So Much For My Blood Pressure

Now that I probably don't have a single reader left, having sent them all home, I find that I can't avoid hearing the news, and that occasionally (even if I try not to be obsessive about it) there are things I need to get off my chest. Starting with...

First off, I want to be clear, I DO NOT WANT TERRORISTS TO ATTACK THIS COUNTRY. This might seem obvious, but that's exactly the charge which is leveled at non-supporters of this Administration, that they hate America, blame America, and want America to be hit again.

This is, of course, a fallacy. The President is not America, the President is the temporary steward OF America, her pilot (chosen by her passengers) for up to two four year spans of time. If the driver of a bus that I'm on begins weaving in and out of traffic and driving in a manner I perceive as unsafe, I am free to criticize the driving, but it doesn't mean I hate the bus. The bus may be the most modern technological marvel of people moving, the absolute state of the art, and it can still be driven in a dangerous and unsafe manner.

It's the same argument I've made before when being accused of hating the troops. I have nothing but respect for (most of) our troops. As with any large group of people, there will be bad apples, but on the whole I believe our troops are brave men and women out there honestly trying to protect this country and I salute them for it.

But back to my original point. To make the argument that I want terrorists to attack this country, you have to also make the argument that I want to have a root canal and both my legs amputated, because I can make the same statement about those things as I can about America being hit again: I would rather have a root canal and my legs amputated than be diagnosed with bone cancer and the prognosis of losing my life in the next few months after a long and painful struggle. Clearly I don't WANT either of these things to happen, I have simply made a value judgment regarding which I consider to be the lesser of two evils.

So it is with this country being attacked again. Although it is thankfully not a choice any of us would ever have to make, I think we'd all rather suffer another attack on the scale of 9/11 than have all life on planet Earth wiped out in a nuclear conflagration. The one kills 3000 people, the other billions, the human life algebra is an absolute no brainer. Unfortunately, the choice we're asked to make today is less clear and also one we DO have to make: How happy are we with the dismantling of everything that makes our country great (especially our previously high ideals regarding human rights)? And after learning the details of the "compromise" between the White House and Congress over the Geneva Conventions, I am prepared to make this statement: I would rather the U.S. was attacked again than to be ashamed of my country's leadership. Not ashamed of my country, only of those under whose stewardship she has been allowed to decay and fall into disrepair.

I may, if I have time later, come back and detail what I know of the "compromise" and how it runs counter to everything I believe this country stands for. But for now, understand that we who object to this Administration are not blaming America for the problems of the world we are blaming the Administration for allowing our country to tarnish, for putting a dent in her fender, a scratch in her quarter-panel, and neglecting regular maintenance.

Liam.