Page Two
As horrifying as the war in Iraq is, the wages of peace could be worse, and for longer.
By Louis Black, Fri., March 28, 2003
Support for the men and women in uniform must be vocal and consistent. We may feel our national leadership is misguided, but there is no trickle-down here. Some claim that if you care about the troops, you must back the war -- though that means people shooting at the troops, grenades thrown at the troops, and tanks firing on the troops. I support the troops by hoping they come home alive, well, and quickly.
The most interesting time of my week is often drive time on Fridays (currently 5-6pm). On 1370AM, I host The Chronicle Hour, our call-in show on that conservative talk-radio station. Talking to those with whom you have basic disagreements can be illuminating. A core question about talk radio: Is it entertainment/theatre, or does it reflect genuine scenarios for the future?
The daily genre of talk radio is basic melodrama: There are good people (right-wing Republicans), operating from a deep moral vision, and evil people (Democrats), blindly adhering to a corrupt political agenda. The right is the underdog besieged as America is being destroyed from within. The liberal mainstream media is distorting the news. True patriots must join together to change history. Few issues are complex and difficult; solutions are simple: The problem is the Democrats (liberal, socialist communists). Get rid of them, and get rid of the problem.
Excerpts from two letters to "Postmarks":
"We all enjoy our freedom, but very few realize the price that comes along with it. I owe it to my future grandchildren to make this place safer for them to live in, just as the generations before us did for us. ... Just like a parent having to discipline her child when they disobey or do something wrong ... we, as a country, have to do the same. There are consequences to every action. If you don't follow the rules, you have to pay the price. We need to stop looking for loopholes and just get to the disciplining."
"It is time for us, as citizens of the United States, to educate ourselves about the world around us. If future generations are going to enjoy the freedoms that our forefathers bequeathed us, if they are ever to know peace in their own country and their world, to live without fear of terrorism striking in their own cities, we must assure that this nation remains strong. We must make certain that those who would destroy us are made aware of the severe consequences that will befall them. Yes, it is a wonderful dream to sit down with dictators and terrorists and join hands, singing 'Kumbaya' and talking of world peace. But it is not real. We did not stop Adolf Hitler from taking over the entire continent of Europe by simply talking to him. We sent our best and brightest, with the strength and determination that this country is known for, and defeated the Nazi regime. ... PEACE through STRENGTH."
Callers echo these sentiments (both letters specifically blamed everything on the Democrats): This is a just war to protect our way of life. Those who protest have already forgotten 9/11. This is not pre-emptive; the terrorists attacked us first. Going to war against the Nazis earlier in the Thirties would have saved lives, no matter what it cost in the short-term. Brave people fought and died, as they are again doing, to preserve the very freedoms the protesters are abusing. There is no principled opposition; protesting is treason committed by people either naive and politically immature or who hate the nation and/or the president.
In this argument, the connection between Iraq and 9/11 is complete. Mentioning Nazi Germany is to make accurate that comparison, even if it boasts little historic, political, or geographic justification. It is not necessary to produce evidence tying Hussein to terrorism, to weapons of mass destruction, or as an imminent threat; the possibility is enough. Any action taken in the name of national security is positive, regardless of real-world consequences.
When I ask the question I keep asking, it is ignored. Nineteen men, most from Saudi Arabia, none from Iraq, boarded four American planes armed with box cutters: their short-term goal, to scar our nation and to destroy our sense of safety; their long-term goal, to bring our country down, to destroy our way of life, and to encourage an epic battle between the modern West and the Muslim world. Less than two years later, the U.S. has invaded two Muslim countries (one under religious leadership, the other secular), compromised our freedoms at home, and created the legislation and a government department designed to further eat away at the principles that define this country. What has happened that wouldn't thrill those terrorists, fulfilling their desires and visions?
On some Fridays, I find myself filled with despair. The same sloganeering heard day in and day out is offered up. The topics of the week are reiterated as though just discovered. The protesters don't want peace; they just hate Bush and love Clinton. Another letter: "I am old enough to remember that many of this same crowd were very silent when Soviet tanks crushed Czech civilians in the streets of Prague, Cuban troops were in Angola. ... How many volunteered to be 'human shields' in Belgrade? They were relatively silent during Desert Fox and our wiping out an aspirin factory in the Sudan. One could only assume that silence was because of the shared ideology of Clinton and the protesters. Anti-war? I think not."
So I ask the same question: Where were those who justify the war because of the evils of Hussein's regime, those who would liberate nations from dictatorial rule, when the U.S. supported Hussein and the shah of Iran, helped overthrow Allende and install the junta, backed Brazil's military dictators, and now supports Musharraf in Pakistan and the Saudi Arabian oligarchy ...? There is silence. Talk radio has not supplied an easy answer. Pro-democracy, anti-dictatorship liberators? I think not. (Interestingly, as with 9/11 and Iraq, when the Gulf War is viewed as a negative, Clinton is now its author.)
Sometimes Fridays provide a more uplifting experience. I believe in dialogue and dissent. I would not exile those who disagree with me if I could, nor banish the war makers. The strength of our nation is dialogue; compromise is a sane political course. There are those with very different beliefs who treasure this country for its strengths.
As terrible as this war is, the next chapter is scarier. Without even raising questions about Iraq, the Middle East, and the rest of the world, there are so many concerns. Which voices will predominate? What will happen after the next terrorist incident on our soil, and who will be blamed? How much will the war and its aftermath end up costing? How will this affect our already slowing economy, especially coupled with a deficit budget (that barely acknowledges those costs) and massive tax cuts? When the cherished right-wing goal of reducing big government is achieved, the social safety net mostly dismantled, public education and health funding severely diminished, what will the real-world consequences be for most Americans? As the "coalition" fights for "liberation," based on shaky rationales that have kept changing, those Fridays are ever more important. The reasonable discussions have become, no matter how intense our disagreements, lights in the darkness. As we are the problem -- not as patriots and traitors, but as those who would so freely use those terms -- we are the solution, as Americans. The country has always proved greater than any pundit's hesitations. Every side dismisses this country as failing its ideals, though they differ as to exactly what those are. Yet despite paranoia, demagoguery, bigotry, failure of will, hatred, corruption, economic disasters, foreign misadventures, and sectarian politics, the government of the people by the people and for the people has prevailed. Let us all pray that it does again. 
