pride goeth...

Where are we, and where are we going?  That’s the question I keep asking myself more and more these days, especially after reading the news.  Not that I’m so insightful as to be able to see into the future, but I get the feeling that our country and the world is on the precipice of change, and that the fall will not be an enjoyable one.

I find it humorously ironic that we are engaged in a purported war for freedom in another country while our chief executive usurps the fundamental rights of the citizens of his own country.  There are several historical parallels that can be drawn to show how this is not in and of itself something to be worried about.  Franklin D. Roosevelt imprisoned thousands of Japanese-Americans citizens in the name of national security, and he’s considered one of the great leaders to have ever lived.

Now, just as then, we are a nation that is in a struggle against fanatical enemies who seek to destroy our way of life and dominate the world…or are we?  Is the war in Iraq another instance of the United States coming to the aid of an ally, or is it the latest in a long line of American “intervention” in other countries’ affairs?

As I go over this situation in my mind I alternately try to justify and condemn the actions of the Bush administration, and cannot arrive at an absolute conclusion on either.  There is no question that Saddam Hussein is an evil man.  The question is whether or not our government had the right to wage war against Iraq and remove him from power.  That decision was the first in a series that has led us to where we are now, and was an unfortunate indicator as to how this administration wields its power.

Hours after the attacks of the morning of 9/11, the world knew who the perpetrators were, and where they made their stronghold.  When the United States invaded Afghanistan, there was not so much as a peep from any country regarding our justification or mission.  But when we proposed an invasion of Iraq, even the United States’ closest allies had to ask why.

The answer was based upon false information, and included an implied threat that we would invade with or without the support of the international community.  “Any nation that is not with us is against us.”

Fast-forward to the distribution of the contracts to rebuild Iraq.  The largest are awarded to Halliburton and it’s subsidiaries on a no-bid basis.

Hurricane Katrina destroys New Orleans and the relatively young Office of Homeland Security proves unequal to the task.  Again, many of the larger rebuilding contracts are awarded to Halliburton and subsidiaries on a no-bid basis.

The president orders hundreds of wiretaps of domestic communications of American citizens.

The common element in all of these events is the fact that the administration acted cavalierly, and responds to criticism harshly, in some cases accusing their critics as being un-American and, in the case of the wiretapping, damaging national security.

In the hours after the last presidential election I recall hearing the word “mandate” in Mr. Bush’s acceptance speech.  With the Republican Party in control of both houses of the Senate, I would bet that’s what it felt like from where he sat.  But the last time I checked, a mandate, if in fact that’s what his re-election was, was not accompanied by the keys to the kingdom.

Granted, there are people who have been in support of the president’s decisions, but every dictator in modern history had some sort of support, otherwise they never would have gotten into, or maintained power.  We also know that his term in office will expire in a few years so he cannot become a dictator in the true sense of the word.  Or can he?

The Patriot Act gave the president the ability to selectively suspend certain rights granted by the Constitution (although it has not yet been renewed).  We now know that the president acted illegally, and without remorse, by allowing citizens’ communications to be monitored.  He has also awarded billions of dollars in contracts to friends of his administration.  Add the fact that he is waging war against another sovereign country against the will of his own people and what do you call that?

So, here we sit, with several of our neighbors to the south actively campaigning against the United States.  North Korea has repeatedly and openly challenged us.  France and Germany are our allies in name only.  So where are we?  Where is this country going?

History tells us that the fall of an empire is immediately preceded by its arrogance exceeding its abilities.  Has our ability to educate and create and build been surpassed by our desire to control and command without regard?