Interesting with the changes in the U.S. Governement, that the only person who was against the war is now resigning... and the Bush administration is systematically getting rid of anyone who will not swear feldty to Bush.

I've recently been reading "A Reporters Life" by Walter Cronkite. In a part of his book he discusses the Vietnam conflict and a brush he had with then Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger. He said that, in a cocktail party, "Schesinger invoked the need for patriotism on all fronts" (p 255).

Cronkite had a very good response to this attack. He said, "Is patriotism simply agreeing unquestioningly with every action of one's government? Or might we define patriotism as having the courage to speak and act on those principles one thinks are best for the country, whether they are in accordance with the wishes of the government of not? ....Perhaps these dissidents are the patriotic ones. At least they have the right under our constitution to believe their love of country is as sincere as yours, and that they have a right under our constitution to speak their beliefs" (p 255).

I just think that it is interesting that whenever I discuss politics with anyone around here... a lot of times their first response to anyone opposed to the war is "You hate America, blah, blah, blah."

It's just interesting how events travel in circles. At our founding we had the Alien and Sedition Acts. We had the McCarthy Era. Now we have the Patriot Act. Now I'm not saying the Patriot act is necessarily bad, but I have to think of the past. Could we not be setting ourself up for another McCarthy type era, what, with the cabinet changes, a republican congress and a republican president, and, most likely, a supreme court with a republican majority.

Don't get me wrong, I consider myself in the middle of the parties... maybe ever to the right when it comes to moral issues. But I don't like the idea of the exploitation of fear in our nation. And... not that Bush will exploit it, I just don't like the option being there for him.

It's not that I, personally feel that I have anything to hide. But personally, I like the idea of freedom of expression and freedom of ideas. I wouldn't like too think that anyone would have any excuss to put my dear friend Reid behind bars or deport him to some island somewhere... like hawaii, just for his political views.

Anyways, we were just talking about this in one of my classes and I thought it was interesting...

Also... this article is interesting. Everyone is saying that most of the resistance in Iraq is coming from foreign aid...

"Of the more than 1,000 men between the ages of 15 and 55 who were captured in intense fighting in the center of the insurgency over the last week, just 15 are confirmed foreign fighters, Gen. George W. Casey, the top U.S. ground commander in Iraq, said Monday" ("Few Foreigners Among Insurgents," John Hendren, November 16, 2004, http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-fighters16nov16,0,3957846.story?coll=la-home-headlines)

Amen.

So the elections are all over with and it looks as though Bush has "4 more years." Amazing in everyway...

I have to be honest, I didn't vote in the elections this last Tuesday. When I told this to some of the girls in my ward, they told me that since I hadn't voted, I now didn't have the right to complain about anything that happens in the government. I expressed to them that I was most likely going to complain about everything whether I had the right to complain about it or not. I also expressed the idea that I was different then the people who hadn't voted simply because of apathy. I was informed. I've held debates with my friends, read many books, watched the debates, wathed the news, etc. I had every opportunity to vote, but it all came down to me not wanting to be responsible for the ensueing crap that will happen in the next 4 years.

If I am not allowed to criticize because I didn't vote, then that mean that all the people who voted for Bush are now responsible for everything that he will do in the next 4 years. That mean the deaths of the thousands of soldiers who will die in our pointless war, untold numbers of civilians, etc. I understand that in some way I am responsible because I didn't vote against Bush, but I think it is worse to be actively responsible than passively responsible.

I'm not saying that if Kerry would have won it would have been any better. Because if he would have won, then everyone that voted for him would be responsible for his actions. But since he lost, they are free from guilt. So maybe the way to go about it would be to try to vote on the side of the loser... it would alleviate any responsibilty.

I think that it is kinda weird that I am diminishing my civic responsibility in an attempt to rid myself of responsibility for the crap that we are going to do. I know I am supposed to vote for the "lesser of two evils." But in all actuality, I really cant do that. I was inable to cough up even the postage required to vote absentee for the candate that I hated the least. It is just not in me.

Anyways, this is how I feel either of the candidates would have treated the war:

We will be there for another 6 months, long enough for them to have their "elections," and then we will pull our troops and funding almost all the way out. Bush will come on and proclaim that we have won the "war on terror," that we have once again struck a blow again the "evil forces that threaten our freedom." Yada yada yada, we all know what he will say because all he speeches sound the same. In a couple of years, a general or military leader (one who most likely we are currently training and arming) will perform a military coup, organize a authoritarian government, and bring us around back to the beginning.

Either that, or we will continue to occupy, but will just move the U.S. media's focus away ($$$) from Iraq, and after time, perhaps 30 years, America will forget and accept the troops there as the norm (kinda like we still have the 20th infantry in still pointing their guns at Mr. Kim and his nuclear weapons in N. Korea).

Maybe I'm wrong, I hope that I am wrong, but history persuades me other wise... any comments?