just another day in paradise
given the recent vitriol of the past two days, it is difficult to image a united states that is truly united. it would seem the days of bipartisanship are truly lost to us forever. no longer is it fashionable or reasonable for senators and congressmen to reach across the aisle in an attempt to help their constituents and the nation. instead it is every man for himself. or every lobbyist and cause for themself.there are a lot of phrases being bandied about this election year. "cut and run." "islamic fascism." "appeasement."
how about this one: "peace without honor."
democracy cannot be achieved or maintained with catch phrases and platitudes. just because george w. bush said it does not make it noble or honorable. and if we are winning the war on terror (or so we are told), it does not mean we are spreading democracy. it does not mean that people will respect us.
and it does not mean that the world, or the united states, is safe because of our actions a half a world away.
thirty years ago there was another war going on a half a world away. in it we did not achieve peace with honor. in the end we abandoned the people of vietnam to the khmer rouge. and the country, where we tried to instill democracy, somehow overcame our bad impersonation of the british empire, but at what cost? in the end 58,209 americans perished, 153,303 were wounded. an estimated 2 to 4 million vietnamese died during the war.
perhaps iraq can somehow find its way after we leave, create some stability out of chaos. it would seem right now there can be no peace with honor.
posted by InternetJunkie @ 9:10 PM
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