American Imperialism And The Politics Of Fear

[RBHam]

By William Schroder
http://www.jihadunspun.com/intheatre_internal.php?article=101704&list=/home.php&

Are you someone who thinks the war in Iraq was waged to destroy Saddam’s WMDs? Do you believe it America’s moral duty to free the peoples of the world from tyranny? Do subscribe to the notion that Iraq was an “imminent threat” to our “American way of life?” If you embrace any of these common ideologies, you are not to be blamed, faulted or criticized. Deep inside, you’re scared, and you believe your government’s clarion call to arms was necessary to keep you safe.

Hang on, there’s a cure for that churning in the pit in your stomach. It is almost certainly psychosomatic. You need to consider the possibility that maybe - just maybe - the Iraqi threat to America was exaggerated. While to you it seems real, perhaps your discomfort stems from an intense, government-sponsored propaganda scare campaign filled with half-truths, misdirection and deceit. After all, your government has done this before. Relax, breathe deeply and concentrate while I take you on a brief, illusion-free exploration of American imperialism.

Like the great imperialists of bygone days, America’s rulers share a long history of creating fear – one “evildoer” or another always threatens the destruction of “the American way of life.” Then, while the frightened population huddles gratefully under the umbrella of power, the government pursues an agenda calculated to transfer vast sums of public wealth into the hands of the corporate and political elite.

more...

[Psephos]

1. To answer the questions....

Are you someone who thinks the war in Iraq was waged to destroy Saddam’s WMDs?
- NO

Do you believe it America’s moral duty to free the peoples of the world from tyranny?
- SOMETIMES

Do subscribe to the notion that Iraq was an “imminent threat” to our “American way of life?”
- NO

Schroder puts forth an interesting hypothesis, but it seems like he had the hypothesis in place before he examined his evidence. I'm suspicious when every single fact fits perfectly; it makes me wonder about the evidence I'm not seeing. Life is just not that neat and tidy.

There are some great reasons to be against this war, and Bushco in general. But the "evil government scares the people, and steals the money" trope is getting a bit threadbare. It just doesn't reverberate outside the cloisters of the left. People of the center and the right just roll up their eyes with that "here we go again" look. In other words, to reach them, we need less cant and invective, and more actual demonstration that left ideas are more likely to deliver what they want: economic security, less crime and more safety for their families, a plan for dealing with terrorism that doesn't rely solely on international goodwill or the UN, a sense of balance between taking care of the less fortunate and offering incentives for self-improvement, and more civility in public discourse.

I've found I can reason with a number of people with opposite views about the war. I have "converted" a few, too. What doesn't work - ever - is condescending, swearing about * and his evil minions, and pretending there's only one legitimate opinion on any political topic.

Peace.