Monday, October 18, 2004
my own political manifesto!
Dear Americans:
I am sitting here looking at the polls for president of the US, and I feel at once baffled, disappointed, and frankly, with my trust of the United States' role in the world completely shattered. I don't understand how a President that took a country to war under false premises can still have the trust of so many voters.
I've done some work and explored what these Republicans may be thinking by reading the Conservative press. And I was fascinated by their great intentions and goals. But mostly I found them very seductive. Yes, if we lived in a simple world, this administration has the balls to carry out the job. But we live in a complex world, and this administration doesn't seem to have the courage to either look at different perspectives, or ask the tough questions. In this manifesto I assert that what is missing in the US government is an ability to recognize the complexity of the world and see different perspectives.
As coaches we know that for all issues there are an innumerable number of perspectives. In George Bush's mind there seem to be only two: his perspective and the wrong perspective. "You are either with us or against us." Decisions come very easily to him, he has said himself. I envy him in that, but also realize that yes, when you can only see one option, decisions must be easier!
I firmly believe that the US biggest threat is not terrorism, as big a threat as that is, but rather its biggest threat is itself. Your president has accumulated too much power to himself, and your country has accumulated too much power to itself. The biggest enemy of power is power, because, without checks and balances, it is bound to be used unwisely and destroy itself. In reality there are no longer any checks and balances for the United States.
The US government spends yearly almost half your individual federal income taxes in maintaining the most powerful army in the world. In fact, it is estimated that in 2005 a full 51% of your federal income taxes will be spent by the military. Were you aware of that? It is only natural that other opposite forces arise to keep some sort of check.
Are you aware also that even a democracy like the United States develops terrorists within its borders. Examples are the Oklahoma bombing, the Unabomber, the Columbine massacre. Separately, there are 11,000 murders in the US a year (a rate that is at least 10 times higher than any other developed country). Over 2 million American adults are in jail. So how is it that the US government thinks it can go to another country, make war, occupy it, and prevent terrorism that way? If it can't even end it within the US? Clearly, stopping terrorism is more complex even than instituting democracy.
We tend to become what we hate. In this way, pro-life activists become abortinists' killers. Justice systems become murderers. Nations become violent aggressors.
And they also help create them... Osama bin Laden was an ally of the United States in the fight against Russia in Afghanistan. Saddam Hussein was also an ally of the United States in the fight against Iran. You can find a photo of Donald Rumsfeld shaking Saddam's hand in 1983. And I'm sure that yet again in Iraq it is helping to create the next generation of terrorists.
In winning military wars, the US is losing the idelological war to capture the hearts of its potential alllys. And by that I don't mean traditional country allies, but rather the terrorists' network of friends and family who are the only ones who might know what the terrorists are up to. This is how the Unabomber was caught, his brother smelled something funny and alerted the authorities. But he could only do this because he trusted the authorities. If the US government doesn't gain the trust abroad that potential terrorists will have access to a fair trial, how will those who know the terrorists come forward?
Now, I love the United States. I have lived in New York. I have lived in Philadelphia. I have lived in Hawaii. I have the most wonderful friends there, and I have seen how people treat each other there. However, there is a huge difference in the way the US government treats its voters, and the way it treats everybody else who is abroad. The government is so powerful that it doesn't need to listen or care for those abroad. And apparently the majority of voters don't care either, especially when they're scared.
A recent statistic delineates how, out of Americans who hold a passport (ie. mostly those who have travelled abroad), only 35% support Bush. So I'm making the assumption that Bush depends on the more narrow minded to get elected. By that I mean those who have experienced relatively little of the complexity of perspectives in the world outside. The moment that Bush starts looking at different perspectives publicly, he would lose the support of this group of people. So I actually see a catch-22, where Bush cannot even dare to look at other perspectives because he will lose his stronghold.
I walked right under the World Trade Center every weekday right up to a few weeks before 9/11. When I saw those towers fall, it was the biggest shock of my life. "How could people who don't even know me be wanting to kill me?" I thought. By the beginning of 2003 (the run-up to the Iraq war), I could not even read any piece of American news because it would make me ill to see the US going down that path. Now I'm reading again, and I feel like I may be able to do something about it, that's why I'm writing my own manifesto.
I cannot vote because I'm not a resident or a citizen of the US. In fact, in my heart, I don't have a strong allegiance to any country or any party. But I'm feeling a strong allegiance to the world right now. I suppose it's what happens when you've lived in so many countries and keep strong memories from all of them. I will continue to do my work helping people see their own innumerable perspectives and the complexity that exists in their relationships with their allys as well as with their enemies. Please do the same... including with me!
I am sitting here looking at the polls for president of the US, and I feel at once baffled, disappointed, and frankly, with my trust of the United States' role in the world completely shattered. I don't understand how a President that took a country to war under false premises can still have the trust of so many voters.
I've done some work and explored what these Republicans may be thinking by reading the Conservative press. And I was fascinated by their great intentions and goals. But mostly I found them very seductive. Yes, if we lived in a simple world, this administration has the balls to carry out the job. But we live in a complex world, and this administration doesn't seem to have the courage to either look at different perspectives, or ask the tough questions. In this manifesto I assert that what is missing in the US government is an ability to recognize the complexity of the world and see different perspectives.
As coaches we know that for all issues there are an innumerable number of perspectives. In George Bush's mind there seem to be only two: his perspective and the wrong perspective. "You are either with us or against us." Decisions come very easily to him, he has said himself. I envy him in that, but also realize that yes, when you can only see one option, decisions must be easier!
I firmly believe that the US biggest threat is not terrorism, as big a threat as that is, but rather its biggest threat is itself. Your president has accumulated too much power to himself, and your country has accumulated too much power to itself. The biggest enemy of power is power, because, without checks and balances, it is bound to be used unwisely and destroy itself. In reality there are no longer any checks and balances for the United States.
The US government spends yearly almost half your individual federal income taxes in maintaining the most powerful army in the world. In fact, it is estimated that in 2005 a full 51% of your federal income taxes will be spent by the military. Were you aware of that? It is only natural that other opposite forces arise to keep some sort of check.
Are you aware also that even a democracy like the United States develops terrorists within its borders. Examples are the Oklahoma bombing, the Unabomber, the Columbine massacre. Separately, there are 11,000 murders in the US a year (a rate that is at least 10 times higher than any other developed country). Over 2 million American adults are in jail. So how is it that the US government thinks it can go to another country, make war, occupy it, and prevent terrorism that way? If it can't even end it within the US? Clearly, stopping terrorism is more complex even than instituting democracy.
We tend to become what we hate. In this way, pro-life activists become abortinists' killers. Justice systems become murderers. Nations become violent aggressors.
And they also help create them... Osama bin Laden was an ally of the United States in the fight against Russia in Afghanistan. Saddam Hussein was also an ally of the United States in the fight against Iran. You can find a photo of Donald Rumsfeld shaking Saddam's hand in 1983. And I'm sure that yet again in Iraq it is helping to create the next generation of terrorists.
In winning military wars, the US is losing the idelological war to capture the hearts of its potential alllys. And by that I don't mean traditional country allies, but rather the terrorists' network of friends and family who are the only ones who might know what the terrorists are up to. This is how the Unabomber was caught, his brother smelled something funny and alerted the authorities. But he could only do this because he trusted the authorities. If the US government doesn't gain the trust abroad that potential terrorists will have access to a fair trial, how will those who know the terrorists come forward?
Now, I love the United States. I have lived in New York. I have lived in Philadelphia. I have lived in Hawaii. I have the most wonderful friends there, and I have seen how people treat each other there. However, there is a huge difference in the way the US government treats its voters, and the way it treats everybody else who is abroad. The government is so powerful that it doesn't need to listen or care for those abroad. And apparently the majority of voters don't care either, especially when they're scared.
A recent statistic delineates how, out of Americans who hold a passport (ie. mostly those who have travelled abroad), only 35% support Bush. So I'm making the assumption that Bush depends on the more narrow minded to get elected. By that I mean those who have experienced relatively little of the complexity of perspectives in the world outside. The moment that Bush starts looking at different perspectives publicly, he would lose the support of this group of people. So I actually see a catch-22, where Bush cannot even dare to look at other perspectives because he will lose his stronghold.
I walked right under the World Trade Center every weekday right up to a few weeks before 9/11. When I saw those towers fall, it was the biggest shock of my life. "How could people who don't even know me be wanting to kill me?" I thought. By the beginning of 2003 (the run-up to the Iraq war), I could not even read any piece of American news because it would make me ill to see the US going down that path. Now I'm reading again, and I feel like I may be able to do something about it, that's why I'm writing my own manifesto.
I cannot vote because I'm not a resident or a citizen of the US. In fact, in my heart, I don't have a strong allegiance to any country or any party. But I'm feeling a strong allegiance to the world right now. I suppose it's what happens when you've lived in so many countries and keep strong memories from all of them. I will continue to do my work helping people see their own innumerable perspectives and the complexity that exists in their relationships with their allys as well as with their enemies. Please do the same... including with me!
