My Peace City | nonviolence & social change

“In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make the claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy.”  -George Orwell, 1984

Recently reported in the news, President George W. Bush asserted that the global financial crisis is “not a failure of the free market,” despite heavy evidence to the contrary. Upon hearing this, it occurred to me that before Bush clears out of Washington, left to be judged by history, I have a duty to my fellow citizens of the future.

Throughout his eight years as president, Bush has made many extraordinary accomplishments. Thus, it will not be easy for historians to select which of these to include when writing the Bush Presidency chapter of American history. Most likely the chapter will be found in the section entitled “The War on Terror.” The chapter will begin with lengthy detail about the September 11th terrorist attacks (which will entirely overshadow the controversial Supreme Court decision that decided the election), Bush’s steady leadership in the immediate aftermath, and his overwhelming support from a unified nation (demonstrated by his 90% approval rating). With the support of the Nation and Congress, the chapter will continue, Bush ordered the attack on Afghanistan and shortly thereafter began building the case for war with Iraq. The chapter will end with details about the causes of the global financial crisis and how Bush, limping out of the White House with the lowest approval rating in history, dealt with it.

Many historians will likely label the Bush Administration as one shrouded in secrecy. For it was only later, thanks to courageous journalists and former officials that we learned much of what was going on in the White House during these years. Without seeking approval or even notifying Congress, the Administration made great unconstitutional strides in expanding the powers of the Executive Branch. They circumvented the FISA courts and wiretapped the phone conversations of American citizens. They openly implemented torture. They denied the thirteenth century writ of habeas corpus to American citizens. They denied Guantanamo Bay detainees the right of due process. They doled out jaw-dropping amounts of taxpayer dollars in the form of no-bid security contracts to private companies with little or no oversight (in 2003, 3,512 such contracts were handed out. Twenty-two months later, that number was 115,000). They outsourced the military in Iraq to a private company, paid with U.S. tax dollars but not accountable to U.S. taxpayers. They’ve done things that we may not know about for years to come.

But you remember all this stuff. You don’t need a history lesson, and you certainly don’t need to dig up what’s best left buried for dead. Here is why it is imperative that we reflect on our recent past: although the Bush Administration will probably be recorded in history for all the aforementioned accomplishments, what will be lost in history is the abuse this Nation suffered during these years. I’m not talking about abuse to our Constitution, our standing in the world, or our economy. I’m talking about abuse to our dignity and intelligence as American citizens. For all of us who lived through the Bush years, this is something we must never forget.

After running on a platform of reaching across the aisle and creating a culture of bipartisanship in Washington; after having the country and the world united behind him after 9/11, George Bush created a divisively partisan culture of fear that left deep wounds to this Nation that have not even begun to heal. If you weren’t fully in support of the Iraq War, then you were against the troops. If you voted for someone other than Bush in 2004, you were voting for a victory by the terrorists. If you voiced dissent for the Bush Administration, then you were unpatriotic.

This black-or-white, like-it-or-leave-it, either-you-are-with-us-or-against-us attitude tore a gaping division through the heart of our Nation. Each of us were forced to choose a corner of the ring for what turned out to be a long and grueling fight.

Within such a toxic atmosphere, truth was choked and reality distorted. We were told Iraq was connected to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We were told Iraqis would greet us liberators, not conquerors. We were told “mission accomplished” to a war that has no end in sight. We were told the way to solve the Social Security “crisis” was to privatize it. We were told the Unites States military doesn’t torture. We were told after the Katrina catastrophe that FEMA director Michael Brown as doing a “heckuva job.” We were told Iran was on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon. We’ve been told that the economy is strong throughout the current crisis. And we now are told not to attribute our current financial mess to the flaws of the free-market.

Any fact contrary or inconvenient to the Bush agenda was quickly discarded or spun in a way favorable to the Administration. After the WMDs turned up non-existent, we were told that it was of no concern because Saddam had been on the verge of acquiring them, or that Iraq was suddenly the central front on the War on Terror, or that Iraq is harboring Al-Qaeda. After evidence became public that the war in Iraq was spreading terrorism instead of eradicating it (see 2006 National Intelligence Estimate), or that conditions in Iraq were worsening, not improving, it was simply spun by the Bush Administration- we are winning the war in Iraq, the world is better off without Saddam, terrorism is being defeated in Iraq.

The Bush Administration moved this Nation dangerously close to an Orwellian State. We were duped into believing things that simply weren’t true. And without the firm grounding of truth beneath our feet, this country couldn’t engage in any meaningful debate about issues crucial to the preservation of our republic. When half the country believed two plus two makes five- Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks or that they had indeed possessed WMDs- how could there be a debate about whether the war was a good idea? When we can’t even agree on what to disagree about, it is a sign that the gaping division running through the heart of our Nation is fatal.

But all this is the nature of politics, right? A president should be expected to twist the facts in a way favorable to his position, right? A president is entitled to ultimate secrecy in order to protect what he decides are our national interests, right? A president has no duty to be forthcoming with his citizens, especially in matters of war, right? A president should be expected to always put party politics and ideology first, and the duties of an elected official representing the American people second, right?

I don’t know. Most of my adult life has been spent under the Bush Administration. I know no other. What I do know is that on November 4^th, around ten o’clock at night, it hit me that perhaps these questions don’t need to be answered in the affirmative. What I do know is that I never want to suffer as I have during the past eight years. I know that I never want to be made to feel unpatriotic, or un-American, or unsupportive of military troops in combat ever again. I know I never want to feel alienated from my fellow citizens who hold different political view than mine. I know I never want to have my fears manipulated for political gain. I know I want my president to make a good faith effort at being honest with me.

I can only hope that when the Bush Administration clears out of Washington in January, so too will the toxic environment that they poisoned us with. But before it clears completely, we must make every effort to hold on to a little piece of it. With it, we must concoct an inoculation so that future generations will never have to suffer through what we have suffered through. Because historians will fail to do this for us, the duty is ours.