Ce sont les rockers canadiens qui en parlent le mieux...
George Bush, the most unpopular American President in history outside of the United States, has been re-elected. His re-election says something about the intelligence of the American people, about American arrogance, about American insularity, and America’s obvious desire to openly claim it’s place in the pantheon of imperial powers.
How are those of us outside of the United States supposed to react to this news?
Prior to 9/11, numerous American administrations were responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands of people in various regions of the world for a variety of pro-American reasons. Freedom was often claimed as the primary reason, which was, of course, one of the justifications given for the invasion of Iraq. It is, I might add, the only justification left of those initially given, as no weapons of mass destruction were found and no connection between Iraq and 9/11 ever existed. Of course, the majority of Americans are completely unfamiliar with the history of their own foreign policy actions, so one can see why they tend to be comfortable living with lies and the liars who tell them.
Never the less, nearly 3,000 Americans died on September 11th, an event that allowed a group of individuals to implement one of the most dangerous foreign policy platforms in US history. It also solidified a place in history for a President who has the deaths of 3,000 Americans to thank for rescuing him from historical obscurity. 9/11 outraged Americans, who simply couldn’t believe that anyone in their right mind would attack such a peaceful, freedom loving country. This led to the blind stereotyping of an entire segment of the world’s population, an entire religion, and influenced the American public to back a series of reckless military campaigns which have since cost the lives of 1000+ Americans, and will most likely result in the first military draft since the Vietnam era. (It matters little what President Bush said during stump speeches or the debates prior to the election).
As a direct result of America’s knee jerk reaction to lash out after 9/11, thousands of innocent Afghanis have lost their lives. Afghanistan remains in turmoil, governed by a man that was once an advisor to one of the largest oil companies in the US (and has his nose so far up the White House’s *** that he might as well be a West Wing janitor). Of course, such realities don’t deter idiotic American conservatives from blabbering on about how Afghanistan is now free.
So is El Salvador, supposedly. Where did 60,000 Salvadorans go before that conclusion was reached? For that matter, how many Guatemalans died after the United States paid for and supported a coup so that they could oust a leader that had the audacity to place the needs of his people before those of an American company?
Since the invasion of Iraq, some 16,000+ innocent Iraqis have been killed, (some 100,000 excess Iraqi deaths have occurred since the war began). Is the rest of the world therefore to believe that Iraqi lives are worth less than American lives?
If so, then what are Canadian lives worth?
The majority of the world believes the United States to be a greater threat to world security than terrorism. What does that say about the re-election of the man that is responsible for producing that opinion? How can the rest of the world not believe that most Americans could care less about their place in the world, who they hurt, or who they step on to ensure that the American way triumphs?
I’m afraid, in the years to come, that Osama Bin Laden will be the least of America’s worries.
What purpose does the US constitution serve when it protects the liberties of a nation that blindly supports the strong-arming of other people? What point is there in keeping up the illusion that the United States is a land that loves real freedom? If anything , it’s a land that loves itself and nothing more. Indeed, the re-election of George Bush speaks volumes about “true American character”.
Prior to this moment I held the American people apart from the actions of their government, believing that if they had the chance to reverse what has been done that they would. Unfortunately, I now find that difficult to do.
My children will inherit a more dangerous world because of the outcome of this election. What am I to tell them when they ask why anyone would willingly support such a reckless, tepid, and bigoted man?
The outcome of this election has made clear where the majority of the people of the United States stand. Arm in arm with conquest, greed, and selfish insularity. The rest of the world will pay the price for it. So how, exactly, should the rest of the world be feeling today? Like a target?
Either you're with us or against us. Mr. Bush would do well to remember that it works both ways.
-Matthew Good-
