ZEITGEIST DEJA VOUS

This spirit is so very similar to 1933 when Germany, following a terrorist attack, combined its law enforcement agencies into one anti-terrorism monolith, the Reichssicherheitshauptamt and its SchutzStaffel, the dreaded SS.

Undoubtedly, the single most powerful device used to bring about the SS and its political master was RADIO. A media in service to the government, dedicated to feeding propaganda to the masses.

Today, we call it SPIN. Masters of spin force-feed our country's ego and fear by manipulating the truth. Taking direction from political guru, Carl Rove, the country is bombarded with misinformation, lies and secrecy -- just like pre-WW 2 Germany was. Anything that is not "party-line" is labeled unpatriotic. Dissent is not to be found in the so-called "free" press.

The goal ultimately is to bring the United States to the position of not just leader of the world, but to the domination of it. David Armstrong writes:

The overt theme is unilateralism, but it is ultimately a story of domination. It calls for the United States to maintain its overwhelming military superiority and prevent new rivals from rising up to challenge it on the world stage. It calls for dominion over friends and enemies alike. It says not that the United States must be more powerful, or most powerful, but that it must be absolutely powerful."
        -- David Armstrong, "Dick Cheney's Song of America: Drafting a plan for global dominance," pp. 76-83, Harper's Magazine, October 2002 (Vol. 305, No. 1829).

There has been a great deal of apprehension over the Patriot Act and how it has removed constitutional protection from American citizens. Even without a declaration of war it has put the country on a war footing.

Daily, the governmental bodies in towns and cities all over the country joined dozens of others protesting the provisions of the Patriot Act. They oppose the broad powers this federal law gives to law enforcement, and its erosion of civil liberties.

The Homeland Security Act has brought forth a great deal of criticism from Democrats and Republican alike. Conservative writer, William Safire has asserted that it allows the government to obtain every piece of information about each of us and contain it in a computerized dossier.

He calls it "the supersnoop's dream: a 'Total Information Awareness' about every U.S. citizen." Even staunch Conservative house majority leader Dick Armey has said that under Bush the federal government is "out of control" because of his administration^Òs treatment of constitutionally protected liberties.

The Seattle Times points out that the Homeland Security Bill allows Attorney General Ashcroft to "authorized FBI agents to spy on domestic groups without having to show evidence of a crime."

Right now there are few people who believe war is not eminent. Even as the inspections appear to be going well, Bush and his war cabinet are undermining the process. They are constantly on the media nitpicking every nuance of the inspections and threatening invasion of Iraq.

Back in August, columnist Paul Craig Roberts asked the question, "Is a vote for Republicans a vote for a police state?" The answer seems to be a resounding yes! The Bush administration seems determined to turn our country into the most elaborate and sophisticated police state ever devised. http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/11.25B.repb.bush.out.htm

We remember when America stood for freedom, liberty and justice for all. It did not invade other countries or use its might in an attempt to "rule the world." This country used to care about people in other lands, and mostly it cared about and respected its own historic ideals.

Today, the people in most of the countries of the world have bad opinions of America. Alexandra Pelosi* aptly expressed a reason for this in an article in the SF Chronicle, December 3, 2002 -- lack of leadership. She was one of the reporters covering Cowboy George Bush when he ran for office and got to know him well enough to see that he was not a statesman.

She noted how Bush still uses the phrase "it's in your interest" to persuade people to support his agenda. He appealed to the selfishness in whoever he talked to that matched his own. He never seemed to consider the country's interest or the world's interest even after he was elected. She concluded:

"There's a difference between a cowboy and a statesman. A cowboy is a rodeo performer or a wild loner roaming the land just looking out for himself. A statesman looks out for and leads us all."

* [Alexandra Pelosi is a television news producer who co-directed "Journeys with George," which she describes as a home movie about being on the road with George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign.]

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2002-051

Copyright 2002 Renee T. Louise and Ruth M. Sprague, Ph.D. These articles may be republished for noncommercial use only, provided that they are copied intact, and that this copyright notice is attached. Address all queries to: twanda@twanda.org.