by Ken Kreps
©2002, 2003 all rights reserved
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There is an old children's story about a wicked emperor of a small nation. One day in a parade before his subjects, he appeared nude (yes, I know, pretty racy for a children's story) because he could not decide what to wear. He did so after first announcing he would be appearing in a new suit of clothing. His subjects, greatly afraid of his power, all complimented him on his new "suit" of clothing as each was afraid to say the truth, which was, "The emperor has no clothes."
The results of the 2002 mid term national election, brought to mind that story, as it is a definite parable to what is currently happening in this country. When George Shrub was appointed the President of our country by a narrow and partisan 5-4 vote by our not so Supreme Court, he became the ipso facto emperor of our country, or at least he acted like one.
Bush likes to claim he is, after all, just a simple man and on that, I couldn't agree more. Our accidental President is, indeed, quite simple. When asked as to what book he had last read, he couldn't think of any and mumbled something about reading newspapers. And so it came to pass that this simple man immediately set out to undo the economic, environmental and other good done by the previous administration. Oh, I know some of you will say, "But look here, President Clinton's personal life was in a shambles." True enough, but my life and yours was immensely better than it is now. Our investments were worth more, our jobs were more secure, our general economy was much better, our environment had more protections and we had a sizable surplus in our national budget. All in all, not a bad place to be for our country and its citizens.
Now, after much lip service but little action (except for a huge "gimme" in the form of a tax cut for our wealthiest citizens) we find the budget surplus is not only gone (in less than two years), we now have an ever growing budget deficit, unemployment is up, the stock market is in a horrible decline, retirement plans of millions of people are worth far less than just a year ago, our environmental protections have been weakened by our ex oilman President and Vice President, we have an Attorney General on a self proclaimed mission from God (or so he thinks) who is slowly stripping our citizens of their hard earned civil rights and we are preparing to launch a fist strike attack on another country in spite of massive demonstrations at home and aborad against this unjust and immoral war.
Taking all of this into consideration, that fact that our country is in a real mess is no surprise. The surprise is that no organized group (are you listening, Democrats) is standing up and shouting (as in the movie, "Network") "I'm mad as Hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." In other words, no one strong voice in this nation is saying the emperor has no clothes.
In spite of my criticism of Bush, I have to give him credit for using the tragic events of 9-11 to turn attention away from the fact that he has been a miserable President for the average guy in the street (which is exactly where more of us will be if the economy doesn't turn around). In that effort, I must admit, he has been masterful. He preys on 9-11 sentiments by continually throwing the war on terrorism in our faces when in fact it's not a war at all. He continually endeavors to make a connection between Iraq and the perpetrators of the 9-11 attack when in fact there is no connection.
World War II had a definite beginning, a middle and an end in which we fought known enemy countries and their allies. It was a horrible war that extracted a tremendous toll on our nation as well as the nations of our allies and our enemies. However, when it was over, it was over. We knew it, the Germans knew it, the Japanese knew it and the entire world knew it. The so called war on terrorism is not a war at all but, instead, a defensive action against a group of loosely knit (but often, well financed) religious zealots and criminals who, in the name of their God, think killing and maiming large numbers of civilians in this and other countries somehow furthers their hair-brained cause and brings honor to their religion. Violence under the guise of religion is not new and these people are, of course, very dangerous and must be neutralized as much as is realistically possible. To think, however, that this so called war on terrorism will wipe out all terrorist, as Bush claims it will do, is sheer folly. Terrorism has existed for hundreds of years and the sad fact is it will exist for hundreds of years to come. This "war on terrorism" that Bush keeps waving in our faces is a war without end. The causes fueling the deranged people who commit these terrible acts may change, but their actions will not.
George Bush now wants to wage a highly unwise and costly (in both lives and dollars) war against Iraq. Why? For three reasons, mainly. One, he can't find Osama Bin Laden, but knows where to look for Saddam Hussein, two, to divert as much attention as possible away from the terrible mess his administration has created in this country, and three, the pursuit of OIL!! Smart? Yes. Honest? Well honesty and George Bush have never been what one might call close friends.
The 2002 election results, in which the Republicans took back the Senate and strengthened their hold on the House of Representatives, shows that many people in this country still don't get the fact that when it comes to Bush, the emperor truly has no clothes. The election only serves to give Bush, with his Alfred E. Nueman (what, me worry?) grin, more power to further his shallow vision as to what our country should be and how it should act on the world stage. One of his dubious plans is to make the tax cut (which was unwise in the first place) a permanent part of our tax code, thereby assuring that our budget deficit will last for years.
Perhaps it will take two more years of his bumbling leadership(?) before the average guy sees through the trickery on which the Bush administration is founded and, as they used to say in Brooklyn, "throw the bum out." Perhaps by then the majority of the American public will see George Bush for what he truly is....an unintelligent, but very dangerous demagog. Perhaps by then the Democrats will have regained their voice (and spine) and will use every legal means at their disposal to combat and defeat this un-elected loose cannon that occupies the White House. One can only hope that better days lie ahead, for if they do not....our country may be damaged beyond repair.
©2002, 2003 by Ken Kreps. This article may not be re-published in electronic or print media without the express written permission of the author. All Rights reserved.
Addendum (December 29, 2002): Finally, a group is standing up and saying the emperor, indeed, has no clothes. The group is called Not In Our Name. Comprised of thousands of both every day citizens and well known people, Not In Our Name (NION) took out a full page ad in many of the nation's larger newspapers and eloquently stated the case against the war mongering and supression of civil rights by the Bush administration. Their web site may be reached at http://www.nion.us
Ken Kreps lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife. He has written a number of published articles, essays and short stories, as well as numerous consumer and business pieces. Ken has also written scripts for Imagination Theater, an award winning audio drama series heard on over 150 commercial radio stations across the nation.
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