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Last week we published a column hinting that the U.S. under George Bush more closely resembles the actions of Nazi Germany under Adolph Hitler than that of Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Does this mean that we consider Bush a Hitler and the U.S. a fascist state?OF COURSE NOT! The differences between present-day America and pre-war Germany far outweigh any similarities.
We made the comparison mainly to put the lie to ALL the WW II analogies that were being floated. One of the ways we did it is by quoting Hermann Goering on how simple it is to fool the public in matters of peace and war. What Goering was really talking about was the language of power. What he had and we have is a culture of excessive secrecy at the top. In a totalitarian state this was understandable and predictable. In a democracy it is INSANE!
A recent film, The Gathering Storm, illustrates this notion in a rather ironic manner. It deals with the life and works of Winston Churchill leading up to WW II. At the time, his political party, the Conservatives, were the peaceniks. In order to bolster their position of "peace in our times" they systematically withheld information about the re-armament of Germany from the British public. Churchill enlisted the aid of an official in the Foreign Office, Ralph Wigram, to combat this deception. This gentleman, at great risk to his own health and well being, gave Churchill access to top secret documents which contained detailed information about Germany's actions. Churchill, over time, was able to use this information to gradually convince the English public that it was necessary to prepare for an almost certain war. That effort may very well have saved Britain during the 1940-41 intensive bombing of London, when the vastly superior German air force...Goering's boys...was effectively countered by a newly invigorated British air force. It also, not incidentally, led to Churchill's eventual elevation to Prime Minister during five years of WW II.
Does this mean that the Tories, with the sole exception of Churchill, were evil, traitorous men who were selling England down the river? Absolutely not! Wigram himself, although mainly convinced that Churchill was right about Nazism and Hitler, grew so despondent about the upcoming conflict...blaming himself for getting England into a war he knew would kill thousands, perhaps millions, of people...that he committed suicide before the onset. The longing for peace...at almost any price...is a sound and wonderful aspect of humanity, to be nurtured and protected.
What was evil and traitorous was withholding the TRUTH about what was happening from the British public. The very strength of a democracy resides in the power of an INFORMED public. In Britain prior to WW II, this sin was committed by conservatives longing to AVOID war. In America, at the present time, it is being promulgated by conservatives longing to WAGE war.
It may be true that Saddam is preparing horrible events for the American public. He may indeed be feeding weapons of mass destruction to terrorists. We are certainly being told that this is true. It is being almost literally shouted on the airwaves by numerous administration spokespersons, hour after hour, day after day. Yet, to date, although Bush himself assures us that he has overwhelming proof that this is true, not one iota, not one bit of evidence that would stand up in a court of law, has been provided. We are told that the necessities of national security preclude our being informed. We are blandly assured that the protection of "sources and methods" means that we will simply have to trust them.
In a democracy, not a single life should be forfeit on the alter of secrecy. Our constitution states that the congress, consisting of those people democratically elected to serve in our name, is the sole agent with the ability to declare war. This doctrine MUST NOT BE TAKEN LIGHTLY. For, it will not be George W. Bush who will give his life on the plains of Iraq. It is not Dick Cheney who will suffer lifelong ailments from wounds obtained in battle. Instead, it will be our sons and daughters who bear the brunt. Bush and Cheney actually evaded active military service when they had a chance to serve our country. By what rationale should they now have the sole voice in deciding war or peace?
Which brings us back to our main topic, the language of power. It is said that power corrupts...and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When our President claims that he need pay no heed to the voices of the rest of the world, his power...which WE THE PEOPLE HAVE CEDED TO HIM, by the way...may have grown too large. When he states, as he said a few days ago, that he needn't even pay any attention to the vast majority of the American people...SHOULD HE DISAGREE WITH US...then there is not a shadow of doubt that this man has been hopelessly corrupted by power.
And therein is the real similarity between the dictators of the past and our democratically elected president. This man, George W. Bush, and his advisors have gone over the line. Their words...soon to be followed with deeds...give them away. Engorged with power, entranced by the vast superiority of America's military might, they act like the men and women in the epic tale, Lord of the Rings, when they encounter the "ring of power." Death, destruction, force and intimidation replace reason. Otherwise good and honest people become monsters in pursuit of the "precious"...the absolute power that corrupts absolutely.
Who will be OUR Churchill? Who will reveal to us the truths that the Bush administration wishes to conceal? Whoever it is, s/he better act quickly for, as Bush himself has said, "Time is running out."
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