The war of words between President Obama and Dick Cheney has exposed a rancorous divide over national security. Mr. Cheney states flatly that there is no middle ground on the issue. There is no such thing as being half-safe, he declares. On the face of it, his statement is nonsensical. Unless he has a way of screening the thoughts and intentions of every potential enemy in the world, we will always be half safe. But is that the real issue? Aren’t we talking about our right not to be afraid as much as our right to defend ourselves? Better be safe than sorry is common sense. Better be afraid all the time is toxic politics at its worst. When the Senate voted overwhelmingly to deny funds for closing Guantanamo, they acted out of toxic motives. President Obama accused them of being irrational, and he was absolutely right.
The issue of national security was a Republican gold mine for eight years, during which time not enough objection was raised over waterboarding, domestic surveillance, and holding detainees indefinitely without bringing them to trial. The tide turned with the new President, but the underlying dilemma remains with us.
Can we be secure without resorting to fear?
The Bush administration profited from fear to a huge extent; therefore, they couldn’t resist the temptation to wield it. As if the 9/11 attacks were not terrifying enough, they created bogeymen with no justification. The primary one was Saddam Hussein, who posed no threat to the U.S., had no weapons of mass destruction, and made no alliance with Al-Qaeda. But the detainees being held without trial at Guantanamo were also a bogeyman. We still have no idea who among them was or is a danger to this country, but in a massive refusal to be fair, adult, and rational, we allowed all of them to be lumped together and treated as imminent threats.
Cheney’s round defense of torture is morally bankrupt, but the right wing knows — as it knew in the McCarthy era — that scapegoating an unpopular minority works. Fifty years ago it was Communists; now it is Muslims of any stripe, including the most harmless. We have been detaining harmless Muslims at Guantanamo for years without due process; we have also been imprisoning dangerous Muslims and others who fall between the extremes. The only way to sort them out is with fair trials, adequate evidence, and rational consideration of potential threats.
Or you can just play the fear card.
In his ongoing efforts to treat the American public as they have rarely been treated — that is, as adults — Obama pointed out several rational things:
– Our supermax prisons are safe. No one has ever escaped from them.
– America stands for constitutional principles.
– No one’s fate should be decided by one man, even if he is President.
– The issue of releasing potential terrorists is difficult and troubling.
Notice the one thing he left out: fear. That’s the difference between him and Cheney. If he didn’t play the fear card over and over, Cheney’s vision of national security would fall apart, just as McCarthy’s argument about Communists infiltrating the federal government fell apart when he couldn’t find any. The show of smoke, mirrors, and fear collapsed. In a decent moral scheme, Obama would have pointed out the cruel injustice of holding anyone in prison without charges or the chance to defend themselves. How would any of us like to be in such a position, knowing that we were innocent? It doesn’t matter if the accused happens to look like a bogeyman. He’s a human being and should be treated like one.
Published in the San Francisco Chronicle
Loading...
********
It would appear that Mr. Webster is “excellent” at setting
others straight. When he “grows up” maybe he can learn
to deal with his own stuff.
Don’t let this “man” intimidate you. He doesn’t know as
much as he thinks he does.
10 years….
Wow.
Webster,
You seem to be slipping away from what I thought was a reasonable
exchange of ideas into categorizing and labels….
You do well arguing the points on their merits, why not stick with it?
Webster (says)
I was chatting with a few union guys
over the weekend and mentioned your
insights about unions, and the relationship
you have with your “business-owner.”
They said he has your “johnson” in his back
pocket, which doesn’t bode well for the
guys in the shop.
You really think so?
I’m curious is there a better system than this capitalistic one?
If you had your choice which one would you choose for this country.
Take a look at the blue collar workers in a communist country… Do
you think the ruling class really acts on their best interest?
As I stated in a previous post, if you think you can trust those union
reps to act any different than “my business-owner” you are kidding
yourself…. They have an equal capacity to act in their best interest
at the expense of yours as he does.
I started my career as a apprentice carpenter (unionized). I was
fortunate enough to be raised by a father who taught me not to
depend on any union or the charity of others for my employment.
He told me to work hard, put the best interest of the man who signs
you check first and everything will take care of itself. He also
taught me that at the end of the day when he hands you that check,
his contract with you is effectively over. He owes you nothing more.
Show me a country where this is not how it works and I guarantee
you it is a country without freedom. I am also convinced that as unjust
as you think it is that this person can hire me and fire me at the time
and reason of his choice, it is s system that provides the best
opportunity for prosperity for all its participants. The only part that
people struggle with really is envy…
Webster,
I assume you are a big proponent of government control of the minimum
wage?
Webster,
by the way, my industry is getting crushed by this recession. The company I
work for is as financially healthy as one can be, no debt, don’t use a line of
credit, have millions in cash on hand… Enough cash to keep our current
salaried staff sitting behind their desk for nearly five years doing nothing.
I guarantee you if things don’t turn araound by September it will be a ghost
town there and this webmaster will probably no longer have to block me
because I won’t be able to afford my internet access. But you know what
peace is? Being able to walk out that door without the least bit of bitterness.
I will still say this is a great country that I was blessed to be born in.
# Catchmeifyoucan Says:
June 1st, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Webster,
I assume you are a big proponent of
government control of the minimum
wage?
——————————————
I’ve taken the liberty of going
back and reading your work here,
catchme. Back to your days as,
Dale.
You assume a lot about a lot
of people.
# Catchmeifyoucan Says:
June 1st, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Webster,
You seem to be slipping away from what
I thought was a reasonable
exchange of ideas into categorizing and
labels….
You do well arguing the points on their merits,
why not stick with it?
————————-
You’re distracted. Go back and reread
the thread. Hell, go back and reread all
the threads. My very first post on the site
addressed how nothing is being
accomplished here. It’s always the same
people engaged in the “practice”, too.
Too many “enlightened people” working
their magic in the place.
I’m still in total
awe of your bud, and how he’s studied
Deepak’s work for ten years.
So tell me…
What have you contributed? Changing
screen names on a daily basis?
Pointless.
Take a look around your community.
There’s always something that needs
attention. If your company can go under,
imagine all the people whose companies
already have. They’re out there.
Or stay in the theater of your mind.
I don’t believe, based on our exchanges,
that you have the heart for the work.
If you lose your internet access, take heart.
There is always the public library.
peace
Webster, you need a valium!
Take a look around my community?
Now you accuse me of walking around with blinders?
Your true colors are showing Webster..
# Catchmeifyoucan Says:
June 2nd, 2009 at 6:31 am
Webster, you need a valium!
Take a look around my community?
Now you accuse me of walking around with blinders?
Your true colors are showing Webster..
——————————————————
You’ve been walking around with blinders
on here. It was just a linear-logical conclusion,
which I felt you’d appreciate.
So, valium works for you?
# Catchmeifyoucan Says:
June 2nd, 2009 at 6:40 am
Webster,
by the way, I’m beginning to wonder if your part of the “regime” here.
Since you keep harping on my need to change names on this site.
I’ll bet your the one responsible for it (blocking me).
—————————–
I’m asking the above question because of this post.
Do you see why health care is so important?
Blinders?
**********
I hadn’t planned on returning to this site but dag gonit I
up and did — and now must set the record straight. I
don’t know how any of us ever really communicate about
anything in the written word.
It was noted somewhere that I studied under Deepak
Chopra for ten years. Nope, that ain’t it. I had a couple of
home study programs (tapes) that I listened to about
ten years ago. And I liked them.
mucho dif france.
P.S.
I think there is alot of what I said that got skewed. But be that as it
may, I have more important things to attend to now.
hasta la adios bye bye caio baby
Webster,
Are you a girl?
# Catchmeifyoucan Says:
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Webster,
Are you a girl?
…………………………………………
Why? Are you having another one of
your man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta
do moments?
No, not that…. It’s just you react like an adolescent girl a lot of the time…..
Did you get beat up a lot in school then?
# webster Says:
June 19th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
# Catchmeifyoucan Says:
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Webster,
Are you a girl?
…………………………………………
Why? Are you having another one of
your man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta
do moments?
Blogroll links aint that great
but i am not the admin
Hey, I found your web site a week or two ago and have got through all the posts and comments steadily. I thought should write my firstcomment. Unsure of what to comment but here goes. Interesting site. Will call back in a while to hear more of what youve got to say.
Great articles & Nice a site
Good read, thanks. Always looking out for weird and wonderful stuff to read