When President Bush uses this war to justify doing questionably legal things, I get a little nervous. Not so much because he believes it's okay to do questionably legal things, although it's pretty troublesome, but because I'm afraid his friends would like to just create war after war after war to justify their underhanded, unethical activities.
As much as I personally am opposed to it, we are at war right now. Kind of. We're at the occupation stage of the war, but I guess that's still war. Bush is technically right about that. We are at war. Now, I'm not saying war justifies sub-human (torture) behaviors or unethical ones ("eavesdropping"), because I don't believe that war is or should be an excuse to undermine this democracy. But I can see how some people believe that. It's a stance that I understand more than some other righty-centrist stances (gay marriage, for one). So if you've got a nation that believes that the ends justify the means, wouldn't you continue to promote some sort of environment that confirms that you're right to do what you're doing? I seriously hope that Bush & Co. don't have time to entangle us in another war, but I don't have a problem imagining that the hawks in White House are chomping at the bit to go kick some un-American ass. In another country. Because then they get to spy on some un-American assholes in their own country.
My other problem with this whole scenario is, in effect, the entire "War on Terror". I don't like calling it the war on terror, because I don't really think it's a war. Not insofar as the actual war going on in Iraq is a war. It's a fight, and it will end up being a fight to the death, but it can't be a war. Because then, the people in power can continue to justify things like the Patriot Act, and the illegal spying activities going on in perpetuity. Terrorism isn't so much a fight we can win with weapons; it's not gonna be over anytime soon. I'm not saying we should stop fighting it, but I am saying that we can't let us paralyze us and allow it to change our principles of democracy. Tightening the civil liberties noose, as tempting as it is to believe it, won't help us catch terrorists.
President Bush's pro-war, pro-any-means-necessary rhetoric isn't impressing anyone else, either, because his poll numbers aren't going up. That's a small victory. Four years after this Orwellian (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but what other word can I use?) mess started, maybe Americans are starting to get concerned that the things that make America America are being slowly destroyed by people who don't give a shit. Bravo to the Senate for putting the cabosh on the dreadful Patriot Act, even while President Bush is saying they're hurting America for doing it. I only hope that this is the beginning of a long climb away from the Bushie bosom; maybe it'll keep Bush from making wild threats about vetoing important, well-supported legislation (such as the McCain torture legislation). Threats that come to nothing, right now.
I don't think we've seen the end of Papa-Knows-Best Bush, but I have hopes that somehow, the rest of the government can reign him in a bit. Because honestly, what he's involved in now is not only illegal but also really, really disgraceful. Personally for him, and for us, as a country.
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