The Leveller: A modern day regulator

Following Ancient History

ORIGINALLY POSTED: MARCH 18, 2003

I have been involved in much of the discourse in the United States regarding specifically the Iraqi situation. Last time there was an Iraqi situation I was involved differently, not as a participant in the dialogue at home but as a soldier in the Arabian Peninsula. I thought then that it was a “just” war.

Hearing all the stubborn dogmatism from many pro-war supporters and primarily republicans has brought stark realizations to my conscious. The pro-war group is as intolerant as the anti-war group. I hear the same recycled cliches for going to war. The prevailing opinion has been drilled down to one cause in support of this war. Hussein is a bad man and we don’t want him to procure weapons of mass destruction because being the bad man that he is he will one day use them on us.

Prevailing pro-war opinion has evolved to this singular argument. Initially Iraq was part of an axis of evil. It was a nation that defied UN resolutions. It was a nation that supplied bin Laden with logistics to mastermind the events of 9-11. It was a nation with a leader that killed his people allegedly with weapons of mass destruction. Then for a brief time the genocide argument was used by pro-war proponents. It worked for Clinton in Bosnia. Perhaps it is all these things.

Then from time to time I’m lectured that although war itself is evil, it is sometimes necessary to make things “just”. This is from pro-war supporters who by and large have the freedom and luxury to avoid war.

Now that our government has vilified this Iraqi dictator to be the bad man that he is, why will no one question our policies towards such bad men? I’ve stated in the past that when in Panama, it was the canal. When in Iraq its oil. We as a people refuse to learn from our own short history, and following in perfect steps down the path of ancient history.

Americans that support this war call it a “just” war now. We have a moral or ethical obligation it seems to do the world a favor and eliminate the bad man from Baghdad. I contend that America may not even know what “just” is anymore.

Americans have apparently disregarded their alleged ties to morality when such morality conflicts with their immediate compulsion to deliver justice upon the unjust in Iraq. During much of the abortion debate in the United States for example, Republicans and supporters of what is pro-life consistently attacked those willing to concede the woman’s right to choose. This fight over abortion was a similar struggle of the “just”, the unborn child, over the “unjust”, the woman’s right to choose. By recognizing the woman has no right to exercise her overwhelming physical power over the unborn child, constitutes a declaration that might does not make it right. In a similar argument, although the Iraq is clearly unjust by many accounts, superior might does not make it right for the United States to exercise its physical power over an ostensibly weaker government.

Moreover, it was a natural evolution and likely outcome of American opinion to evolve the way it has. The pro-war supporters and America needed to believe that this is a war of the “just” over the “unjust”. To believe or accept criticism of this war is not congruent with their social tenets. Going to war for any other reason would be cognitively dissonant with American’s opinion of itself that they are a “just” people. This is why it is futile to argue or even try and discuss the issue, as people are too intolerant to believe it could be anything else.

This action is so strongly supported in part by the American people because it is retaliation for 9-11. I suspect that these feelings are suppressed for many people. The only way American people can reduce the amount of dissonance is to convince ourselves that going to war is not unjust or a bad thing to do. This is accomplished by turning a blind eye to American foreign policy, our own faults, our own misdeeds, even our own duplicity and then focusing on how such a bad man the Iraq dictator really is. And that he deserves to be hurt. So you see, the bad man can never be innocent. Enough allegations have been thrown that if he’s guilty of at least one misdeed, he is guilty of all.

Unfortunately, America will not get what they expect after this war. Usually aggression increases domestically after fighting a war. We should expect to see a rise in many of the crime rates evolve over time after the war. There will be no cathartic effect. I believe this is what many people are inwardly hoping for but not admitting. This war will increase crime at home; polarize the people, and breed further aggression and hostility.

An irony of this conflict perhaps, is that in pursuit of justice, justice may be the only loser. The allies supporting this conflict do it more so out of the material advantage it brings than loyalty or morality or even where ethics are concerned. It is no accident that the U.S. is desperately trying to present a convincing posture to the UN with resolution after hopeless resolution. Iraq has clearly disrespected the process, and violated any order in the UN mandates. No one is denying the fact that Iraq has been noncompliant. The U.S. is trying to do the impossible. Convince the world that its motives are “just”, when no one cares about what the United States thinks is “just”. Our desire for security and the benefits of being the only world superpower is controvertible evidence to anything that justice would accomplish. Our pursuit of freedom does not free us as a nation from anything, not least of all hypocrisy and Americas inability to understand itself will further yield these things true!

America and its leadership have found themselves in another peculiar position. The end of the cold war era has manifested itself in America with a new cold realization. It has achieved isolation without having an isolationist policy. Being the only superpower in the world after seeing the demise of its paternal twin and openly embarked upon empire and however dangerous the course was to become the worlds supreme power, that to Americans, it may be more dangerous to let it go.

While many experts suggest increasing tension against the United States, and potentially inciting terrorist attacks, the benefits of empire are too great to forgo. After having branded what was initially called the axis of hatred, an axis of evil, the latest American president himself is leading a just nation in pursuit of honor, and freedom against a people that are not free from sin.

“Thus the ruling power of the state, like a ball, is snatched from kings by tyrants, from tyrants by aristocrats or the people, and from them again by an oligarchical faction or a tyrant, so that no single form of government ever maintains itself very long.”

MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO

As always, a pursuit of private interest comes at the expense of the public! We’re just following ancient history.

EXHIBITS:

See letter from Bill Clinton. Although Bill Clinton was characterized as another bad man, this letter suggests a difference in American posture compared to the world today.