Maybe we did learn from Vietnam

by Wackary

It is such a relief to hear the opinions expressed on this site. It is easy to feel isolated in all of this. My wife says I am a Euro trapped in an Americans' body- my views of the world, favourite sports (moto-GP, F-1 Rally), etc.

This entire situation is madness on so many levels. There are countless historic examples of the mistakes we (the U.S.) are making and not just obscure or unsubstantiated events, but major historical precedents. The Roman Empire, a thousand years of grief for any non-Roman and many enslaved Romans themselves. Hitler and his Germany. The Korean war. And of course, Vietnam.

My mind has been reeling over this lately, the more the plans and actions of Bush, Wolfowitz et al progress, the more suspicious I become of the events leading up to this. I am not a wacko conspiracy theorist type but I do believe that just because one may be paranoid, it doesn't rule out that "they" may indeed really be "after" you. In all seriousness though this War and our admitted (!) policy of preemption for national defense has cast a shadow back to Bush's (first) election and upon all that which has taken place in between.

Whenever an inexplicable event occurs I always ask myself, who gains from this? Often when you sit back and watch, over time the truth comes out. A woman kills her husband to collect the insurance, and then months later is livin' large with her lover- it is no surprise when she gets busted. America perpetuates a war against Vietnam for no apparent rational reason year after year, in the face of world and popular opinion, while the Military-Industrial complex booms beyond anyone's wildest dreams- it didn't surprise us too much when the truth surfaced. I always look at who benefits.

When 9/11 occured I was horrified to see who was benefiting and the manipulations of our collective emotions and fears to gain increased power. It was difficult to watch. Afghanistan and Al Quaeda (an "organization" whose existence I remain skeptical about). Now Iraq and the plans for preemption in the name of Homeland security. They have set up the emotional and political climate in this country so that we cannot express dissent without being called a monster, a non-patriot. You are for or against us. Good or Evil. If we do wish to protest and it becomes too much of a disruption they can simply bump us up to a red alert status and we are not allowed to leave our homes unless it is "necessary". Maybe somebody did learn something from Vietnam....

Does anyone else out there see this?