The Aspen Times

Where is the outrage now?

Soapbox

January, 7 2007

Christopher Mullally

To the president, I would ask: Have you no decency, no sense of morality, no sense
of judiciousness? A war started on lies, driven by lies and propelled by fear is your
legacy. Well done. You and your associates will die wealthy war profiteers, but in
doing so have defiled the name of this country worse than it has been in recent
memory.

Bush emits a veritable constellation of brilliance that has shown that what you think
means absolutely nothing. And should you digress from his ideas, you are simply un-
American, something to be mocked by the general establishment.

Barbara Bush used to regale the public concerning the virtues of reading, but we can
all see how well that worked with her own brood. A C-average, alleged former
substance abuser with a brother that I dare say does a "Heckuv a job," especially
around election time or hurricane season.

Another very recent development has been that Bush now has decided your mail
can be opened without a warrant under "emergency conditions." This was quietly
signed into law on Dec. 20. The secret domestic eavesdropping program even caught
Capitol Hill by surprise. I wouldn't consider this culture of anxiety as
"doubleplusgood," (thanks Orwell), or even a success. This is a result of people who
insist this will be a war that "will be ongoing." Vagaries in matters of life and death
without a clear purpose are the pinnacle of the pompousness. "Ongoing" to me
equates with exploitation, not necessarily any noble function, as certainly none are
clearly outlined. Is it oil money for reconstruction? Liberation? Establishing a new
democracy? Yellowcake uranium? So far, it appears to be none of the above.

So what's the new shift in strategy? Why did Bush have to wait until the new year to
decide to announce his new whiz kid move? The theme of his upcoming speech is
rumored to be all about "sacrifice." We're sending more troops into harm's way.
Lives of no less value than those of the children of congressmen and
congresswomen, members of the Senate or even the Bush twins. We don't see them
fighting for something they themselves portray as "just" or "moral." Let the poor
people do it, or more recently, let the persons who are noncitizens of the U.S. do it to
ensure their citizenship.

There will be roughly 20,000 more men and women going across the globe to do
what they believe is the right thing. For political reasons and not military ones,
20,000 more people risk death. Make no mistake, I think these are some of the most
courageous people there may be, but I don't think their lives are being put in peril
for a just cause. Bush has disregarded the Iraq Study Group, he has ignored the
opinions of his generals in Iraq, and he has overlooked the common will of his own
people.

I do think the statistics regarding this "conflict" are anesthetizing to a degree. Of

course, we comprehend there is a war going on, but it all seems like chatter in the
background. We hear about polls, death tallies, recent car bombings and the latest
condemnations of this war by members of the president's own staff, including a
majority (for the first time) of Iraqi generals. Our own servicepersons do not want
any more troop buildup. Updates here, triumphs there, sad moments more often
than not, they roll across the crawler on the bottom of the TV screen, not likely to be
repeated. That doesn't mean we care any less, only that we have been led down so
many different paths regarding this war we have become numb to the constant
turmoil in the background. With this war it seems difficult enough just to cognate
the enormity of what is happening a world away. "Mission Accomplished?"
Quagmire? Vietnam 2.0? Liberation?

When Clinton was in office, an extramarital affair triggered an avalanche of people

calling for impeachment.

Where is our outrage now?

It takes a catalytic moment, a point in time so precise and extraordinary it polarizes

people in a definitive resolve. These are times that jar us out of our collective
complacency; 9/11 and the JFK assassination are the first that come to mind, and
suddenly we are acutely aware of our surroundings. We have experienced that
instant and wanted to make right what had so painfully happened to us. However,
that impulse for the fervor of swift retaliation and justice has been amazingly and
gradually replaced by a culture of fear. Slowly, like stepping stones, the
disinformation is dispensed. The assumption that we are numb replaces any notion
that we are aware. What are we doing?

<i>Christopher Mullally is a resident of Glenwood Springs. Editor's note: Soapbox

runs weekly on the Sunday opinion page. This spot is a forum for valley residents to
comment on local topics. If you'd like to contribute, contact Naomi Havlen at The
Aspen Times at 925-3414, extension 17624 or e-mail
nhavlen@aspentimes.com.</i>

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