HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!
I took full advantage of this holiday, and slept in. Just as I was turning over for the third time, however, I heard, distantly, a group of people chanting "Troops out NOW!" DOH- the parade! I swiftly donned some rather rank clothing and headed down to the parade route, but by then, the procession had moved on. Anyone in Montclair, NJ see this- or was I just hallucinating?
I guess, as a political blogger (ick- that makes my skin crawl,) I am expected to make some grand statement, regarding this occasion. Hmn- here goes...
Have you ever read the document that we celebrate, today? Go and do so, here.
Reading it, this year, I was struck at how this document is, above all else, a repudiation of empire. One must remember the historical context of our Declaration of Independence. These folks had had their fill of a nation half a world away sucking away their money, their natural resources, and shoving their military where it didn't belong. They were sick of asking a distant king for a few changes, and having him give them lip service, or nothing at all.
We were a speck on the globe, facing down the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Thanks to the help of our friends over in France, we made it. Washington became the first appointed president (a feat not to be repeated until over 200 years later), and all was good (unless you were a woman, a slave, or Iroquois.)
A lot has been made about Washington's farewell address, in which he lays forth a foreign and domestic policy that verges on the xenophobic. Isolationists have used it for just about every boogeyman that they have fought against- from NAFTA to the participation of US troops in World War two. The anti-UN crowd has bandied it about, as well.
They both have it wrong. What Washington was saying is that involvement in the world is not only advantageous, but necessary for any healthy nation to survive. Commerce and diplomacy, after all, are the best ways a nation can avoid the bloody curse of war (which was certainly fresh in Washington's mind.)
The essence of our first president's address was: "Never allow our nation to once again become subject to empires abroad, nor let us revel in the trappings of empire, and become that which we opposed."
It only took our young nation about a year or two to turn its back on Washington's youthful idealism, but it was good while it lasted (with the whole slave/woman thing thrown in). To be fair, Bush is far from the first "leader" that has led us down the wrong road. It's just lamentable that over two hundred years later, we keep making the same damned mistakes, time and again, and think that it'll work, this time around...
ANOTHER DAY IN BUSHWORLD
It's become apparent that the conservative PAN has taken the presidency of Mexico, through chicanery right out of Katherine Harris's playbook. Read all about it here, here, here, and here. Can't let mexico go the way of Venezuela and Brazil... After all- they might just implement policies to make the mexican poor want to STAY there, instead of coming over here, to do cheap labor...
And, the CIA has confirmed what anyone with a brain already knew: Bin Laden's tape, released a mere four days before the 2004 "elections", was a ringing endorsement of Bush. Yep- this proves what we've been saying all along- Bush was Bin Laden's candidate!
ONE LAST THING...
The guy over at Dissentees sent me a link to some video trailers... Check 'em out... Check out his tees, too- they're high quality, and bound to confound the viewer with massive ammounts of text!