Time for the every 6 months rant...

[Wildewolfe]

The belief zone

It’s interesting to watch the proceedings of the republican’s and the corporate interests they support. The concept of the Big Lie used so effectively for so long has now slowly begun to wear down the majority of the American people’s tolerance for BS and obstruction. The reality is that we American’s don’t want to believe that our leaders could lead us down the path to destruction. We don’t want to believe that our leaders don’t have our best interests nestled deep down in their hearts. We want to believe that when our leaders profess their faith in God, that they are professing peace, tolerance and charity and not Armageddon, hatred and bigotry in the guise of religion. We want to believe that we always will take the extra moral step to ensure that we are above the rest of the world and sure in our integrity and our righteous indignation over the atrocities of others.

8 years ago a not so subtle cancer entered the leadership and began the systematic destruction of the checks and balances that have kept this country going for 200+ years. They came up with or expanded concepts such as the unitary president, signing statements designed to completely circumvent the will of congress, a congress that marched not to the beat of their constituents, but to the war drums of corporate America expressed through the RNC, we transitioned from a constitutionally and slowly progressive court to what looks now to be the most repressive and constitutionally backwards court in memory. They decided that the ends justified the means so they held up the good and the bad equally as terrorists without charge and without trial. They authorized the use of torture and suspended the right of habeas corpus. They used the court system and the US Attorneys to try to cement their hold on our political system. They defy congress and the American people by scoffing at subpoenas for information or by outright destroying the information.

Here we sit in shock as a nation the dress torn off lady liberty exposed to the world, redressed in black leather and restraints. Even after all this time and all the partial revelations about this administration and how it conducts it’s business, Americans still live in the belief zone. We believe ourselves to be better than our actions to the rest of the world expose us to be. We refuse to believe that anyone can be as hateful to the American constitution as to destroy the very source of our freedom and prosperity for a few dollars more. We refuse to believe that a nominee will bald face lie to congress and then set the nations laws back 100 years.

You watch the current congress and you can still see the belief factor at work. Democratic members of the congress want to believe in the spirit of bi-partisanship. They want to believe that they will be treated by the opposition as they treated them. The shine is slowly wearing off those illusions as the evidence slowly accumulates from each investigation. It’s 100% obvious, and probably a good thing too, that the democratic party with all it’s bit’s of occasional infighting, lack of intestinal fortitude to stand it’s ground and even it’s own share of crooks, is still 1000x times better than the Greedy Ol’ Pigs of the opposition. It’s just maddening to sit here at DU knowing the depths of the corruption in our hearts but not having the legal proof and worse yet, the senate votes to ensure conviction, to throw the bums out.

In the end, it won’t be accusations of torture that brings down Darth Cheney and it won’t be the politicalization of the US Attorneys that brings down Gonzalez. It won’t even be an illegal war of aggression that brings down Bush himself. It will be perjury. They have told so many lies to so many people for so many years that the stories cannot be kept straight anymore. Which is why the claim of executive privilege today for Meirs and crew came about. They know they can’t do it, and they know that perjury is eminently more convictable than any of the rest and now they are starting to get scared.

So where does that leave us? That leaves us with the stunning revelation to some (though I think most here at DU are anything BUT stunned) that our leaders are anything but honorable. That their words are like chaff worthless and without substance. That they are without honor and incapable of being honorable in their lives and dealings. That they have literally sold their souls not to the devil but to the corporations. For 30 pieces of silver the world will melt thanks to these men and woman. The rose colored glasses need to come off, the blinders removed. The optimism that the opposition will stay true to it’s word discarded. The gloves need to come off (gee how many more of those sayings can I stick in one piece?). This is the beginning of the true end of innocence for the US and for most Americans. The key is to help them through it to see the light on the other side. The light of hope that will start with the election of a Democratic President and the reformation of the court back to an organization concerned about civil rights and the individual.