THINK! .... or, is it THIMK? Whatever
by Charles C. Hall, Ed.D

"Power always thinks it has a great soul." --John Adams

"They created a wasteland and they call it peace." - Tacitus

We Americans love slogans, one liners and gimmicks reduced to the lowest common denominator in order for us to be able to avoid thinking. In this stale atmosphere, we are easily swayed by snappy sound bites which the media thimks up, then spread like hated Behia grass. When was the last time you received a complete explanation from your representative on a vital matter that was nothing more than a scripted platitude? Some time, no?

Intelligent discourse died with the end of the Lincoln/ Douglas debates prior to 1860. The so-called "debates " between candidates today for some political office are biased responses prepared by the "debater's" syncophants who have praised every word he or she says. A two-minute limit for an answer, one minute rebutal and a thirty second reply. What?! That's a debate?!

"Often, some insignificant aspect of the forum is pounced on by some bubbleheaded journalist which sinks the candidate on the spot. Examples abound: Nixon's failure to shave in 1960 with JFK; Gore's rolling his eyes in 2000; Mondale's age by Reagan, which drew a big laugh from the audience. All these things have no bearing on a person's ability to do a good job in the office one seeks. The media play this stuff ad finitim. And some of it hangs around for years. Example: Not one presidential election has been waged without the commentator mentioning Nixon's "shadowy chin" since 1960. Give me a break! But no media conversation on Nixon's statement that he had a "plan to end the war in Vietnam." When he made that statement, I wondered why he didn't spell it out in order to save 35,000 GIs over the next six years. Winning was more important to him than those lives that were wasted.

The war in Iraq is a repeat of the quagmire in which we found ourselves in Vietnam. The lies and obfuscations of these two disasters are tellingly similar. In Southeast Asia, the mantra was, "Light at the end of the tunnel." The "tunnel" kept getting longer and longer until there was only darkness. In Iraq, the mantra is, "We're winning." "Winning" what?

In the face of all credible evidence that there was no link between al Queda and Saddam Hussain, Bush/ Cheney insist to this day that there was. Bush said, "The reason I keep insisting there was a relationship between Iraq, Saddam and al-Queda was because there was a relationship between Iraq and al- Queda." But no evidence was ever provided. Bush/Cheney believe this lie. Bush also said, "The reason I keep repeating this is so that people finally believe it." And apparently they did. He got reelected on a pack of lies that were obvious then to those who looked past the rhetoric, and now to most Americans who would appreciate some truth-telling.

Headline today, "The Americans can leave any time," Iraqi premier al Malaki. It's past time that American troops leave Iraq to its own fate. And, don't lecture us on the idea "that worse things can happen." Maybe al Malaki will throw Halliburton and all the other contractors out of his country who received sweet-deal, nobid contracts from Cheney/ Bush. When the invasion occurred, they said, "It's not about oil." Every Iraqi and Muslim country knew better. It's "about oil." The only ministry that was protected from looters was the Oil Ministry on orders from Cheney. There are eight billion American dollars no one can account for in just one instance. I wonder how many more "instances " we do not know about?

What can ordinary citizens do about this mess? The plain answer is, "Not much." We seem to be captive to our ignorance and inability to get our voices heard. Those who are supposed to be our voices in government are prisoners of those with bags of money. We see their inactivity every term of the Congress. In 2006, the Senate and the 435 members of Congress were in session for the grand total of ninety-two days. Wow! What a job! So it goes . . . .