And
now, we find ourselves on the verge of a war.
The rhetoric being used by the government to convince U.S.
citizens that war is the appropriate action is so scary.
For example, President Bush said, “If you aren’t with us
[against the terrorists], you are against us,” a logical fallacy that
even my freshman composition students would recognize.
He encouraged us to continue happily spending our money, showing
our patriotism by feeding the economy, otherwise “the terrorists will
have won.” Unfortunately,
none of this surprises me. I
said during Bush’s presidential campaign that based on the way he
talked about the issues and his concerns that if he were elected, we
would be going to war. I
find no satisfaction in being right. So,
we started a War on Drugs that failed but we continue to fight.
Now, we add to that a War on Terrorism with no clear enemy and no
end in sight. Even with the
worldwide protests against it, the sheer multitude of people willing to
speak against it, and the lack of support from the U.N. and some of our
most powerful allies, there is an arrogant reluctance to back down. U.S. Senator Robert Byrd gave a speech in the Senate on
February 12, 2003 in which he said,
© Salahub 2003 |