Stars & Stripes LTTE: Why not the truth?

[lebkuchen]

Why would our government lie to us? Why would our government deceive us? Why would our government censor our news? Is it time for a change?

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=53819

[jimshoes]

1. They all think Leo Strauss was a visionary and

the end justifies the means and win at any cost are thier mottos. Oh, and they are morally and ethically bereft and have no sense of right and wrong and they are in their minds, above the law. Plus the fact that they are rat bastard ciminals and rightfully belong in prison just for starters.

[Wetzelbill]

3. Leo Strauss was a visionary

He had an apolitical view and specifically taught Plato in a much different manner. For example, in Plato's Republic, Strauss believed that Plato's real voice was Thrasymachus, who is the guy who argues for power and how people exist to genuflect to power etc. To quote him "Justice is the advantage of the stronger." Strauss believe Thrasymachus represented the city and state and it's laws, and was against philosophy in general.My interpretation is that Strauss didn't necessarily believe this was right, it was simply how things existed. He also believed that real power was behind the scenes and that you could essentially take a dim-witted, likable person, make him the face of everything, get him into a position of power and use the malleable dolt as a tool. Dan Quayle and George W. Bush ring a bell? So he taught some of these concepts as his own theory of how the world worked, and you then got all these guys like Wolfie, Bill Kristol etc, who spent their lives getting their heads dunked and flushed into toilets, and they got all hard at the idea of being modern day Rasputins or some shit. These guys took academic theories then perverted them to suit their own sick ambitions.

But Strauss in many ways was right. In Republic, Socrates spoke of how leaders should be intelligent and have their eyes opened to the rest of the world, they should be prepared and enlightened. He believed people had to open their eyes and strive toward another level of thinking. Thrasymachus believed that people should just submit to the powerful, and the powerful based on their power know what is right and should get away with anything as a result. Sound familiar? He wouldn't necessarily condone what they were doing, starting this war, wrecking the economy etc. (his daughter has argued he'd be very much against the Bush Administration) But he definitely would recognize their abuse of power, and the sense of entitlement and arrogance this administration and the Republican Party and all their corporate allies seem to have.

[jimshoes]

4. Great post wetzelbill

I really liked this line.... "Wolfie, Bill Kristol etc, who spent their lives getting their heads dunked and flushed into toilets, and they got all hard at the idea of being modern day Rasputins or some shit". But one would think at least Rasputin would have been right at least some of the time. Kristol and the rest I don't think ever.

[Wetzelbill]

5. I should say, it's not that you were wrong either

The ends justify the means motif is definitely in Strauss's work. And he did critique Liberalism too. He also put forth his theories on the Noble Lie, meaning that maybe it is ok to lie if, like you said, the ends justify the means. That's textbook if you look at the invasion of Iraq. Lie about WMD, Al-Qaeda connections, Saddam being behind 9/11 etc etc, because in the end, the greater good of some shining Democracy in the Middle East is what's more important, even though they could never sell the invasion on that alone. So you definitely hit that one dead on.

Yeah, I'd be curious to know just what exactly Bill Kristol has ever been right on that gives him the credibility to have the forums that he has. Time Magazine and the NY Times both hired him in the last year. Does that even make any lick of sense at all?

[NewJeffCT]

6. good post, and even before Quayle

some might argue Reagan was a similar figurehead.

[Wetzelbill]

7. that's what I was thinking too

I just was too lazy to go into it. Plus, with Quayle and Bush it's more obvious, as prominent Strauss students had important and direct roles in shaping the way they both went about policy. For example, Quayle's chief of staff was Bill Kristol, and Bush's Iraq War architect was Wolfowitz. But yes, Reagan fits that mold. For sure.

[babylonsister]

2. I love seeing letters like this in the Stars and Stripes; that means

it's being read by lots of military. Might open some eyes.

[lebkuchen]

8. This should get picked up by the Pacific Edition as well

which means global exposure. It's already in the Middle East/Central Asia.

I haven't had time to keep track of the letters for awhile but can say that those critical of Bush have tapered off. I attribute that to soldiers bailing en masse from the military--the letter writing campaign pleading for common sense is over as it's become crystal clear that NO help is on the way.

http://www.dailykos.com/user/lebkuchen

That's why the Joint Chiefs recently met with Bush, per rockets'-red-glare concerns of generals downrange, and tried to talk some sense into the petrified rock that is his brain.

[SodoffBush]

9. There's no money in truth

Halliburton/KBR is sharking it up at taxpayer expense. Craven and greedy 'bout covers their agenda.