Against all good sense and evidence, I continue to believe that most Americans are horrified by the savage, ignorant behavior of those who function as our face to the world.
I continue to believe that most people will be disgusted when the grief of bg9-11 is repeatedly whored as a political whip.
I continue to believe that, when confronted by the blatant double standards exhibited in W's "reasons" for invading Iraq ("Reasons" being in quotes because I don't think there's any actual reasoning involved), people will become enraged at how they've been manipulated.
I continue to believe that we, as a people, will come to resent the McPatriotism that's being shellacked over every significant (and insignificant) issue, discussion, or event.
I continue to believe that we will remember the principles this country WAS actually founded on -- loudmouthed dissent, distrust of powerful government, and faith in our ability to kick it to the curb when it's no longer functioning to our satisfaction.
And I continue to be surprised.
I often wonder what the average Joe was thinking in the early days of other oppressive regimes, nameless due to their cliche'd overuse in this age of soundbites. Was he thinking that no matter who was in government, he should support them? Was he thinking that the essential qualities that defined his country would remain no matter what? Did he believe that what he read in the newspapers was the truth?
Governments don't turn nasty and evil overnight, generally speaking. They start out with good intentions, and then they start to rationalize, and then they start to protect their own interests (which for the sake of discussion must remain distinct from the interests of the country at large) and ever soooooo sloooooooooowly they turn into something ugly that cannot tolerate dissent. Are we in those early days? That's something that can only be seen in hindsight. I hope not. I hope that fifty years from now students aren't asking "How could they not see this coming?" as they do of other, overused regimes.
Repression has reared its head before, and backed out of the room with an embarrassed little smile of apology. The war industry has made bad decisions before, and been shouted down, though not before many of our children and theirs were maimed or dead. Did we learn anything from those years of protest, those growing pains? Again, it can only be seen in hindsight.
Pamela
