Monday, September 26, 2005
WE NEED NEW IDIOTS
You probably didn’t hear much about it, but the smell of dissent hung thick in the DC air this weekend as nearly 200,000 turned out in the streets to raise their voices. While the target of dissent had conveniently repositioned himself in Colorado, the symbol of his rule, his Castle if you will, was completely surrounded.
While there was nary a Democratic leader to be found (they, like the president, conveniently scurried out of town for the weekend), the march itself was actually quite emblematic of the party: Large but disorganized. Loud but lacking focus. Seriously, something needs to be done about how these things are run. As Gilliard points out, “Too many people on the left glom on to any protest and use it as their hobby horse.” I agree that groups like ANSWER, whose involvement makes it all too easy for the other side to completely discreditt these events, need to be given the heave-ho. Seriously, when the “Sonar Kills Dolphins” sign marched past me, I knew we were seriously lacking clarity of message. Sigh.
With so many mixed messages, I sometimes question my involvement in these things. Like so many others, I have struggled with how best to get out of the mess these bastards in the Bush administration have put us in. I’ve struggled with the idea of a mass pull-out from Iraq, realizing that that path could serve to further destabilize the region. And as I marched amongst the patchwork of well-intentioned suburbanites, rabid anarchists and dolphin defenders, I found myself wondering why I was there at all. But I realized the next day that despite our wildly varying reasons for hitting the streets Saturday, there was one goal we all shared: Replace These Idiots.
While I don’t support everything that was protested against Saturday, the larger theme of revolution, whether in the form of impeachment or otherwise, is something I can stand behind. These are the fuckers who got us into this mess in the first place, so why should we continue to follow their lead? Even if you agree with the insane concept behind the war, you can’t be happy with how it’s been carried out. They’ve failed miserably, there is no denying that. Why should we trust anything they tell us when they’ve proven time and time again, and on a variety of issues, to be dishonest, corrupt and thoroughly incompetent? As Jefferson Parrish President Aaron Broussard said at the height of the Katrina debacle, “Give Me Better Idiots.”
These are scary times folks. And these are not the people you want in charge when things are so precarious. They’ve proven that. And it’s not just Bush either, not by a long shot. I honestly believe Bush doesn’t fully understand the results of his actions. Let’s face it, the guy will never be confused for an intellectual, even the farthest reaches of the right can see that. He’s not curious. He’s not into ‘critical thinking.’ Like so many of his supporters, he’d rather be told how to think. It’s just easier that way. I think he truly believes the story he’s spouting, I just don’t think he understands it. I said the minute he was ‘selected’ president: “It’s not him I’m worried about; it’s the people standing behind him that scare me.” He’s the boy king, the pawn of much more evil men. I believe they’ll sacrifice even him if they have to, which means we gotta throw ‘em all out. The pull out we need most right now is a pull out of this current government. Send them back to whatever evil hole they crawled out of. We need new, less-dangerous idiots, and we need them immediately.
Finally, if, like me, you’ve struggled with the question about what the correct course of action in Iraq moving forward is, read “Heart of Darkness” by Billmon. It’s disturbing, but it shines a much-needed light on the unfortunate consequences the Bush administration’s actions have and will continue to bring about.
Observing their handiwork.
MORE
TruthOut: Full coverage.
MahaBlog: More coverage
MaxSpeaks: Photos from the march.
Voice: Pull Out. Like Your Father Should Have.
Juan Cole: Why We Have to Get Our Troops Out.
Sheehan: Last weekend Karl Rove said I was a ‘clown.’
You probably didn’t hear much about it, but the smell of dissent hung thick in the DC air this weekend as nearly 200,000 turned out in the streets to raise their voices. While the target of dissent had conveniently repositioned himself in Colorado, the symbol of his rule, his Castle if you will, was completely surrounded.
While there was nary a Democratic leader to be found (they, like the president, conveniently scurried out of town for the weekend), the march itself was actually quite emblematic of the party: Large but disorganized. Loud but lacking focus. Seriously, something needs to be done about how these things are run. As Gilliard points out, “Too many people on the left glom on to any protest and use it as their hobby horse.” I agree that groups like ANSWER, whose involvement makes it all too easy for the other side to completely discreditt these events, need to be given the heave-ho. Seriously, when the “Sonar Kills Dolphins” sign marched past me, I knew we were seriously lacking clarity of message. Sigh.
With so many mixed messages, I sometimes question my involvement in these things. Like so many others, I have struggled with how best to get out of the mess these bastards in the Bush administration have put us in. I’ve struggled with the idea of a mass pull-out from Iraq, realizing that that path could serve to further destabilize the region. And as I marched amongst the patchwork of well-intentioned suburbanites, rabid anarchists and dolphin defenders, I found myself wondering why I was there at all. But I realized the next day that despite our wildly varying reasons for hitting the streets Saturday, there was one goal we all shared: Replace These Idiots.
While I don’t support everything that was protested against Saturday, the larger theme of revolution, whether in the form of impeachment or otherwise, is something I can stand behind. These are the fuckers who got us into this mess in the first place, so why should we continue to follow their lead? Even if you agree with the insane concept behind the war, you can’t be happy with how it’s been carried out. They’ve failed miserably, there is no denying that. Why should we trust anything they tell us when they’ve proven time and time again, and on a variety of issues, to be dishonest, corrupt and thoroughly incompetent? As Jefferson Parrish President Aaron Broussard said at the height of the Katrina debacle, “Give Me Better Idiots.”
These are scary times folks. And these are not the people you want in charge when things are so precarious. They’ve proven that. And it’s not just Bush either, not by a long shot. I honestly believe Bush doesn’t fully understand the results of his actions. Let’s face it, the guy will never be confused for an intellectual, even the farthest reaches of the right can see that. He’s not curious. He’s not into ‘critical thinking.’ Like so many of his supporters, he’d rather be told how to think. It’s just easier that way. I think he truly believes the story he’s spouting, I just don’t think he understands it. I said the minute he was ‘selected’ president: “It’s not him I’m worried about; it’s the people standing behind him that scare me.” He’s the boy king, the pawn of much more evil men. I believe they’ll sacrifice even him if they have to, which means we gotta throw ‘em all out. The pull out we need most right now is a pull out of this current government. Send them back to whatever evil hole they crawled out of. We need new, less-dangerous idiots, and we need them immediately.
Finally, if, like me, you’ve struggled with the question about what the correct course of action in Iraq moving forward is, read “Heart of Darkness” by Billmon. It’s disturbing, but it shines a much-needed light on the unfortunate consequences the Bush administration’s actions have and will continue to bring about.
We have to get out -- not because withdrawal will head off civil war in Iraq or keep the country from fallling under Iran's control (it won't) but because the only way we can stop those things from happening is by killing people on a massive scale, probably even more massive than the tragedy we supposedly would be trying to prevent.Read it.
Observing their handiwork.MORE
TruthOut: Full coverage.
MahaBlog: More coverage
MaxSpeaks: Photos from the march.
Voice: Pull Out. Like Your Father Should Have.
Juan Cole: Why We Have to Get Our Troops Out.
Sheehan: Last weekend Karl Rove said I was a ‘clown.’
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