active because I have hated this war from the get
go. I became a member of MoveOn last December. I recently
rewrote an article on why I think this war is illegal from a lawyer's
perspective and so far it has been published on DissidentVoice.org and
Britons4Peace.org.uk. In it I make an appeal to the
British to help us out.
Since I was nominated to be the local coordinator
for MoveOn, I initially sent the same article in letter form, sans appeal
to the British, to MoveOn. The local newspaper wanted me to
keep it abreast of MoveOn's (subversive) activities so it has
received two different versions of this article, one pre-war and one
post-war. The article has never appeared in the
local paper, although the paper mentioned me as having written a treatise
on the war. I can get my article published on the West coast
and in Britain, but not here.- unnamed location
I have attended many local peace rallies, and have seen the
one-fingered salute from people passing by in cars. The good news is
that an equal number have waved or honked their support. At my own
expense, I put out an alternative, monthly newspaper in Oshkosh called
"A Second Opinion". I have attached the latest edition.
"A Second Opinion" has really caught on. All 75 copies
that I put in the public library are gone each month. I put another
25 copies in a local coffeehouse and in the student union at UWO. A
friend of mine has told me that his friends in a south-side (blue-collar
side of town) Lutheran church choir consider "A Second Opinion"
to be next to the Bible for information! He Xeroxes copies for them
every month and brings them to choir practice! People have begun
emailing me asking for copies to be sent to them directly as an
attachment. My sense is that more and more people understand that
something is wrong in this country and are doing an end-run around the
corporate controlled media to educate themselves. Bush is going to
find out that he can only live a lie so long. - Oshkosh, WI
I found this last testimonial particularly intriguing and inspiring. In
emulation, I am initiating a project through OpEdNews.com called The
Responsive Citizen. It will be a printable bi-weekly newsletter,
one page front and back, which will be designed to convert a hostile or
uncommitted audience. It will feature a capsule summary of damning
mainstream news articles (e.g. the Washington Post or the New
York Times) with links to the full articles as well as one poignant
yet accessible opinion piece hand-picked by myself and my colleagues at
OpEdNews. The idea is, the newsletter can be distributed at points
of interest, just as the last contributor did, in order to sow the seeds
of doubt and dissent where the right has tried to salt the land.
For all those in the Heartland and elsewhere who would like to play a
role in educating your fellow citizens and deposing King George, please
email me at kirkout79@hotmail.com
and I will put you on my list- the file will be sent straight to your
inbox. All you will have to do is print out (or Xerox) perhaps 100
copies and drop them off at your leisure. If you want to join the fight
beyond simple petition-signing, here’s your shot.
It is time to put this administration in its proper historical place,
one of ignominy and warning to future generations. The sleeping giant of
American populism has awoken, and we must keep it at attention. In the
past two years the word "progressive" has gained credence, and
progressives stand poised to offer an alternative vision for the New
American Century. MoveOn stands as a testament to this fact, and it gives
us an opportunity to swarm politicians who think they can get away with
murder. September 11th will be looked at as perhaps the most
significant turning point in history since WWII, a day when America
realized it could no longer afford its own malaise. We can follow Bush
towards the Clash of Civilizations, or we can begin a quest for a world in
which there is no cause for hate the likes of that which is currently
growing in the Middle East and beyond. This age of global terrorism and
nuclear proliferation is indeed a new and dangerous one, and it is time to
step up and plan for the future of humanity itself. In order to set the
world off on the right foot (any more hesitation could mean catastrophe),
Bush and the neocons must be vanquished. Do what you can, just as these
brave souls have.
Jesse
Lee lives in Washington, D.C. and is a regular columnist for opednews.
He is also a founding contributor to the platform of 2020 Democrats.
He encourages comments at kirkout79@hotmail.com.
This article is copyright by Jesse Lee and originally
published by opednews.com but
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