Saturday, May 30, 2009

Dick Cheney Vs. History

The term "history" is tossed around too much these days for my liking. Jay Leno's last show as touted on NBC as "going down in history". Last night's local news story on an American Idol contestant mentioned Season 8 as having "gone down in the history books". But does any one really think that at anytime in the future, they'll really be looking back at the viewing habits of one nation that may or may not be around one hundred years from now, let alone be reading books?
But is history the real reason Dick Cheney is afraid of prosecution for his war crimes? A lengthy trial, legal motions and appeals processes assure that Dick Cheney will more than likely be dead before he ever sees the inside of a prison. And after the evidence that torture memos don't show what Cheney claimed will be all the torture photos showing the horrific abuse of detainees authorized by Cheney himself.
Long after the fall of the Nazi regime and successes like the Volkswagen, the Autobahn in Germany what remains for history are all the atrocities, the death camps, gas chambers, soap made from humans, and lamp shades made from human skin. All of which make Adolph Hitler the most despised person in history. Right now, Dick Cheney stands as the most despicable person alive. Any trial that may expose his truly heinous crimes may in fact over time, lead to Dick Cheney knocking Hitler down to the second position.

4 comments:

Snave said...

History? Hysteria, more like.

I agree... I don't think there is probably more than a relative handful of Americans who know what songs were popular in the country in 1879, for example. Or what kind of toothpaste or oral dentifrices were popular in 1911...

You're right, Lew. It's the atrocities people tend to remember. While the scope of the atrocities approved by Cheney might not match the scope of those of Hitler and his crew, I tend to look at history as something from which we learn lessons (or SHOULD, anyway). In our country, supposedly one of the most civilized on Earth, I find it unimaginable that, drawing on the history of atrocities committed against fellow humans throughout history, our nation would engage in such things.

Our world has had more than 60 years to advance since the end of WWII. Things change and evolve so fast nowadays that the 1940s might almost seem like the Dark Ages in light of all the world's advancements since then.

Cheney's approval of such tactics during what should be something of a relative age of enlightenment (our current times) is, well... criminal.

The more I think about this, the more I am for the release of just about any sort of evidence that will help put Dick Cheney behind bars. I have been wishy-washy about it for a while, but it is now simply pissing me off.

Seeing him getting all the publicity in the media is driving me nuts. They shouldn't be giving him so much free time in the news. Then again, if all they are about any more is sensationalism, they will chomping at the bit to report on anything that looks like a battle or conflict. So even if Cheney is a batshit insane criminal, and even if he is speaking out in a manner that amounts to little more than trying to pick a fight, they will give him the time and the press. Bastards. It will only serve to make Cheney more listened to, and possibly more popular.

It seems to me he and Newt are quite the team lately. They both seem to both be quite friendly with Rush Limbaugh. Think they are trying to find a Reichstag to torch?

Tom Harper said...

The American government in general, and Cheney in particular, are already very unpopular around the world. It's pretty sad when North Korea and al Qaeda have higher poll ratings than the U.S., which several international polls have shown. (This was during Dumbya's reign.)

Cheney's position in history can only go downhill from here.

Oh, and last night there was a historic episode of CSI New York :)

libhom said...

I suspect that Cheney will live at least another decade.

Kvatch said...

...lead to Dick Cheney knocking Hitler down to the second position.Unlikely. Hitler and his supporters made the German people complicit in Nazi atrocities, and in doing so increased both the heinousness of the crimes and the outrage when there was nobody left to defend the Nazis.

Cheney and Bu$hCo still have an unrepentant cheering section that will no doubt keep telling us how fortunate we were to have them in power, long after history has rendered a verdict.