yesterday, a movie based on The Road
by Cormac McCarthy, and realized that it was a parable for the US. A man and his son travel south on a road in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, searching for food and avoiding the dangers of thieves and cannibals, all the while "carrying the fire" of goodness within themselves. Along the way, circumstances arise which force the father to behave in ways that are not good, with his son asking whether or not they were still the good guys.And in the post-9/11 world, that is what has happened to the US. Where we used to oppose torture, it has now become official government policy, under both the the Bush and Obama administrations. We are increasingly being taxed while receiving less representation in our "democracy". But moreover, we are aligning ourselves with countries that do not hold the same values.
One such state is the criminal state of Israel. We are told that it's "the only democracy in the Middle east", yet when the people of Palestine voted for Hamas to represent them in the PA, the US and Israel instead installed their puppet regime. So much for democracy. Since then, the people of Gaza have been suffering while vital humanitarian items are denied, a form of collective punishment which is a violation of human rights, as well as illegal under international law. During Operation Cast lead, Israel committed war crimes, along with Hamas.
Now once again, Israel has shown contempt for humanity and basic human rights, as well as international law, by attacking the Freedom Flotilla in international waters. Nineteen people were killed and dozens more were injured when the Israelis boarded and attacked a convoy of ships delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. The UN has called for an investigation, but the reality is that the international body is powerless to do anything because of the US backing in the Security Council.
So, you see, along the road, the US has become the bad guys. We threaten Iran with sanctions for it's peaceful nuclear power program, yet we illegally under our own laws give $3 billion in aid to Israel, which has nuclear weapons, yet refuses to sign the NPT. And sure, you could write your congressperson to complain, but since the majority of them receive contributions from Aipac, it's a moot point, since they have proven time and again they're not listening to the American people.
This Memorial Day, the time has come to ask ourselves, "What have all our fallen soldiers died for?" Democracy? No. Freedom? No. Liberty? A sense of righteousness? An end to cruel and unusual punishment?No. No. And no. Everything they allegedly died for has been made a mockery by a political situation where money and re-election have become more important than holding up the ideals that our soldiers are still being asked to kill and die for. Remember that today, or better yet, this election year.
UPDATE: Since an attack on a ship flying the flag of a NATO country is considered an attack on NATO itself, will NATO, under the obligations of Article 5 now form a coalition to invade Israel? Of course not! Don't be silly. Israel is exempt from all rule of law. HOLOCAUST!!! HOLOCAUST!!!
UPDATE 2: Israel now claims Al Qeada had ties to boat. Sure, it was Al Qaeda. I guess that makes the murder of nineteen people okay!
6 comments:
Since 1960 every US serviceman's death has been for corporate profits, political ambition, and AIPAC. As we rememmber the fallen, we must never forget why they were sent to their deaths. And the tragedy is only been compounded. The carnage we have wrought has made us less safe. Our own right wing militarism and national subordination to the Israeli radical right are the only reasons we are targets in the first place.
As we honor the fallen, we remember the evil behind the slaughter.
Dave,
Truer words were never spoken. It's time for the American people to speak out against such atrocities. If we wouldn't stand for them from our enemies, we should not expect them from our allies.
Attacking an aid convoy is cowardly and disgraceful enough; then to claim the aid workers were "connected to al Qaeda" -- WTF?
That would be poetic if all NATO countries were required to invade Israel. That's the way the NATO treaty is supposed to work. If Georgia had been a NATO member 2 years ago, we would have been required to attack Russia after Russia invaded Georgia.
Tom,
The state of Israel is much like our government in the fact that it doesn't mind outright lying to people in spite of contrary evidence.
When is Obusha going to push for an end to aid to Israel? I fear, never.
libhom,
Any politician in the Us the wants to hold Israel accountable for it's action is committing career suicide. Remember Cynthia McKinney!
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