STANDING UP FOR AMERICA

In week two of the NFL season they honored the memory of Pat Tillman, former NFL Linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals who joined the Army after the September 11th attacks, and who died while serving in Afghanistan. That weekend every NFL player wore a number 40 on his helmet and many have volunteered to continue wearing it. I can only say I'm touched by the man too; he spurned a three-year contract worth $3.6 million to earn a measly $18,000 a year as a soldier. Tillman may be the best example of putting your money where your mouth is that I've ever heard. I'm proud that there are still people standing up for a principle like that. Too bad it was all in vain.

The circumstances of Tillman's death were never part of the remembrances at the games. Why? Because the reality of it was too awkward. Most people think that the war in Afghanistan was won & done a few months after 9-11, well before we got into Iraq. But no, it's still going. To be sure it's a level below Iraq but obviously his death shows it can still be plenty lethal.

Tillman joined the Army Rangers, elite units a notch below the Green Berets and Delta Force, and on April 22nd this year he was in a shoot-out with Taliban guerrillas near Khost in south-eastern Afghanistan. So weren't the Rangers supposed to be nigh invulnerable, way too powerful for any ragtag Afghani fighters? Well in a way it wasn't the guerillas. Tillman's convoy was ambushed right at nightfall. Another unit came to their rescue and Tillman was hit by friendly fire. I guess they couldn't see well enough in the dark.

Well, shit happens in war.

I'm sure that's why the Republicans didn't make a big deal of Tillman's sacrifice at their convention. There was a lot of nice speechifying though and the speakers stayed nice and calm in spite of protests and huge mass arrests that were happening all over New York City. Did I say nice and calm? My favorite of the week was Democrat Zell Miller who damn near popped an artery shouting down the leadership of his own party and saying he couldn't stand anyone who called the soldiers in Iraq "occupiers."

Sorry to say, Zell, it's pretty clear that an awful lot of Iraqis think we are occupiers, but as far as Americans using that term, how about Bush himself? He's called our troops occupiers several times. In fact of all the Republicans and fellow travelers speaking that week, Bush seemed to be the one that was most off-message, saying that he didn't believe the War On Terror could be won. Oh my! How deep a shape of red was Zell when he heard that? Maybe he and Karl Rove were more like a shade of purple when the Democratic spinmeisters pounced on it.

Yes, they pounced, saying their guy didn't believe that, except it probably was one of the truest things The Resident's said about his messy war. And much as I like how Kerry has handled himself through the three debates, I don't really see how he's going to do anything much different than what Bush has been saying he'd do. Make no mistake, Bush is SAYING the right things but he isn't DOING them. That may be why some people say they still can't tell the difference between them. They both want a new government but Bush seems to want to shoot his way to it. Instead Kerry will try to win back the hearts of the Iraqis, while defending against the violent fanatics. If I was him I'd start by releasing the thousands of regular people we've detained for minor crimes like living near a suspected terrorist hideout. I'm sure Kerry will end prisoner abuse and torture at the very least.

There are big differences between Republicans and Democrats on things like that. It wasn't brought up in the debates but the Bushies have been trying hard to justify torture over the last year. I'll say that again, they are FOR torture! And they were saying so even as we heard dozens of stories of prison abuse, so many I started to wonder if they got reservists from the KKK to act as our prison guards! I've even heard right wing apologists saying that we don't know the context at Abu Ghraib, that there are some situations where this sort of conduct may be appropriate! The Administration has also been making a lot of arguments against following the Geneva Convention, which protects our guys as much as anyone else. Go figure. And out of the other side of their mouths one of their main arguments against Saddam Hussein, in the absence of WMDs, was that he was a terrible person who tortured his own people!

Do you wonder if they've made Saddam Hussein stand naked on a chair with a hood and made fun of his privates while he's awaiting trial? And if they don't treat HIM that way, why should they treat anyone else that way? Who's the terrorist here? Exactly how bad do things have to get before the real conservatives, the ones who are truly patriotic and have a conscience, abandon these pathetic neo-cons?

In Iraq we could have been seen as liberators at one time, but then we let people get so freaking liberated that they looted everything of value, including Hussein's weapons caches! We lost control early on, and whatever sense of justice we might have had going in has been squandered. As our gunships fire into the middle of cities and our troops round up people without cause in the middle of the night, it's no wonder why many Iraqis and other Muslims from around the Mid-East are joining groups of fanatics whose favorite sports are beheadings and car bombs. I don't see how Bush or that CIA-approved puppet Allawi can get the moral high ground back. John Kerry has a better chance, but only a chance.

I want America to stand for honor. I would support Bush's move to make an Iraq democracy if I had any faith he could accomplish it. Over the summer though I've been having trouble shaking the feeling that he and his neo-conservative buddies have completely blown it. We broke it and it's irreparable; we should give Iraq to the theocrats and get out of the way. But that would almost certainly mean a civil war and decades of enmity to America though. To quote Bush the First, "wouldn't be prudent." I kind of wonder why Kerry'd even want the Presidency now.

Ever since the first debate, it has been looking like Kerry might actually have a chance to get elected but it's going to be very close. Win or lose though all progressive people of conscience are going to have to get organized to change America for the better. Part of the problem is that the moderate and left forces aren't as cohesive as the right. They are far better organized, their goals are well defined and they march in lock step toward them. Kind of like an army. Or a football team.

Hmm, maybe if I put all this into a football metaphor it will be easier for you to understand. First, when Bush said "Mission Accomplished," he didn't know it was only the first touchdown and the game was still going. Second, understand that WE are the coach and we have the power to change the quarterback. Third, we all know that our offense is far superior but we need to pay more attention to defense. Fourth, we need to realize that we are playing the Al Qaeda, not the Iraqis. They have had a lot of injuries, but they keep getting replacement players and they are still capable of throwing the long bomb on us. They...

Oh hell, this is a stupid metaphor. It makes it all seem like the clock will eventually run out and the game will be won or lost. That's not what happens in real life. Things are in constant change, the clock never runs out. (And that will have to do for this month's patented Philosophical Point. Let's move on!) There will always be someone in the world willing to plant bombs against the World's Only Superpower and that's why the War On Terror will never end, but hostilities in Iraq will. Eventually (decades?) we will all wonder what the heck we were fighting about there. Think that's not true? Can you answer why were we fighting in Vietnam 35 years ago? Does it seem so important now that we are doing business with them again?

All that aside, we have this election to deal with first. We have a chance to change quarterbacks, but that's not the end of the game. (Damn! I thought I was done with sports metaphors!) If Bush does win, then obviously we need to work harder to break the neo-cons' stranglehold on the government. As long as they are up there I am sure we'll all be plenty motivated.

HOWEVER there's just as much work to be done if Kerry wins! I'm worried that his anti-Bush coalition will celebrate the Great Victory for about two days and then all the moral clarity will disappear, leaving Kerry to get torn apart by the right wing pundits. We can't allow that to happen.

What we need are committed people like Pat Tillman. People who are willing to serve, to put America's ideals before personal gain and who are willing to work for our highest goals. Certainly it means more than wearing a Number 40 sticker on your helmet. Maybe it means joining the Army like he did, maybe it means just distributing leaflets at the mall, or writing letters to the editor and your congressperson. Maybe it means running for office.

Maybe it means it's time to think about what I can do besides writing. Right after I get done voting. YOU VOTE TOO! No going back into the Closet now!

Thanks for reading and until next month the Closet is closed.

© 2004 - Rusty Pipes

Official Disclaimer: The Publisher and Editors of Cosmik Debris Magazine would just like to echo Rusty's request that you get out and vote. The last time an election was this important the issues were slavery and holding the union together, and you didn't vote in that one. Here's your chance to make up for it. Even if you have to wait all night because the right wingers are trying to challenge every democrat vote, stick to it. They want you to leave, and if you do, they've succeeded in pulling one of the dirtiest tricks in political history. Show them you do matter in the political process. Disclaimer? Not this month. Just another voice singing the "Get Out And Vote" song.