May Day - Mission Accomplished

[doni_georgia]

Last year on May 1st, President Bush* made the pronouncement "Mission Accomplished" aboard a US Navy ship with much military pomp and circumstance. Today is the anniversary of that proclamation, and I can't help but think about another country who celebrated May 1st with military parades, tanks, and shows of military might - the old Soviet Union. May Day was the day the Soviet Union showed its people and the world its military, industrial, and societal superiority. It was a day of nationalistic pride meant to bring fear to anyone who dared oppose the power of the Soviet Union.

In Celtic Pagan times, May 1st was the celebration of Beltane. This was a day of bonfires, fertility, and purification. Later the Romans brought their own tradition to the mix. In the Middle Ages, every town in Britain had a maypole - a phallic symbol of fertility. Hundreds of years later, the Soviet Union added new phallic symbols to the celebration - missiles which were paraded down the street.

What does all this have to do with "Mission Accomplished?" I was just thinking of the similarities of the Bush* administration and the old Soviet Union. The old Soviet Union was extremely secretive. The people had no idea what their government was really doing. It was a country built on military and industrial might. The state controlled the information and the media. The state was known for its propaganda and silencing anyone who dared question the government. The Soviet Union was well known for making pronouncements of victory before any such victory had been won, all in a mind game to control the thoughts of the people.

George Bush did similarly last May 1st. He declared "Mission Accomplished" when no such thing had occurred. It was Soviet-style propaganda to keep the American people aligned on his side in this war. On TV that day the US showed off its military and industrial might. The President with thumb in the air declared that major combat in Iraq was over.

Tell that to the soldiers who have died since May 1, 2003, Mr. Bush.

May 1, 2003 was nothing more than a festival of propaganda just like in the old Soviet Union. It was a statement to the people in the US and around the world - a "Don't Mess With Texas" moment.