Planet Waves | June 20, 2005 What is truth? Where to begin? I got a very nice e-note from a European reader who advised me [to paraphrase] to take politics a little less seriously and smile more. That should amuse those of you who thought my early smiling suggestion ideocyncratic. See -- I'm not the only "smiler!" I am inclined to see the whole of politics as I see the whole of life -- a moment to moment integration of incoming info that I bounce off my instinct and my Heart -- if it hurts, it ain't right and needs further investigation; I will need to inform myself and make adjustments. Life was not meant to be painful. Let Me Repeat: LIFE WAS NOT MEANT TO BE PAINFUL. It is only painful when we try to control it, a crazy-making proposition ... if we're trying to control it, we will get pounded repeatedly, feel overwhelmed and exhausted and probably develop an ulcer. The tighter we grip it, the whiter the knuckles, the higher the stress. Because something is not going "our way," does not mean it isn't going somewhere we might need to go ... a bit of faith is required, in trying times, but a little goes a long way. Information is key. The problem with politics here in the US of A is that we're floundering around in a press white-out ... informing ourselves was never harder. Whatever is happening, is happening behind our backs, in secret -- or in front of our disbelieving eyes, while we're told Black is White and Up is Down. The Wonks use a word that is appropriate -- "spin" -- we're being spun -- but in the hands of the politico's it's a sugar-coat of a word for "lies." We are living through a time when we not only can't GET the facts, we instead get an amalgam of un-realities laced together with intention to keep us calmed and subdued. If we are to come back to some kind of political [i.e., national] balance, we have to keep raising our voices when we discover we're lied to, and protesting when we're buffaloed into doing things that a good many of us see as harmful to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness -- and which are the antithesis of peace. Take BushWarII, for instance. It's not just the progressives who are upset by the current spin machine, anymore. Consider this stinging comment from a top Republican, Senator Chuck Hagel: "Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality," Hagel tells U.S. News. "It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq." The heartening, in fact downright encouraging, news of the moment appears to be [besides dismal poll numbers for Bush and a revolt by the Congress] a real grassroots movement to pull the reigns on Bush's runaway mustang of a war, and set some limits. CEO that Bush is, it's been announced that he will begin a PR campaign to bring the American public back into the corral. Here's a headline from one of his initial offerings: Bush Says US is in Iraq Because of 9/11 Attacks on US http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0619-04.htm Oh, dreary dreary -- boring, even. No, Mr. President, that is NOT why we're in Iraq. Iraqi's didn't fly anything into the WTC, that was your friends, the Saudi's. Saddam Hussein was to Osama bin Laden as Micky Mouse is to Stuart Little, both mice, but little else in common. How many times do we have to wave our hand to get your attention? See? The spin is redundant and relentless. What is truth, here in America? Where to begin? Maybe we could start with the Bush Doctrine of unilateralism and pre-emptive attack; maybe we could just ask ourselves if it WORKS? By following the NeoCon roadmap, we have given terrorism a training ground it could only have dreamed of, huddled in it's cold dark cave ... and we have no one to thank but ourselves, and our "bring it on" wild west mentality. The wild west, it should be noted, died a painful death as RULE OF LAW established itself. Chest-beating and gun-toting gave way to courthouses, churches and civilization. There are those who have given us good advice about war, over the years -- lets see if we're taking it. The first casualty when war comes is truth. ~ Senator Hiram Johnson, 1917 UK FOREIGN OFFICE: US, BRITISH BOMBING RAIDS WERE ILLEGAL -- http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0619-01.htm US Lied to Britain over Use of Napalm in Iraq War -- http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/061705E.shtml The belief in the possibility of a short decisive war appears to be one of the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions. ~ Robert Lynd (1879-1949), Anglo-Irish essayist, journalist U.S. General: Iraq Insurgency Strong, Could Last A Decade -- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/19/magazine/19ADVISER.html Building Iraq's Army: Mission Improbable -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/09/AR2005060902245.html In order to rally people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we will rally behind them. And if they do not have a real enemy, they will invent one in order to mobilize us. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh US War with Iran has Already Begun http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0620-31.htm Behind the War Curve -- http://www.antiwar.com/orig/solomon.php?articleid=6353 "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." ~ Mohandas K. Gandhi Bush Runs "Roughshod over the Constitution" -- http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/061605X.shtml 1,718 U.S. Military Fatalities in Iraq (thru 6/17) -- 12,855 U.S. Military Maimed in Iraq (Last DoD Update: 10-Jun-05) -- 25,341 Iraqis Reported Killed (thru 6/17) Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you. ~ Friedrich Nietzche Bush Plays Politics with Guantanamo "Gulag" -- http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/061605B.shtml US Trained and Aided Uzbek Forces -- http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/061805A.shtml The evils of government are directly proportional to the tolerance of the people. ~ Frank Kent How Long Can Bush Spin Big Lies into Truth on Iraq War? -- http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/050605N.shtml Did Bush mislead nation to war? In live Net poll, MSNBC readers say yes by 94% -- http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44831 A time will come when a politician who has willfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own. ~ H.G. Wells The National Campaign to Impeach President George W. Bush -- http://www.dissidentvoice.org/June05/Boyle0614.htm They Died So Republicans Could Take the Senate http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0620-22.htm Before we can fix it, we've got to know it's broke. In our current administration, where stories are planted by government agencies and the mainstream media is intimidated and ham-strung by it's corporate owners, we are challenged to know what's real ... and what's spin. I believe the majority of Americans are fair-minded, reasonable people who are capable of good judgment -- they just need to know the truth. It's not easy to get to, but we'll keep working at it ... and yes, keep smiling, too. As long as we're all in it together, we need to reach out and take hands, keep the dialogue moving along ... and that always starts with a smile. Peace ~ Jude Jude, the editor of Political Waves, is sharing the blog with Eric.You can subscribe to Political Waves (our all-politics news distribution list) for free at the link below. You'll receive between five and 10 news articles each day. You may write to Jude with your responses to her commentaries at moderator@planetwaves.net. Political Waves list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/political_waves/